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u are so right. REM SUCKED. STS9 rocked the house and Thievery Corp made the night.

What a crock of shit.

REM played great. all your doing is pointing out a few stoned people who didn't like them. really hard-hitting news.

Is this satirical? Almost everything reported here is in conflict with the dozens of other reviews I've read. Were you at the show, Patrice, or did you just have a dream about it and transcribe it for us?

Yes Greg, I endured the show. This isn't satirical at all. I interviewed several people at the event as well. If you want to know exactly where I was at the show, I sat towards the middle on a blanket for most of it, then hung out near the big white ball for the remainder of the performance. And huge crowds of people were leaving by the encore. Sorry to break it to ya, I had to write what I witnessed.

I agree--R.E.M. was the biggest disappointment of the festival. I am a huge R.E.M fan and was just utterly disappointed with their choice of material. I couldn't believe it when they didn't play Everybody Hurts after playing a 4 song encore. I am not a hippie who left to get stoned, but I still was not feeling the music. What's the Frequency Kenneth rocked, and it got me so excited for a killer R.E.M set, but they totally disappointed from there on. I also felt the political bull was unnecessary--I like their music and don't care at all what he thinks about the country. I almost felt like leaving one of my favorite bands' sets because of how much of a let-down they were. But I didn't do that, I stayed for the whole disappointment--one nameless song after another!

Ya know...REM did suck at Langerado.
Ppl may not want to admit it but the truth is the truth. The last comment is probably the best cause it comes from a tried and tested fan. They were disappointing. There's nothing wrong with saying that. You think Bob Marley or the Clash or Elvis or fucking Jimi Hendrix never had a bad night. It happens.
Anyone can have a bad night and REM sucked ass at Langerado. If you liked their set...uh...I guess you've got a REAL high threshold for wackness.
I myself am wactose intolerant.
Sorry.

Sorry to break it to all you REM fans, but they were the only band that I was disappointed with. Trust me, I'm a fan of all different genres and whenever I attend a concert/festival, I pay respect to the artists and watch/listen even if it isn't something I'd throw on in my car. However, I left after the third song because it was awful. I couldn't do it. I don't understand Langerado's thinking when they put him as a Saturday night headliner (or even on the bill), they're too depressing! Festivals are supposed to be about dancing and singing and good vibes...REM did none of that.

I wish someone else was playing during that time slot. And to those who are saying the bad reviews are only coming from stoners...wrong. The entire walk back to my campsite all I heard were people mocking "Everybody hurts...". I almost wish he closed with that song because that would back up my arguing. So depressing...

DISAGREE!

The R.E.M. show was fantastic! Perhaps some were disappointed with all the unrecognizable new tracks or just too cold to enjoy themselves, but the sound and energy were there. Great show!

Of course, Thievery Corporation blew a lot of people away which didn't allow R.E.M. to stand out by much.

At first, I was ready to blast the negativity toward REM, but I realize that this band isn't for all -- can't say I was all that much into New Mastersounds or would've enjoyed Phix. (STS9, however... not too shabby)

Also, playing devil's advocate, even a dyed-in-the-wool REM fan as myself -- excited as I was at my first ever REM show -- wasn't deeply into some of their song choices. I could've done without Bad Day -- which sounds like End Of The World As We Know It with the whining turned up to 11 -- or Imitation of Life.

However, I was still impressed with the energy that Michael Stipe and Mike Mills showed -- Peter Buck always seems very low key -- and I was thrilled to hear older, more obscure songs.

So again, I take this as a show that wasn't for all, and probably should've been up against counterprogramming of some sort. And I won't be so blind and say REM was the be-all-and-end-all of Langerado, not when Thievery Corporation and !!! blew my doors off.

But I still enjoyed the hell out of it.

Interesting comments here and it's obvious that music is subjective as is any art. Langerado showcases many different sounds and genres and not all bands will appeal to all people. Obviously, R.E.M. didn't appeal to some here, but they still put on a good show. They even sounded better than some of the live recordings I'd previously heard.

The momentum certainly slowed when new songs were played, but then people got back into it when they heard a hit they knew. Many other online & print reviews have been very positive.

This is what worked for me at Langerado '08:

R.E.M.
Thievery Corporation (best)
The New Mastersounds
The Pnuma Trio (surprise and very cool)
G. Love
Spam Allstars (on fire!)

BTW: looks like a photo from some other show.

i wish they put phil on saturday and REM on sunday..phil woulda kept the energy flowing, rem was a total let down and would have been a perfect close for all the tired minds and bodies sunday night...o well Langerado was one of the best musical experiences of my life