Rapid.Eye.Movement.Tour.1981

R.E.M. traveled extensively, mostly around the Deep South, during their first few years of being a unit. Their first real, albeit relatively local, tour took place in 1981. Mistakenly nicknamed "Rapid.Eye.Movement.Tour.1981" by the band's manager at the time, Jefferson Holt, the tour was arranged by Bill Berry, and its main aim was to help raise the necessary funds to keep the band operating. The tour was in support of their "Radio Free Europe" single, which was to be released on David Hibbert's Hib-Tone label in July 1981.

The tour began on March 26, 1981 at K. O. Jam's in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.^[1][2]

Setlist

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[3]

1. "Rave On!" (Sonny West cover)
2. "Burning Down"
3. "A Girl Like You" (The Young Rascals cover)
4. "Get on Their Way"
5. "There She Goes Again" (The Velvet Underground cover)
6. "Pretty Persuasion"
7. "Body Count"
8. "Narrator"
9. "Hey Hey Nadine"
10. "Shaking Through"
11. "Just a Touch"
12. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"
13. "Dangerous Times"
14. "Sitting Still"
15. "All the Right Friends"
16. "Radio Free Europe"
17. "Little Girl"
18. "Permanent Vacation"
19. "Mystery to Me"
20. "Gardening at Night"
21. "Windout"
22. "I Can't Control Myself" (The Troggs cover)
23. "Wait"
24. "Baby I"
25. "Scheherazade" (Nikolai Rimsky-Koraskov cover)
26. "Lisa Says" (The Velvet Underground cover)
27. "9-9"
28. "White Tornado"

Chronic Town Tour

In August, the band's first true national tour, in support of Chronic Town, began in San Diego, California. It finished in Florida four months later.^[1]

Setlist

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[4]

1. "Gardening at Night"
2. "Pilgrimage"
3. "9-9"
4. "Wolves, Lower"
5. "Romance"
6. "Moral Kiosk"
7. "Sitting Still"
8. "1,000,000"
9. "Pretty Persuasion"
10. "Catapult"
11. "Radio Free Europe"
12. "Ages of You"
13. "West of the Fields"
14. "White Tornado"
15. "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)"

Murmur Tour

A tour in support of Murmur got underway in March. The band made their first live television appearance during the tour, on Late Night with David Letterman on October 6. The tour concluded in Europe in late November.^[1]

Setlist

This set list is representative of the performance in Rouen, France. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[5]

1. "Moral Kiosk"
2. "Pilgrimage"
3. "Laughing"
4. "Catapult"
5. "Talk About the Passion"
6. "7 Chinese Bros."
7. "Sitting Still"
8. "Wolves, Lower"
9. "Gardening at Night"
10. "Harborcoat"
11. "9-9"
12. "Pretty Persuasion"
13. "Windout"
14. "Just a Touch"
15. "West of the Fields"
16. "Radio Free Europe"
17. "1,000,000"
18. "We Walk"
19. "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)"

Tour dates

Little America Tour

R.E.M. returned to Europe in April 1984, this time in support of their second studio album, Reckoning, with a tour titled the "Little America tour" ("Little America" being a track on the album).^[1] They tour their homeland between June and November, before visiting Asia for the first time in mid-November. This was followed with a few more shows in the UK and Norway during late November and early January 1985.^[1]

Setlist

This set list is representative of the performance in Rouen, France. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[6]

1. "Second Guessing"
2. "Harborcoat"
3. "Pilgrimage"
4. "Hyena"
5. "7 Chinese Bros."
6. "Letter Never Sent"
7. "So. Central Rain"
8. "Talk About the Passion"
9. "Driver 8"
10. "Sitting Still"
11. "Gardening at Night"
12. "Radio Free Europe"
13. "9-9"
14. "Windout"
15. "Old Man Kensey"
16. "Pretty Persuasion"
17. "Just a Touch"
18. "Little America"
19. "Pale Blue Eyes" (The Velvet Underground cover)
20. "Femme Fatale" (The Velvet Underground cover)
21. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"
22. "1,000,000"
23. "Moon River" (Henry Mancini cover)
24. "We Walk"
25. "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)"

Tour dates

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Reconstruction Tour

A "Pre-Construction" tour in April and May took the band around several eastern states. After the release of Fables of the Reconstruction in June, the band traveled to Europe. The following month, they returned to North America for a two-month tour. The "Reconstruction I" tour began in Oregon in July and ended in New Jersey in August.^[1]

October's "Reconstruction II" tour took the band back to Europe, beginning in the Netherlands and ending in Scotland.^[1]

In November, "Reconstruction III" commenced in Colorado.^[1]

Setlist

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[10]

1. "Feeling Gravity's Pull"
2. "Green Grow the Rushes"
3. "Maps and Legends"
4. "Harborcoat"
5. "Hyena"
6. "Driver 8"
7. "Fall on Me"
8. "Good Advices"
9. "Sitting Still"
10. "So. Central Rain"
11. "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
12. "Can't Get There From Here"
13. "7 Chinese Bros."
14. "Auctioneer"
15. "Old Man Kensey"
16. "Pretty Persuasion"
17. "Life and How to Live It"
18. "Little America"
19. "Talk About the Passion"
20. "Second Guessing"
21. "Gardening at Night"
22. "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"
23. "Toys In the Attic" (Aerosmith cover)
24. "Tired of Singing Trouble"
25. "Theme From Two Steps Onward"
26. "See No Evil" (Television cover)

Pageantry Tour

"Pageantry Tour", in support of Lifes Rich Pageant.

Setlist

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[11]

1. "These Days"
2. "Harborcoat"
3. "Hyena"
4. "Sitting Still"
5. "The One I Love"
6. "Shaking Through"
7. "Feeling Gravity's Pull"
8. "The Flowers of Guatemala"
9. "Maps and Legends"
10. "Driver 8"
11. "I Believe"
12. "Swan Swan H"
13. "7 Chinese Bros."
14. "Superman" (The Clique cover)
15. "Can't Get There From Here"
16. "Old Man Kensey"
17. "Pretty Persuasion"
18. "Auctioneer"
19. "Cuyahoga"
20. "Fall on Me"
21. "Little America"
22. "Just a Touch"
23. "Strange" (Wire cover)
24. "Begin the Begin"
25. "Oddfellows Local 151"
26. "Funtime" (Iggy Pop cover)
27. "So. Central Rain"

Work Tour

"Work Tour", in support of the album Document.^[1] R.E.M. did not perform any shows throughout the following year, and signed to Warner Bros. for the release of their sixth studio album, Green. R.E.M. remained with Warner Bros. until their breakup in 2011.

Setlist

The typical setlist for the tour consisted of:^[12]

1. "Finest Worksong"
2. "These Days"
3. "Welcome to the Occupation"
4. "Exhuming McCarthy"
5. "Orange Crush"
6. "Feeling Gravity's Pull"
7. "Disturbance at the Heron House"
8. "King of Birds"
9. "I Believe"
10. "Cuyahoga"
11. "Driver 8"
12. "Sitting Still"
13. "Superman" (The Clique cover)
14. "Oddfellows Local 151"
15. "Pretty Persuasion"
16. "It's the End of the World as We Know It"
17. "Auctioneer"
18. "Begin the Begin"
19. "The Flowers of Guatemala"
20. "Fall on Me"
21. "Just a Touch"
22. "Strange" (Wire cover)
23. "The One I Love"
24. "Pop Song '89"
25. "See No Evil" (Television cover)
26. "Harpers" (Hugo Largo cover)
27. "Crazy" (Pylon cover)

Green Tour

R.E.M.'s first major tour, as well as their biggest most visually developed tour to date, featured back-projections and art films playing on the stage during the band's shows. The tour featured Peter Holsapple of the dB's as an auxiliary musician on guitar, keys and vocals as needed. Subsequent tours would further feature backing musicians assuming instrumental roles, especially after Bill Berry's departure in 1997.

The final show of the tour, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, featured the band performing their first full-length album, Murmur in order, from start to finish, followed by Green in order, from start to finish. The night was concluded by an encore set performed by Mike & the Melons with Michael Stipe fronting the road crew. It marked the only live performance of "The Wrong Child", and one of the few live performances of "Hairshirt".

A concert video called Tourfilm is a compilation of footage from various locations on these tours.

R.E.M. would not tour again until 1995, following the release of Monster the previous year.

The typical setlist consisted of:^[13]

1. "Pop Song '89"
2. "Welcome to the Occupation"
3. "Exhuming McCarthy"
4. "The One I Love"
5. "Turn You Inside Out"
6. "Disturbance at the Heron House"
7. "Orange Crush"
8. "Feeling Gravity's Pull"
9. "Belong"
10. "Sitting Still"
11. "World Leader Pretend"
12. "These Days"
13. "Stand"
14. "Pretty Persuasion"
15. "I Believe"
16. "Get Up"
17. "Begin the Begin"
18. "Auctioneer"
19. "It's The End of the World as We Know It"
20. "Fall on Me"
21. "King of Birds"
22. "Crazy" (Pylon cover)
23. "You Are the Everything"
24. "Finest Worksong"
25. "Perfect Circle"
26. "Dark Globe" (Syd Barrett cover)
27. "Harpers" (Hugo Largo cover)
28. "See No Evil" (Television cover)
29. "After Hours" (The Velvet Underground cover)

Monster Tour ("Aneurysm '95 Tour")

After refusing to tour in support of their two previous releases, Out of Time and Automatic for the People, the band agreed to tour in support of Monster. The tour was critically and commercially successful, though a handful of shows were either cancelled or postponed due to health problems associated with the band members.^[2]

The concert video Road Movie is a compilation of footage taken from the final three nights of the tour, in Atlanta.

New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the band's tenth studio album, was released in 1996 without a supporting tour, though a handful of material was performed during this tour, either during soundcheck or the actual show. Eight-track recorders were brought to capture its shows, and used the recordings as the base elements for that album.

This was the final tour to feature Bill Berry, though he briefly reunited with them during a show in 2003. This was also the first tour to feature involvement from Seattle-based multi-instrumentalist Scott McCaughey, who remained active with the group on recordings of albums from New Adventures in Hi-Fi to Collapse Into Now, as well as subsequent tours.

Set list

This set list is representative of the performance in Mexico City and does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.