Wednesday, July 20, 2022

R.E.M. 1995-02-04 International Convention Center Taipei, Taiwan

R.E.M.
February 4, 1995
International Convention Center
Taipei, Taiwan

Disc One (1:01:59):
01. What's the Frequency, Kenneth? - 4:10
02. Crush With Eyeliner - 4:41
03. Circus Envy - 4:42
04. Near Wild Heaven - 3:56
05. Try Not to Breathe - 4:03
06. You - 5:33
07. Welcome to the Occupation - 3:12
08. I Don't Sleep, I Dream -  4:28
09. Revolution -  3:28
10. Tongue - 4:49
11. Man On the Moon - 5:50
12. Half a World Away - 4:04
13. Country Feedback  - 5:30
14. Losing My Religion (cut & spliced) - 3:28

Disc Two (50:26):
01. Me In Honey - 4:21
02. I Took Your Name - 4:28
03. Orange Crush - 3:50
04. Get Up - 3:08
05. Finest Worksong - 3:53
06. Star 69 - 3:18
Encores:
07. Let Me In - 3:59
08. Everybody Hurts - 7:00
09. Turn You Inside-Out - 4:30
10. Introductions - 1:48
11. Bang And Blame - 5:07
12. It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - 5:02

Source:
Analog audience [Aiwa clip-on mic >Aiwa portable cassette recorder]

Lineage:
Master cassette >HDD via M-Audio Audiophile 2496 @16/44.1 >Soundforge 6.0 and Wavelab with Wave plug-ins >Cdwave >CDR >EAC (secure) >Trader's Little Helper >FLAC (Level 6, ASB)

Notes:
This was my first relatively successful audience recording. I didn't have the best mic, but the recorder was excellent and the position was perfect, right behind the board in the first row of Section 2.
I recorded this expecting to give it a spot listen and probably throw it out, so my friends and I weren't completely silent between songs like a serious taper would be. However, it sounded unexpectedly good when I played it back, and I started trading copies to others hungry for a recording from the present "Monster" tour. No one complained about the quality, and soon I had amassed a neat little collection of bootlegs in return. These positive experiences with recording and trading inspired my acquisition the following year of DAT equipment and subsequent heavy trading in that medium.

Since I've never felt like this was a stellar recording I hadn't traded it since that initial period during the tour. I later went back and did what I could to bring out the audio (short of using EQ, which I believe is a personal thing), and am pleased to share it here for the first time in a digital format. I have no idea where I filed the FLAC files away, so this is from an EAC rip of my audio discs.

As far as shows go this one was quite festive and spirited as it took place during the Chinese New Year period. Michael even greets the crowd with a "xin nian kuai le" (happy New Year) in Mandarin, and the crowd responds appreciatively. Many people left their seats to stand or dance in the large space between the front row and the stage, and both the band and security welcomed that, elevating the mood further.

Although Stipey optimistically states that the band would be back some day, this marks the only appearance to date of R.E.M. in Taiwan.

For playback, I suggest boosting the bass and notching the mid-range (3K-12K) down a few dB. I didn't do that on the transfer so you can play with the audio yourself.

-Milesian
April 2009

 

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