by Roy Scopazzi
I remember hearing about Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy doing REM covers when they started at the Great American Music Hall and felt like it looked like a gimmicky novelty act from a decorated actor to perform songs he likes. Even after I heard about how they came to put this together, I wasn’t completely convinced that it would be any good. It took a few of my friends who went to that night to convince me to go see them at the Fillmore at their show in 2025, and I instantly saw what it was all about.
While this is, in fact, Michael Shannon doing a Michael Stipe impression, the range he can get is mighty impressive. It doesn’t feel chintzy or fake, there is real passion in every song he sings. The bonus of being able to see him from one year to the next is to see his voice improve as he sounds more and more like the real deal. If they continue this as a yearly tradition as they cover each of their albums as they reach their 40th anniversary, it’ll be interesting to see him tackle Document with It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Veteran comedian Bobcat Goldthwait was a laugh riot as he joked about aging, the political climate, and the absurdity of performing as a comedian to a rock audience.
