OLDER R.E.M. STILL A BAND TO RECKON WITH.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer Moments before the lights went down on R.E.M.'s Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheatre at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, California, USA, that is used primarily for music performances. The "bowl" in this context is the natural cavity in the earth into which the amphitheater is built, rather than the shape of the performance Wednesday night, an exhausted Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (born January 4, 1960 in Decatur, Georgia) is the lead singer of the American rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known (and occasionally parodied) for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and leaned against bandmate Peter Buck For New Zealand Maori leader and academic, see . Peter Lawrence Buck (born 6 December, 1956 in Berkeley, California) is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe of the alternative rock band R.E.M.. He is the oldest member of the band. and sighed. Stipe had spent nearly two hours thrashing, singing and draining himself on stage, and the always-frail-looking singer appeared to be spent. The enigmatic vocalist had a sporadic evening, alternately sounding like the aging rock star he's become and the fresh-voiced kid who wowed audiences for much of the band's 23-year existence. ``I hit a few bad notes now and then,'' he'd panted before introducing the previous tune, the new, country-laced ``Final Straw.'' ``But I'm a pretty good guy.'' His throwaway throwaway See for your information (FYI). comment summed up the evening perfectly. Stipe knows his voice occasionally falters when he reaches for high notes he once comfortably wrapped around. Though still energetic on stage, he came across as flat on ``Fall on Me'' and confused on ``Imitation of Life.'' But for shining moments like the encore performance of ``Everybody Hurts'' and another new tune, ``Animal,'' he is, indeed, still a pretty good guy to have in a band. That final sigh behind him, he reached back for the youthful energy that's propelled him, and the band, since 1980. He jumped to life at the rattletrap rat·tle·trap n. A rickety, worn-out vehicle. rattletrap Noun Informal a broken-down old vehicle opening of the band's classic ``It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),'' and sang himself nearly hoarse. Providing a satisfying cap to the evening, he danced his way completely into the audience and belted out the lyrics with passion, putting aside his shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
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