Veteran modern rock act R.E.M. has made a few changes in its fall North American tour.
The group, which kicked off its first world tour in four years June 21 in Utrecht, Holland, has added two dates and altered city and/or venue details for a handful of others on the North American leg of the outing, which will now get underway Aug. 29 in Vancouver.
That date and an Aug. 31 show in Missoula, Mont., both with Wilco opening, have been added to the itinerary. Among the other changes: a Sept. 28 show slated for Auburn Hills, Mich., will now be held in nearby Clarkston, Mich.; an Oct. 1 Philadelphia show has been moved from the Mann Center to the Liacouras Center; an Oct. 3-4 stand at New Jersey’s Liberty State Park will be replaced by shows at Wantagh, N.Y.’s Jones Beach Theater and New York’s Madison Square Garden; the Oct. 8 Washington, D.C., show will now take place at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., and an Oct. 9 engagement previously scheduled for Chapel Hill, N.C., has been shifted to nearby Raleigh the next day.
The tour will still conclude Oct. 11 at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena, about 70 miles west of the group’s Athens, Ga., home base.
In related tour news, R.E.M. is offering fans the opportunity to request songs for any date on the tour. The band – which has rehearsed over 70 songs for the tour – has set up a request form on its official Web site (http://www.remhq.com/html/tour/requests.html) inviting suggestions for setlists.
“Want to hear a specific song when the band plays in your town?,” reads a post on the site. “The band wants to know what you want to hear. Click on the show you are attending to e-mail the band what you want to hear, whether it’s a single song, or a whole setlist. Be careful what you ask for, because you might just hear it.”
And in other R.E.M. news, the band has set a title and release date for its long-anticipated greatest-hits album. Warner Bros. will release “In Time: The Best of R.E.M.: 1988-2003” Oct. 27 internationally and Oct. 28 in the U.S. The disc will feature two new songs, “Bad Day” and “Animal.”
Here Is R.E.M.’S Updated North American Tour Schedule:
- Aug. 29 – Vancouver – Thunderbird Stadium, w/ Wilco
- Aug. 31 – Missoula, Mont. – Adams Center, w/ Wilco
- Sept. 1 – Seattle – Bumbershoot Festival
- Sept. 3 – Portland, Ore. – New Amphitheater, w/ Wilco
- Sept. 6 – Mountain View, Calif. – Shoreline Amphitheater, w/ Wilco
- Sept. 7 – San Diego – Street Scene
- Sept. 10 – Los Angeles – Hollywood Bowl, w/ Wilco
- Sept. 11 – Las Vegas – Thomas and Mack Center, w/ Wilco
- Sept. 13-14 – Morrison, Colo. – Red Rocks, w/ Wilco
- Sept. 16 – Minneapolis – Xcel Energy Center, w/ Ed Harcourt
- Sept. 17 – Kansas City, Mo. – Starlight Theater, w/ Ed Harcourt
- Sept. 19 – Dallas – NextStage, w/ Ed Harcourt
- Sept. 20 – Houston – Mitchell Pavilion, w/ Ed Harcourt
- Sept. 21 – Austin, Texas – Austin City Limits Festival, w/ Ed Harcourt
- Sept. 23 – New Orleans – Lakefront Arena, w/ Sparklehorse
- Sept. 24 – Birmingham, Ala. – Oak Mountain Amphitheater, w/ Sparklehorse
- Sept. 26 – Chicago – United Center, w/ Sparklehorse
- Sept. 27 – Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio – Blossom Music Center, w/ Sparklehorse
- Sept. 28 – Clarkston, Mich. – DTE Energy Music Theater, w/ Sparklehorse
- Sept. 30 – Toronto – Air Canada Center, w/ Sparklehorse
- Oct. 1 – Philadelphia – Liacouras Center, w/ Pete Yorn – news
- Oct. 3 – Wantagh, N.Y. – Jones Beach Theater, w/ Pete Yorn
- Oct. 4 – New York – Madison Square Garden, w/ Sparklehorse
- Oct. 5 – Mansfield, Mass. – Tweeter Center, w/ Pete Yorn
- Oct. 8 – Washington, D.C. – Patriot Center, w/ Pete Yorn
- Oct. 10 – Raleigh, N.C. – Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek, w/ Pete Yorn
- Oct. 11 – Atlanta – Phillips Arena, w/ Pete Yorn