Probably the biggest name at the time was R.E.M. But also, Natalie Merchant, then still with 10,000 Maniacs, had a prominent role. Another key figure was Steven Wynn. Some others were involved. I will get to them a minute.
Perhaps it's a bit of a stretch to call it "R.E.M.," since most of the time it was just lead singer Michael Stipe and lead guitarist Peter Buck. But they were joined for the last three songs by bassist Mike Mills. So the only one missing was drummer Bill Berry. But that makes sense, since this was a drum-free acoustic performance (for the most part). Note that, at the time, it was pretty much unheard of for any members of R.E.M. to perform in acoustic mode. Later, R.E.M. did do some acoustic sessions, but they were rarely as stripped down as this.
If you haven't heard of Steve Wynn, he lead the band the Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989, then had a long solo career (and band reunions) after that. Here's his Wikipedia page:
Steve Wynn (musician) - Wikipedia
Also, this was a concert where everyone involved was clearly having fun and letting it all hang out, performing songs they otherwise would never or rarely have performed in concert. The venue, McCabe's Guitar Shop, has a lot to do with that. I've come across other concerts here that had various guest stars drop in and play some pretty random things, even decades after this. (Robyn Hitchcock, for instance, has played many interesting concerts here, with lots of guests.) It seems the people at the venue must have encouraged this format. The fact that the place is in Los Angeles, where many other musical people live or pass through, and the fact that it's so small, with room for only a hundred or two people, also must factor in. Many concerts here are less like normal concerts and more like a bunch of friends hanging out and playing music.
One downside to us listeners is that because the venue is so small, it's very rare to get bootleg recordings. After all, what are the odds of there being a bootlegger in a concert of two hundred people compared to one in a concert of 20,000 people? And when there are bootlegs, they typically are audience boots, that sometimes don't sound that good. That's why I haven't posted many concerts from this venue, even though they often are really special musically. But this one is a lucky exception, because it generally sounds very good as well. I say "generally" because I took this from three different sources, and some sources sound better than others. But a lot of it is at a soundboard level.
Getting back to who took part, as you can see in the artist name for this album, most of the songs involved Steve Wynn, R.E.M., and Natalie Merchant, solo and in various combinations. But there were others too. For instance, Peter Case played a few songs with Peter Buck of R.E.M. Case had been the main singer songwriter for the Plimsouls for much of the 1980s, but that band had broken up by the time of this concert. He soon settled into a long career in more of a folkie mode instead.
Jenny Homer is not well known, but she was a member of the band Downy Mildew. In 1987, the year of this concert, they put out their debut album. Here's the Wikipedia entry for that band:
Downy Mildew (band) - Wikipedia
Kendra Smith was a founding member of the Dream Syndicate, the band I mentioned above that was led by Steve Wynn. But she left after just a couple of years to join a new band, Opal. She must have stayed on good terms with Wynn though, considering they sang a duet here. She later became a solo artist. Here's here Wikipedia page:
This is not all of the concert. I've included a text file that lists all the songs known to have been performed. I included most of what I was able to find. If anyone has more, please let me know. But there also was some that I didn't include because the sound quality wasn't as good as the rest. Plus, there actually was an early show and a late show, with similar set lists. I combined them into one show, since I only had pieces here and there. The band Downy Mildew and Opal performed short sets in both shows, but none of that is here.
I can't emphasize how unique and interesting this is, especially if you're an R.E.M. fan or Natalie Merchant fan. Just getting to hear their songs in acoustic mode is special. But also both of those acts did a lot of strange cover songs. Take track 39, prominently featuring Stipe and Merchant. It's a cover of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" while "Sunday Morning" by Margo Guryan was sung at the same time!
Nearly all of this is unreleased. However, "Maps and Legends" and "The One I Love" were released by R.E.M. on the B-side to their single of "It's the End of the World as I Know It (And I Feel Fine)."
This album is an hour and 52 minutes long.
01 talk (emcee)
02 talk (Steve Wynn)
03 Merritville (Steve Wynn)
04 talk (Steve Wynn)
05 Drinking Problem (Steve Wynn)
06 One More Cup of Coffee [Valley Below] (Steve Wynn with Bob Forres)
07 talk (Steve Wynn)
08 Days of Wine and Roses (Steve Wynn)
09 talk (Steve Wynn)
10 Solitary Man (Steve Wynn & Russ Tolman)
11 Walk, Don't Run - Baby, Please Don't Go (Peter Case & Peter Buck)
12 A Million Miles Away (Peter Case & Peter Buck)
13 talk (Peter Case & Peter Buck)
14 Sad Eyes (Peter Case & Peter Buck)
15 talk (emcee)
16 talk (Natalie Merchant)
17 The Fat Lady of Limbourg (Natalie Merchant)
18 talk (Natalie Merchant)
19 Don't Talk (Natalie Merchant)
20 talk (Natalie Merchant)
21 Hello Stranger (Natalie Merchant, Jenny Homer & Michael Stipe)
22 The Wind, the Wind (Natalie Merchant)
23 talk (Natalie Merchant)
24 Verdi Cries (Natalie Merchant)
25 talk (emcee)
26 The One I Love (Michael Stipe & Peter Buck)
27 talk (Michael Stipe)
28 Welcome to the Occupation (Michael Stipe & Peter Buck)
29 talk (Michael Stipe)
30 Disturbance at the Heron House (Michael Stipe & Peter Buck)
31 talk (Michael Stipe)
32 Finest Worksong (Michael Stipe & Peter Buck)
33 talk (Michael Stipe)
34 Maps and Legends (Michael Stipe & Peter Buck)
35 talk (Michael Stipe)
36 Harpers (Michael Stipe)
37 talk (Michael Stipe)
38 Damaged Goods (Michael Stipe, Peter Buck & Natalie Merchant)
39 Leaving on a Jet Plane - Sunday Morning (Everyone)
40 talk (Steve Wynn)
41 50 in a 25 Zone (Steve Wynn)
42 How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Killing Time (Steve Wynn)
43 talk (Steve Wynn)
44 See that My Grave Is Kept Clean (Steve Wynn & Peter Buck)
45 Stagefright (Steve Wynn)
46 talk (Steve Wynn)
47 Too Little, Too Late (Steve Wynn & Kendra Smith)
48 More than a Pay Cheque (Natalie Merchant, Jenny Homer & Kendra Smith)
49 Hear the Wind Blow (Kendra Smith & Natalie Merchant)
50 A Campfire Song (Natalie Merchant)
51 The Counting Song [Wheel of Fortune] (Michael Stipe & Natalie Merchant)
52 Stretch My Hand (Michael Stipe & Peter Buck)
53 Spooky (Michael Stipe, Peter Buck & Mike Mills)
54 Fever (Michael Stipe, Peter Buck & Mike Mills)
55 So. Central Rain (Michael Stipe, Peter Buck & Mike Mills)
https://pixeldrain.com/u/oK2JXY1J
alternate:
https://bestfile.io/en/l9qtjCKS16se9Ft/file
The cover photo appears to be promotional material for this exact concert. I changed the white text at the bottom.
Kendal Smith very quickly disappears from the music scene and recordings of her are rare and within a very short time span. So, as you say, this set is even more interesting to Kendra Smith/Opal/Mazzy Star fans.
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