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R.E.M. - The Bowery, Oklahoma City September 15, 1984

Track listing:
  1. Route 66 4:09
  2. Wolves Lower 5:17
  3. Harbourcoat 3:51
  4. Time After Time 3:32
  5. Femme Fatale 2:58
  6. Sitting Still 3:17
  7. Pilgramage 4:17
  8. Hyena 2:54
  9. Talk About The Passion 3:12
  10. 7 Chinese Bros 4:48
  11. So Central Rain 3:10
  12. Just A Touch 2:34
  13. Pretty Persuasion 4:20
  14. Kohoutek 3:53
  15. 9-9 2:52
  16. Wind Out 2:48
  17. Old Man Kensey 3:49
  18. Radio Free Europe 3:39
  19. Moon River 1:47
  20. Unknown Title 2:03
  21. Ghost Riders In The Sky 2:27
  22. We Walk 4:16
  23. Little America 2:47

Notes

R.E.M.
The Bowery
Oklahoma City, OK
September 15, 1984
(Audience Master)

Taper: mjk5510
Recording: Sony ECM939T Mic > Sony D6
Transfer: Audience Master > Nakamichi DR-1 (azimuth adjusted) > MacBook Pro > Audacity > Peak Pro XT (speed correction / volume smoothing / edit / subtle tweak / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

01 Route 66
02 Wolves, Lower
03 Harbourcoat
04 Time After Time (Annelise)
05 Femme Fatale
06 Sitting Still
07 Pilgrimage
08 Hyena
09 Talk About The Passion
10 7 Chinese Bros.
11 So. Central Rain
12 Just A Touch
13 Pretty Persuasion
14 Kohoutek
15 9-9
16 Wind Out
17 Old Man Kensey
18 Radio Free Europe
19 Moon River
20 Unknown Title
21 Ghost Riders In The Sky
22 We Walk
23 Little America

The first transfer of my master tape I did about 8 years ago and was never pleased with the way it turned out. Originally done on subpar equipment with little transfer knowledge. This is a show I've been wanting to re-visit for a long time with improved equipment and knowledge. I finally found the time to put into it and offer up the results. It is a huge upgrade over my previous transfer.

In the early 1980's the original Bowery was located in a basement, low ceiling, no circulation, typical early 1980's punk/new wave club. Sometime in mid-1984 The Bowery re-located to the old St. John's Episcopal Church on N. Classen in Oklahoma City. Best known for being the venue The Replacements cassette only release "Sh*t Hits The Fan" which was recorded by the club DJ, confiscated by the band and then released. No seats, standing room only with a standing only balcony that wrapped around the room, but in comparison it was like Carnegie Hall.
On any given night you could find any number of local bands playing, when R.E.M rolled through on Saturday, September 15th, during the second leg of their "Little America" Tour it was packed from front to back, top to bottom.

I captured the show about 20 feet back, dead center with very little room to operate. I felt like a sitting duck having to hold the mic above the crowd to get any kind of capture. At one point I was spotted by a couple of folks in the catwalk balcony as they pointed my way but fortunately they appeared to be fellow fans so there was no mad dash after the show to pass the tape to a friend. You can also hear a guy at the start comment "oh, another bootlegger huh"...stealth was a challenge in that atmosphere.

The Bowery continued to host shows until 1985 when it was sold, it was bulldozed in 2007.

This was the first of 4 times I would record R.E.M. between 1984 - 1988 and still stands as one of my favorite shows. From the opening notes of "Route 66" in a nod to their location to the closing "Little America" this is classic R.E.M from start to finish.

The torrent includes custom made covers, a photo of Stipe from this show and a few bits of The Bowery memorabilia.

Big thanks to E from JEMS for the continued use of the Nakamichi DR-1 while my deck sits in the shop.

mjk5510