R.E.M. Breaks Up

This first ran with my review on Jambase.com

After 31 years, R.E.M. has called it quits. On their website they posted this note: "To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening." R.E.M. 

In honor of the group, the music they gave the world, the progress they made for gay artists, and the sanity frontman Michael Stipe helped Thom Yorke of Radiohead find, I have linked to a review of their live show I published a few years back. I've also included a few of the photos that didn't make the cut the first time around.

This one's for the Man On The Moon...