In what’s believed to be the earliest pro-shot footage of R.E.M in concert: a 50-minute live set filmed on October. 10th, 1982, for broadcast on TV by a South Carolina station about six months before the release of the band’s debut, Murmur.
As you can see below, the setlist, to no surprise, is heavy on songs from the Chronic Town EP and Murmur, and includes “Ages of You,” which wouldn’t surface until the Dead Letter Office compilation was released in 1987. Watch for the band’s producer, Mitch Easter, and future fifth member Peter Holsapple to pop on stage, and certainly stick around for the reggae-like jam labeled as “Skank” that closes the set.
Watch the full performance from The Pier in Raleigh, N.C.
This was filmed less than two months after “Chronic Town” was released on I.R.S.Records and it’s an outstanding document. It is also the earliest known professionally show footage of an R.E.M. show.
The setlist:
1. Wolves, Lower 0:52
2. Laughing 5:41
3. 1,000,000 9:46
(NOTE: Mitch Easter, who produced “Chronic Town” as well as “Murmur” and “Reckoning” (with Don Dixon), joins the band on guitar)
4. Moral Kiosk 13:07
5. Catapult 16:25
6. West of the Fields 20:14
7. Radio Free Europe 23:15
8. Ages of You 27:59
(NOTE: Originally intended for “Chronic Town”, replaced by “Wolves, Lower” at the request of Miles Copeland, later turned up on “Dead Letter Office”)
9. We Walk 31:45
10. Carnival of Sorts (Box Cars) 35:38
(NOTE: As identified by peechpanda in the comments section, Peter Holsapple appears to join the band on guitar for this song)
11. Skank (Jam) 40:25
The Fat Angel Sings 