Three-quarters of R.E.M. — Peter Buck, Mike Mills and drummer-turned-farmer Bill Berry — reunited onstage tonight in Portland, Ore., at the second of two benefit concerts for Scott McCaughey, the longtime R.E.M. sideman who suffered a stroke in November.
Like Friday night’s concert, tonight’s show at the Wonder Ballroom saw McCaughey return to the stage with Filthy Friends, the band he plays in with Buck and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney. And like the first show, the second night saw an R.E.M. mini-set by Buck and Mills — but this time, they were joined by Berry.
The former R.E.M. bandmates played “I Believe,” with Colin Meloy of The Decemberists on lead vocals, plus “Superman,” “Texarkana,” “The One I Love,” “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville” and “You Are the Everything,” featuring The Shins’ James Mercer on vocals.
Berry, who quit R.E.M. following New Adventures in Hi-Fi, has reunited onstage with his bandmates a few times over the years, though since the group disbanded in 2011, they’ve seemingly made a point of never fully reuniting, even when all four members are present.
Below, check out video and photos of the 3/4 reunion of R.E.M. for their friend Scott McCaughey.
And if you’d like to contribute to McCaughey’s recovery fund, visit GoFundMe.com.
Just had a bit of an unexpectedly emotional response to seeing Bill Berry join James Mercer, Peter Buck @m_millsey on You Are the Everything. #helpthehoople pic.twitter.com/62qBsRoCUG
— Chris Dorr (@chdorrPDX) January 7, 2018
That was sooooo great!
3/4 of R.E.M. reuniting. Usually only grading on a curve is when 75% equals an A+.
100% fun = healing for Scott! Thanks for sharing the good vibes.