Pageantry Night #8
House of Blues, New Orleans, 2/24/26
The eight show of the Lifes Rich Pageant tour landed in New Orleans on Tuesday February 24th – the night of the State of the Union address. A year ago, I was in Washington D.C. for the Fables show at the 9:30 Club on the night of the SOTU. It was nice to have a joyful distraction again this year.
There were several firsts tonight. This was the first time the band brought their R.E.M. project to New Orleans. This was my first time at the House of Blues. A very special guest joined the band for “Nightswimming.” And this was the first time on tour that Jason joined Bobcat on stage to perform a Bono/U2-inspired version of the Village People’s “YMCA.”
Tonight was also the first time I’ve ever had to climb over a 3-1/2-foot banister when I needed to get into the photo pit. Hoping that doesn’t become a regular occurrence!
There were about 600 people packed into a very hot House of Blues. This was a really enthusiastic and joyful crowd. They sang along with song after song tonight. I chatted with several attendees before the show and heard wonderful stories about Pageant as an entry point into R.E.M. fandom and friendships forged and set with the help of these songs. The nostalgic pull of seeing these songs played again with those same friends is a recurring theme I’m encountering at every show.
The standout moment of the evening for me came when Michael Shannon invited his sister, Sarah, to the stage to play viola on “Nightswimming” at the start of the encore – it was a beautiful and heartfelt moment.
We were also treated to “New Orleans No. 1” from Automatic For the People at the start of set 2. This is the only time I believe I’ve heard that song played live and it was a wonderful surprise.
I am also really loving Vijay’s keyboard expertise and versatility – his playing on “Radio Free Europe” was a highlight tonight. To say that the entire band is good is an understatement. They were all amazing on the Fables tour and they sound tighter and elevated as the Pageant tour progresses. It’s truly a joy to hear Michael Shannon sing each night. I said it last year and it still hold true – he manages to walk the line between embodying the elements of Michael Stipe that make these songs so good and iconic, yet he’s able to bring his own energy and personality to these performances in a way that represent what’s so unique about this project.
Athens is next.
