Sometimes a passion project can turn into a full-blown phenomenon.
So it’s gone for actor Michael Shannon, who’s had roles in films including “Knives Out,” “Revolutionary Road” and “The Shape of Water,” with a booming decades-long career in Hollywood. He’s also a big fan of classic and alternative rock, which led him to collaborate on shows with musician Jason Narducy. In 2024, those shows turned into a tour when they took college rock band R.E.M’s album “Murmur” on the road — and they’ve stuck to the Georgia outfit’s extensive discography ever since.
Monday night saw Shannon and Narducy’s first show in the Pittsburgh area when they played more than two dozen R.E.M. songs at Mr. Smalls Theater in Millvale, including the entirety of the band’s fourth studio album, 1986’s “Lifes Rich Pageant.”
But before Shannon and Narducy took the stage with the rest of their band, comedian Bobcat Goldthwait — with his own storied career — came up to do a loose and hilarious half-hour-long set on politics, Juggalos, concussions and even a little music. He wrapped with a U2-ified version of The Village People’s “YMCA” with Narducy accompanying on guitar.
Shannon and Narducy began their ambitious set with the track list of “Lifes Rich Pageant,” a tight 12 tracks that range from college rock ragers to more meditative tunes. Shannon’s voice allows for a great impression of R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe’s, with its often shouty drawl. Stipe, in fact, joined the band for two songs just this past weekend in Brooklyn.
In second track “These Days,” the whole band rippled with energy, especially drummer Jon Wurster. The song is anthemic, a kind of statement of purpose that lifted Shannon’s voice over the singing crowd. The brief “Underneath the Buner” found Shannon and Narducy doing a little dance together during the instrumental start.
Narducy stopped to shout out two CMU students whose car broke down right near the spot where the band’s van broke down on Sunday right outside New York City. The kids even brought over sandwiches that they shared with the band — and they were present in the audience at Monday night’s show.
Another highlight from “Lifes Rich Pageant” was “I Believe,” a song that allowed all of the band’s members to shine. “Just A Touch” found Shannon raising his voice to a high growl to keep pace with the racing drums and ripping guitar. They wrapped the album with the harmonic “Superman.”
After briefly pretending that was the end of the show, Shannon and all the other band members returned to play almost 20 more songs, hopping tempos and albums effortlessly.
They dipped from the groovy, keyboard-heavy later R.E.M song “Lotus” to one of the band’s earliest tunes, “Gardening at Night.” Shannon introduced “Burning Down” as being “for the die-hards,” And the movie star’s acting chops heightened the spoken word-heavy “E-Bow is the Letter” from the 1996 album “New Adventures in Hi-Fi.”
And Shannon introduced each new song with an anecdote or observation, showing off a deep love and knowledge of R.E.M.’s whole catalogue.
Narducy pulled out a mandolin to play “You are the Everything,” a campfire-ready song that was a highlight of the second set. Then Shannon pretended, once again, that they were calling it a night before leaping into sweeping track “The Great Beyond.”
Instead, they rocked a six-song encore.
Even for R.E.M. newcomers, the vocal-and-keyboard ballad “Nightswimming” would’ve been familiar. Shannon was vocally killing it all night, but this was a highlight; it also served as a showcase for keyboardist Vijay Tellis-Nayak. “Country Feedback” also impressed, an anxious and building tune that once again allowed Shannon to emote. Toward the end, he held one wailing note long enough to earn cheers from the crowd.
“Radio Free Europe” was the single that started it all for R.E.M. in 1981, and the Mr. Smalls crowd got to hear it performed expertly as the penultimate song of the even
“It really has been an honor to be here,” Shannon said before wrapping up with one last song. “I was here like 20 years ago, and I was on Carson Street on the South Side and I saw Krist Novoselic walking down the sidewalk. That’s my Pittsburgh memory.”
They went out with a bang with “Star 69” from the 1994 album “Monster,” ending on a high note without a doubt.
Not all actors-turned-musicians are created equal, but Michael Shannon has a dozen more R.E.M. albums to choose from for next year’s tour — and hopefully Pittsburgh makes the cut for that one too.