Fans of different stripes (Stipes?) got their wishes on Thursday at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony where Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio covered Steely Dan and the four members of R.E.M. performed together for the first time in 17 years. Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck, and Bill Berry were inducted last night in New York City alongside non-performers Timbaland, Hillary Lindsey, and Dean Pitchford.
Hours after R.E.M. appeared on CBS saying the band would never reunite, the four founding members did just that at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. While they joked in their first group interview in nearly 30 years that it would take “a comet” to get them back together, the skies were clear and the ceiling was in-tact as Michael, Mike, Peter, and Bill took the stage for a stripped-down performance of “Losing My Religion”. The single-song showing marked their first performance together since their 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, and the acoustic nature of the performance—driven by Peter’s mandolin and Bill’s delicate hand percussion—gave even greater depth to the already historic moment.
R.E.M. — “Losing My Religion” — 6/13/24
[Video: Tina Eves]
Though this was their first performance together in 17 years, all four members were briefly onstage at the same time in February at an R.E.M. tribute show by actor Michael Shannon in the band’s hometown of Athens, GA. Prior to R.E.M.’s reunion, singer-songwriter Jason Isbell inducted the band and gave a speech extolling its influence on Southern outcasts growing up in the ’80s before covering “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”.
.@JasonIsbell introducing R.E.M. at the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony: “The songs they created served a real purpose for kids like me growing up in a small southern town.” pic.twitter.com/miEJlOvyCB
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) June 14, 2024
.@JasonIsbell was on hand to induct R.E.M. into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday night. He also performed “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” in honor of the band. pic.twitter.com/wUHev8XKtQ
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) June 14, 2024
Michael Stipe speaks at R.E.M.’s Songwriters Hall of Fame induction: “We are four people who very early on decided that we would own our own masters and split our royalties and songwriting credits equally. We were all for one and one for all.” pic.twitter.com/NAndbWJPAj
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) June 14, 2024
Trey Anastasio’s performance at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony was perhaps just as historic to fans of Phish as the R.E.M. reunion was to their devotees. After Steely Dan’s former manager Irving Azoff inducted Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker, the controversial rock n’ roll mogul introduced Anastasio by lauding his achievements at the Baker’s Dozen, playing 237 unique songs over 13 nights at Madison Square Garden in 2017, saying “The man knows great songs.”
Trey then emerged, Languedoc in hand, and offered a simple “Thanks so much” before the house band slid into the sleek, silky intro to “Kid Charlemagne”. Even the stoic crowd let out a few brief cheers as Anastasio dug into the Royal Scam classic, searing through the song with terrific tone in a guitar solo that led straight into a count-off for “Reelin’ In The Years”. Trey’s performance of the cascading guitar intro was the culmination of decades of dreaming by Phish fans, who have longed for the band to cover the Dan to no avail. Steely Dan has been a consistent request for Phish’s Halloween “costume” when the band covers an album in its entirety, though those hopes drift further and further away as Phish has committed instead to covering itself under various aliases and in alternate timelines.
Trey Anastasio — “Kid Charlemagne” (Steely Dan), “Reelin’ In The Years” (Steely Dan) — 6/13/24
[Video: The Canzone]
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