Michael Stipe played two short surprise sets last week at the newly renovated Webster Hall in New York. And they each boasted completely new material.
Opening for headliner Patti Smith on May 1st and May 2nd, the R.E.M. frontman packed three new songs into his abridged 15-minute sets. Assisted by past collaborator and musician/producer Andy LeMaster (Bright Eyes), Stipe performed tracks titled “Your Capricious Soul” and “Drive to the Ocean”. He also did an as-yet-untitled number which featured the line “showed up to a party box in my hand.”
(Read: Ranking: Every R.E.M. Album from Worst to Best)
These three songs were actually debuted at a benefit show last month at NYC’s American Museum of Natural History, but the Webster Hall gigs mark the first time they’ve been captured on video.
Check out fan-caught footage below.
Stipe previously teamed up with Rain Phoenix for a double A-side single featuring unreleased River Phoenix songs. He also contributed to a 2018 tribute album honoring… a dead cat.