Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy at Summit Denver

There are certain albums that just wire themselves into your DNA, and for me, REM’s Life’s Rich Pageant has always been one of those records. So walking into the Summit to see Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy perform the album front to back felt equal parts exciting and slightly dangerous. You don’t really want one of your favorite records messed with.

Thankfully, they absolutely got it.

The thing everyone says first about these shows is true: Michael Shannon sounds shockingly like Michael Stipe. Not in a gimmicky impersonation way, either. More like he somehow channels the same nervous energy and strange emotional phrasing that made those songs work in the first place. There were moments where you could close your eyes and suddenly feel transported back into peak mid-80s REM territory.

And honestly, the whole thing worked because it never felt overly precious.

This wasn’t a sterile “classic album performed by famous people” situation. It felt like a bunch of music nerds completely losing themselves inside songs they genuinely love. Jason Narducy kept things moving with that easy, lived-in indie-rock chemistry he always seems to bring to projects like this, and the backing band was stacked with players who clearly understood that REM’s power was never about technical perfection. It was about tension, momentum and heart.

Life’s Rich Pageant especially holds up in that environment because it still sounds restless. Loud guitars, political anxiety, hooks buried inside chaos – somehow both scrappy and huge at the same time. Songs like “These Days” and “Fall On Me” (my favorite) still hit hard, while “Cuyahoga” managed to feel even more beautiful live than it already does on record.

One of the best moments of the night came when Shannon talked about his connections to Colorado and brought family members onstage to sing along for a few songs. It shifted the vibe from “tribute concert” into something even warmer and more personal.

And before any of that even started, Bobcat Goldthwait opened the show, which honestly felt so random enough on paper that I wasn’t sure it would work. Usually comedy before a concert can be awkward, but he somehow fit perfectly with the vibe of the night. Instead of leaning on the old chaotic persona many people remember, he mostly told stories from life experience, aging, and working on the Jimmy Kimmel show. He was so funny. Not nostalgia funny. Very very very humanly funny.

That ended up being the thread connecting the whole evening – artists revisiting the things they love without trying to recreate the past perfectly. Just sharing it with a room full of people who still love it too.

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Bobcat Goldthwait

Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy & Friends

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Greeblehaus is a Denver-based music and travel blog sharing concert photography, reviews, and stories from live music across Colorado and beyond. You can find more upcoming shows in our Denver concert calendar.