Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy play R.E.M.’s Fables of the Reconstruction at First Avenue (March 12, 2025)

Tour Dates

• March 13 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
• March 14 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
• March 15 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE

If I told you a cover band was performing at First Avenue, what would be your first thought? That it was a joke? That they had to be the first opener on a long list of performers? And if I said they were headlining? You might laugh me out of the room. But, in fact, that is exactly what happened, as Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy led an R.E.M. cover band, with a play through of Fables of the Reconstruction and much more.

Dave Hill got things started. The comedian and musician was basically a comedy routine. He started by imploring the crowd not to chant “Dave, Dave, Dave”, which became a recurring bit that the crowd leaned into repeatedly. He grabbed a guitar and sort of performed some cover songs, including a short section of Sweet Home Alabama. It couldn’t have been five minutes of music before it quickly turned back to the comedy.

An extended set of new ad campaigns for Dollar Tree were brilliantly mean (“Dollar Tree, that’s not MY crystal meth”) and then transitioned to a riff on Guitar Center. After making fun of places people from the crowd mentioned, he did a song on pick up lines “that only work in Minneapolis”. Suddenly with a backing band of drums and bass, he played a funk style rock song that also had Hill ripping on said band. The pick up lines were surprisingly topical for Minneapolis, such as “Are you the Metro Blue Line? Because I would like to ride you entirely free of charge”. (Side note: Saint Paul’s was more brutal and not really repeatable here.) Like all good comics, the jokes built upon themselves, but with the added layer of the music, this was a pretty brilliant bit. Turns out Dave has a street gang, and offered “gang patches” back in the merch booth. Ending his time on stage with a story about his recent first fist fight as a very extended song, Dave Hill nailed an excellent opening set.

I briefly spoke with Hill after his set. Being more recognized as a comedian, I asked what itch does music scratch for him. Hill said he actually started with music first and for a long time kept them separate. He had opportunities to be in places with house bands and after a while started playing solo while telling jokes. He considers it “fun like skateboarding, and it adds a layer of chaos”. Selfishly, it also lets him do what he wants to, and it seems almost magical that crowds respond to it and find it unique. He gets to entertain himself while entertaining others, and as Hill headed off towards the merch table he quipped, “it’s working out so far”.

The headliners are each better known for other projects. Michael Shannon is obviously known as an actor, having appeared in the show Boardwalk Empire and in movies like Knives Out, The Shape of Water and the underrated Premium Rush, as well as shows on Broadway. Jason Narducy has been involved with numerous bands, backing Bob Mould as bassist for twenty years, doing the same for Superchunk for more than ten years, and leading his own band Split Single.

This cover band act could absolutely be a gimmick; famous actor who can do a good impression of a pretty identifiable and idiosyncratic singer. But from my perspective, it was pretty obvious from the first few songs that Shannon cares about this band and its music, and that ultimately raises it up to “imitation being the sincerest form of flattery”. And the backing band has the chops to carry this. Besides Narducy, providing lead guitar and backing vocals, there’s fellow Mould and Superchunk performer Jon Wurster on drums, and the six performers are obviously very comfortable with each other. It turns out that Shannon and Narducy have been doing various cover music for a decade, before embarking on their first tour last year.

After a bit of banter about being happy to be in Minneapolis, Shannon noted that “there’s only one song left on A side” and took it back to the music with Old Man Kensey. Narducy got the chance to talk for a bit, who thanked the crew and also highlighted the fact that the band was supporting the Abortion Access Front and had a guest speaker for the group say a few words of support. After that interlude, the band moved to the B side of Fables, with the upbeat Can’t Get There from Here. Great drum work from Wurster had the crowd jumping along. If you glanced away from the stage for a bit, you could convince yourself it’s the actual R.E.M. you’re hearing, which is a testament to the band’s skill. Auctioneer (Another Engine) had Shannon all over the stage with the relentless bass and drum beat of the song. Wendell Gee completed the album and the first set in a more subdued fashion, with Narducy providing great harmonies.

I found it fascinating that Shannon was a mumbler during his banter. I couldn’t tell if that was remaining “in character”, some audio glitch or something else, but he bordered on unintelligible when speaking, while still being clear when singing. Femme Fatale (a Velvet Underground cover) was a great choice to end set one and let Shannon croon a bit at the end. After quickly returning to the stage to a kind word “Y’all make me want to move to Minneapolis”, the band jumped right back into things with the rocking Romance. Harborcoat got us a harmonica solo, and it was clear we were in for the long haul. Shannon brought a drum to play on a song (one-handed, for part of the song), which tracked with his intro comment of “I need a prop”. Wolves, Lower got a strong crowd reaction and rightfully so, and we got three of the five songs from R.E.M.’s debut EP Chronic Town ending that section with jangly 1,000,000.

After both band and crowd seemed to flag for just a moment, the energy rebounded with Disturbance at the Heron House. A little more rocking led to Second Guessing and the end of the second set. But this wasn’t over yet. The band came out for an extended, six song encore, including the great Radio Free Europe followed by Prince’s Raspberry Beret. The encore ended with Dave Hill joining the band to play an Aerosmith cover of Toys in the Attic. At over 30 songs, Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy had given the crowd everything they could have wanted.