Stipe @ Mr Kyps Poole, Jun 11th 2005				Review by Alan Burridge
	Stipe - REM Tribute “Why aren’t you at the Isle of Wight festival seeing the real thing?” Rick (Michael Stipe) Southern asked. Well, for me it’s the latrines. The finely tuned system of youth is no longer capable of estimating it’ll be ripe after shuffling behind a queue of 150 people for 2 hours to sit on a plank. At the convivial Mr. Kyps, there is no such problem. But on with the show…Rick is a great front man. After the first number or two he asked the audience, who had held back like frightened rabbits in the stage lights, to move closer. Despite this, we were in the palm of the band’s collective hand from the word go. And as much as we bill and coo over Rick’s uncanny vocal similarities, the 4 men behind him must not be forgotten. The glory of Stipe is, not only are those 4 musicians extremely talented, but Rick is modest enough to acknowledge their expertise throughout the show. The voice is the only instrument that cannot be bought and sold, and whilst instruments can be, they must be in the right hands to make all the right sounds, and these guys are both focussed and exceptional at their craft. And we were treated to an across- the-board mixture of REM classics, from album tracks to all-time hits, delivered by 5 outstanding musicians. Amongst the brilliant display of REM shooting stars, we enjoyed: Man On The Moon, What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?, Losing My Religion, Shiny Happy People – with punter, Kim, joining the band at Rick’s request to add female vocals – The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, Bad Day, and as the third encore, the final song of The End Of The World As We Know It. The Isle of Wight festival? No. The Download festival? No. The Wimborne Folk festival? No. An unforgettable night at Mr. Kyps? Yes! Review by: Alan Burridge
	Taken From Mr Kyps web site. Click Here To Go To Original Page