Review: R.E.M., with a renewed sense of purpose, at the Mann

R.E.M. called its latest album

Accelerate

, in tribute to its brisk tempos and brief running time. But considering the way it reverses the flagging vitality of 2004's

Around the Sun,

they might as well have called the new record Defibrillate.

The four years between new releases, the longest gap in the history of R.E.M., were filled with a live album and two greatest-hits collections, a sure sign of a band playing for time. But unlike its claustrophobic predecessors, Accelerate doesn't feel like it spent too long in the oven.

The core trio of Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills brought a renewed sense of purpose to the Mann Center Wednesday night. Augmented by drummer Bill Rieflin and guitarist Scott McCaughey, they touched on nearly every album in their catalogue (with the notable exception of Around the Sun) over the course of a two-hour set.

Even before the first song had begun, Stipe was champing at the bit, impatiently thumping his microphone while the musicians took their places. Accelerate's aggressive songs give vent to Stipe's political frustrations, sitting neatly alongside "Ignoreland" from 1992's Automatic for the People, played live for the first time on the current tour. But the new "Man-Sized Wreath" shows Stipe's sometimes elusive lighter side; as he screamed "Wow!" between verses, the word flashed on the screens behind him in comic-book word-balloon style. The sung-spoken "I'm Gonna DJ" spoofs Stipe's penchant for apocalyptic tales, fantasizing about a heaven with a "kickin' playlist."

Slipping seamlessly through their nearly three decades of existence, the band made a compelling case for staying on the scene, with a little help from their friends. The Smiths' Johnny Marr, more recently of openers Modest Mouse, lent shimmering guitar to "Fall on Me" and "Man on the Moon." For fans who've been following the tour's set lists, Marr's return was no surprise. But the Mann's audience got an extra treat when Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder took the stage. Trading verses with Stipe on "Begin the Begin," Vedder's powerful roar drew new life from a 20-year-old song. But when he wasn't singing, Vedder was just another fan, dancing around the stage with a giddiness rarely seen at his own shows. If nothing else, R.E.M. can go to their graves knowing they made Eddie Vedder smile.

Levity was in short supply earlier in the night. The National opened the show with a set drawn largely from their latest album, Boxer, whose moody, turbulent songs built to thrilling crescendos, although the incongruous daylight didn't help the mood. With Marr and frontman Isaac Brock trading guitar riffs, Modest Mouse raised a mighty racket, but Brock's hoarse shouts came off as more petulant than righteous.