I know he's played with Michael Shannon and he joined Matt Berninger recently - how often does he do a live performance? Is it always completely unknown? My mom was a member of R.E.M.'s fan club back when it was items by mail - I grew up hearing her blast them when I got off the school bus. My love for music came from her, I still think Automatic for the People is one of the best records of all time. She's always been my concert partner and she's seen most of my favorite bands with me. I often say that if we could time travel, something we'd do other than see loved ones is go to an R.E.M. show together.
It'd be beyond words to go to a show with my mom and see Stipe perform, even one song or part of a song with someone. Music and concerts are one of our closest bonding activities and I've never seen HER favorite artist with her, though she's done that for me countless times.
This sounds like I'm trying to convince Reddit that I'd be deserving of seeing one of Stipe's special surprises and I'm not trying to do that. Although I genuinely think my mom would be deserving, if it ever happened. But what I'm wondering is, should I be on a mailing list like does he or the band ever give hints or clues leading up to this, or is it completely random? Would any specific shows increase our chances, like seeing Michael Shannon in Athens?