This one goes out to the one I love

I had the most incredible night last night. SingleGirl and I went to see R.E.M. at Merriweather Post Pavillion. It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to in my life. These guys still know how to rock, which is especially amazing given they're all around 50. The placed was packed, the audience was screaming, jumping and dancing, and Michael, Mike, and Peter were on fire. This is the fifth time I've seen R.E.M. live (two nights of the Green tour in Kansas City the summer of 1996, the Werchter Music Festival in Belgium summer 1999, and Constitution Hall in DC in 2004) All were great performances, but right now I think this was the best. My ears are still ringing from the show and I might need a double knee replacement from jumping around so much!

Being the 21st century-relevant band that they are, R.E.M. has set up a cool multimedia site for fan generated content. People can post pictures, videos, blog entries, and twitters from each show. He's the DC show page.

For those of you interested, here's the set list. They played a good mix of old and new stuff. The songs from their new album Accelerate sound closer the late 80s/early 90s R.E.M. of Life's Rich Pageant, Document and Green than any of their albums of the past 15 years. So the newer stuff fit in perfectly with classic songs like These Days, Finest Worksong, and Pop Song 89 (Everyone should check out the new album. It's been getting great reviews.)

As some of my reader my know, I have was an insane R.E.M. fan for years. I saw "was" because before the new album, I really haven't enjoyed a lot of their stuff since Monster. However, R.E.M. played a significant role in my high school and college days. They still rank in my top 5 favorite bands of all times. It all started in 1989 when my cool older friend Tricia loaned my her cassette tape of Green. I admit at first I listed to it just because she liked it. But the more I listened the more I couldn't stop. Soon after I bought Eponymous, their first greatest hits collection (which, by the way, was the first CD I ever purchased). It was True Love from then on. I bought the entire back catalog my freshman year of high school and every new album since. I have memories of sitting in my room crying over something that seemed monumentally important at the time (unrequited crush, being grounded, unsightly acne), and being able to get through it by listening to R.E.M. They were also the first band that made me really listen to the lyrics and understand them as poetry in their own right.

So back to the show. One of the most awesome moments was during the encore. Michael told the audience to welcome Johnny Marr onto the stage as the opening chords of Fall On Me began. I turned to SingleGirl and screamed "Johnny FUCKING Marr!?! I don't believe it!!!" Johnny Marr, as many of you may know, was the lead guitarist and co-songwriter (with Morrissey) for The Smiths. This was like a Generation X music porn fantasy. Members of the two most influential 80s alternative bands on stage together. I'm sure many in the audience were fondly remembering all the teenaged angst-fests fuel by R.E.M. and The Smiths lyrics.

So why was Johnny Marr even there, I wondered. Does he live in the DC area? (And, if so, can I stalk him?) Like a good thirtysomething gadget geek, I googled on my iPhone on the way out. It turns out that Johnny Marr has been the guitarist for Modest Mouse (the opening band) since 2006. WTF?!? How did I not know this? And how did that happen? Imagine being the members of Modest Mouse and getting a phone call from Johnny Marr. "Hey mates. Can I be in your band?" And the rest of the has to tell the guitarist "Sorry dude but Johnny Marr wants to be in our band. You have to play rhythm guitar now." I'm sure he was like "fair enough" because it's Johnny FUCKING Marr! But I digress . . .

I didn't get home until almost 2am last night so I am a little sleep deprived today. However, it was totally worth it. Now I secretly want to buy tickets to a couple nights on their European tour latter this summer and make a vacation of out it. Anyone want to join me?