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Awesome show at the incredibly beautiful Murat Theater in downtown Indianapolis. They dusted off some of their Reagan-era poltical songs, and Stipe commented on how sad it is that the song "Cuyahoga" was written in 1986 but still has meaning today. When they came back out for their encore, Stipe was sporting a snazzy KERRY shirt, and encouraged everyone to vote, no matter what candidate you're supporting. At that point, someone near the front held up a STIPE FOR PRESIDENT sign, and he commented "I'm not smart enough to be President. But I am smart enough to know I'm not smart enough." Cheers and laughter.
Perhaps the single coolest moment of the evening was after they played "Final Straw", a scathing indictment of the Bush Admin., Stipe said how that was a song about their contempt for the current leadership in this country. There was a fair amount of booing along with the wild cheering. Then Stipe introduced the next song as "one that belongs to ALL of you." As Peter Buck began plucking the opening notes of "Losing My Religion", we were all reminded why we came in the first place. In this incredibly polarized climate, that one song reminded all of us, Democrat and Republican both, that that night we were all R.E.M. fans first and foremost. It was a simple yet incredibly meaningful gesture that reminded me why I love R.E.M. so much.
On a sidenote, the opening band was Now It's Overhead. They fucking RULE.
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