Did I just see the real R.E.M. in Washington D.C. last night? Or was it something even better?

I was 15 when I first saw R.E.M., on November 17, 1985 at the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis, and it was on the Fables of the Reconstruction tour.

So last night, at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C., the Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy-led R.E.M. cover band that has been tearing up tha land brought me back full circle—with an astouding 37-song concert that consisted of a set that the real R.E.M. likely would have never played in this day and age, highlighted with Fables played in its entirety for the set’s first 11 tunes.

Granted, when I saw R.E.M. at that show 40 years ago, it was a blast of hits from all my favorite albums: Fables, Murmur, Reckoning, and Chronic Town. Over the subsequent years, they created many great songs over many great albums, but none of them captured the magic of those first four for me.

And that was where last night’s band focused. Shannon is basically a dead ringer (but taller) Michael Stipe. His moves and vocals seem like something only a seasoned actor could truly replicate so well from the great Stipe. His lead partner in crime is Narducy, who has seemingly played with everyone in the indie-rock world, including Bob Mould, Guided By Voices, Eddie Vedder, Liz Phair, and The Pretenders.

Wilco’s John Stirratt on bass and Superchunk’s Jon Wurster on drums helped make it an indie-star-studded affair. The band was rounded out by Dag Juhlin ripping endless Peter Buck guitar riffs, Vijay Tellisnayak on keys, and opener Dave Hill disguising the fact that he’s a standup comic with his Gram Parsons outfit and ripping metal guitar leads when he joined the band for the night’s closer, a cover of Aerosmith’s “Toys in the Attic.”

Highlights of the night certainly included the full Fables, and when it seemed the band was nearly done, it was truly just getting started. “Sitting Still” off Murmur is probably my favorite R.E.M. song. They of course had to play “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” in D.C. Three songs in a row from debut EP Chronic Town was a sweet surprise. And classics like “Harborcoat,” “Second Guessing,” and the tour’s first splash of “Radio Free Europe” were almost too much of a great thing. It should be noted that I continue to hold the opinion that the 9:30 Club always has the best sound of any club, and last night’s sound was typically crystal rocking.

Here are some of my brief video highlights and the full setlist. Take a look for yourself. Like I said, I’m not sure the real R.E.M. could have done it better.

5 out of 5 stars

“Driver 8”

“Wendell Gee”

“Sitting Still”

“Harborcoat”

“Gardening at Night”

“Radio Free Europe”

“(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville”

9:30 Club, Washington D.C. Setlist

1. Feeling Gravitys Pull

2. Maps and Legends

3. Driver 8

4. Life and How to Live It

5. Old Man Kensey

6. Can't Get There From Here

7. Green Grow the Rushes

8. Kohoutek

9. Auctioneer

10. Good Advices

11. Wendell Gee

12. Femme Fatale (Velvet Underground cover)

13. Romance

14. Strange (Wire cover)

15. Sitting Still

16. Find the River

17. 7 Chinese Bros.

18. Pretty Persuasion

19. World Leader Pretend

20. Bandwagon

21. So. Central Rain

22. Disturbance at the Heron House

23. Wolves, Lower

24. Gardening at Night

25. 1,000,000

26. Letter Never Sent

27. Harborcoat

28. Camera

29. Little America

30. Second Guessing

Encore:

31. Let Me In

32. Cuyahoga

33. Windout

34. Radio Free Europe

35. (Don't Go Back to) Rockville

36. Crazy (Pylon cover)

37. Toys in the Attic (Aerosmith cover)