I wish that I believed in fate

Contemplating my favorite R.E.M. songs on the train as I headed into the city for the show:

• Belong
• Cuyahoga
• Voice of Harold
• Electrolyte
• Imitation of Life
• Man on the Moon
• The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite

They were as good as ever, and "Electrolyte" and "Man on the Moon" made it onto the setlist. I found a new appreciation for "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville," too, with Mike Mills on lead vocals in a straw cowboy hat.

The National opened and gave us a great, high-energy set. I'm actually drawn more to their live performances than the scattered studio tracks I have or have heard so far. But I was struck by a line from "Mr. November," which was played "For Barack":

I wish that I believed in fate
I wish I didn't sleep so late.

That line was the best of the night, until maybe the one on the T-shirt I saw on the 11:42 train to Trenton heading home:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator