So I played the Westside Bar last night at a largely quiet open mic. I played:

“Leaving You Isn’t Easy”
“Let’s Stay Together for the Dog”
“Driver 8”

Yeh, that “Driver 8.” I played the riff early in the evening when I was tuning and the host recognized it. He made a comment about the great songs on “The IRS Years.” Obviously, I differ from the majority of their audience on this point, but for me the only R.E.M. is that of the “IRS years.”

I actually pulled off the song all right except for a couple of lyrical flubs. I don’t think I sang it too badly which is nice since Stipe has a range far beyond my own. Anyway, now that it’s out of the bag, I may play it more often.