The Replacements Played The Festival Pier at Penn's Landing w/ Superchunk, J Roddy Walston and The Business (Who we missed), 5/9/15 (PHOTOS)

Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg

Leave Them Wanting More

I'd seen The Replacements three times in my life: August 20th, 1989 at The Garden State Arts Center in support of Tom Petty; March 7th, 1991, headlining The Beacon Theatre; and June 22nd, 1991, at Madison Square Garden in support of Elvis Costello just a few weeks before they called it quits. CoolMom and I saw Paul Westerberg together at The Fastlane on August 7th, 1993 and in Seattle, probably at The Showbox, sometime in 1996. I never saw The Replacements' original lineup, and Paul Westerberg is one of my idols.

When Paul and Tommy Stinson announced in 2013 that The Replacements would get together to play some reunion shows, I saw the people who said it was just "half of The Replacements" or "Paul, Tommy, and some other guys." Give me a break. Bands alter their lineups all the time; and Westerberg himself has said of his old songs, "I look at them as my songs that I wrote, even though Tommy and Bob and Chris played with me." Put me anywhere where Paul Westerberg is playing Replacements' songs, and I'm a happy guy. Add in Tommy Stinson on bass, and I'm floored. Just like last night.

CoolMom and I had big plans for the day of the show. We were going to maybe head to Philly early and spend the night. Leave the kids with my mom. When it dawned on us, though, that the show was happening on the night before Mother's Day; we deicided that having the kids wake up without their mom around and having their grandmother wake up to take care of them until we got home wasn't in the spirit of the day. We left for the show, after a full day of activites, at around 5.

Outdoor shows are so early. Curfews and all. Even though our tickets said 7:30, by the time we got into the venue at around 7:35, we'd already missed J Roddy Walston's entire set. Bummer.

Superchunk

Superchunk came on at just about 8. Jason Narducy is still filling in for Laura Ballance, who suffers from a hearing condition called hyperacusis, on bass during the band's live performances. The tight time schedule and the fact that many were there to see The Replacements for the first time in over 20 years meant a very short set for Superchunk -- about 30 minutes. Mac McCaughan was his usual hyper-kinetic self, and the rest of the band gave it everything they had as well. Jon Wurster has to be one of the most animated drummers I've ever seen, smiling and mouthing the words all the way through the set. They managed to hit most of the highlights like "Driveway to Driveway," "Detroit Has a Skyline," "Learned to Surf," "Precision Auto," "Me & You & Jakie Mittoo," and "Slack Motherfucker." They were great. I could have used more.

Soon after 9pm, the lights went down; and Paul, Tommy, drummer Josh Freese, and guitarist Dave Minehan walked onstage to a huge ovation. They opened with "Takin' a Ride" from 1981's Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, and the dudes around us launched into a singing / screaming frenzy that would last the whole show. The band also did "I'm In Trouble" from that early record later in the set; and Superchunk, during their own set, did acknowledge The Replacements for being ahead of them in proclaiming, "I Hate Music" way back on that record.

The Replacements

There were a few surprises during the set. Outtakes / bonus tracks like "Kissin' In Action" (All Shook Down outtake) and "Wake Up" (Don't Tell a Soul bonus track) made the setlist. The band did covers of Sham 69's "Borstal Breakout" and -- not really a surprise, but still fun -- Barbie Gaye's "My Boy Lollipop."

A couple of spontaneous moments had me smiling. At one point, a fan requested "Hold My Life" from the front row. Westerberg pointed them out and noted that they'd been requesting the song for several shows straight. "We don't know it, but we'll try it." Then, turning to Tommy, "...the one with the seven-and-a-half bar change." The version that came out was about as flawless as you'd ever expect from the band. Later, Westerberg gave the crowd a choice between "Seen Your Video" and "Androgynous."

"Both?? At the same time?? Sure. Why not?"

Stinson and Freese played "Seen Your Video," while Westerberg and Minehan played
"Androgynous." Weird, discordant, and funny. At the end of it, they launched into a proper version of "Seen Your Video;" but, sadly, the moment had passed for the full "Androgynous."

The rest of the set hit a bunch of favorites: "Favorite Thing," "Little Mascara," "Kiss Me on the Bus," "I Will Dare," "Can't Hardly Wait," "Bastards of Young," and more. Westerberg playing Hootenanny's (and Say Anything's) "Within Your Reach" while seated on the drum riser was a nice moment.

"Never Mind" closed the main set. Two encores consisted of "Left of the Dial" / "Alex Chilton" and "Unsatisfied," respectively. Everything was done by about 10:40.

It was a great night. Bob of GayGuy/StraightGuy joined us for the evening. CoolMom danced and sang in front of me, my hands on her waist or her shoulders. We ran into lots of friends. But, I'll be honest. When The Replacements were done, CoolMom and I looked at each other and said, "That's it??" The Replacements played 25 songs over the course of a set that spanned their entire career and that lasted over 100 minutes. We still wanted more out of them.

I guess that's our problem. It's our problem for loving a band so much that we would have sat there for hours listening to them. They did exactly what a band is supposed to do for a crowd. The Replacements lifted us up. They gave us part of themselves and delivered a fantastic show. They left us wanting more.

Can't wait for the next time.

The Replacements Played Forest Hills Stadium and Corrina, Corrina's Deaglan Howlett Was There, 9/19/14

Guest Review!

So I spent Friday night getting tacos and ice cream with CoolDaughter #2 as CoolMom took CoolDaughter #1 and her friends to see The Maze Runner. It's actually quite awesome hanging out with CD2 one on one. I don't know if it's a second child thing or what, but she loves having CoolMom and / or me all to herself. We came home and watched the Master Chef season finale on DVR. She laughed with mischievous glee at the thought of seeing the ending before her mother and sister.

It was a fun evening, and I honestly don't regret missing The Replacements and The Hold Steady out in Queens (or Stiff Little Fingers and The So So Glos at The Stone Pony) one, little bit.

And whaddya know? Corinna, Corrina's Deaglan Howlett went to the show; and I got him to give us a recap.

Some wise, old sage once described Corrina, Corrina's sound as "The Replacements via The Gaslight Anthem." The boys in the band thought that was apt, so I thought it would be interesting to get the take of someone whose own music has been so heavily influenced by the legendary Minnesota band.

Thanks, Deaglan. Any time you want to do another one of these, just let me know.

Intoxicated Lover Ending Our French Kiss…
by Deaglan Howlett

I left my house at 3:30 to catch the 4:00 train to Penn Station where I would then jump on the R subway to Forrest Hills Stadium to see my favorite band in the entire world, The Replacements. It wasn't too difficult to tell who exactly was on their way to see this show, although the 25/75 split between middle aged “hip” adults and drunk Yankees fans certainly helped. It was a special subway ride, with no words exchanged among the concertgoers, for we all understood the importance of the event that was taking place in just 2 hours.

As I got off the subway, I walked about two blocks before making a right, following the Heineken-sponsored  “Forrest Hills Stadium this way!” signs. As I embarked on what seemed like a five mile walk toward the entrance gate, I got to skip the line for alcoholic beverage wristbands (I’m just a kid.). I walked right up to security where I would take out my ticket and hear that wonderful “Do-Doo!” sound you hear after your ticket is scanned that means you’re in.

As I approached my seat, constantly checking my ticket for where my section was and to make sure I wasn't dreaming, Deer Tick went into “The Rock” off their latest album. By the time I sat down, their set had ended. As a fan, it was somewhat disappointing; but at this moment, nothing could bring me down.

Roughly 26 minutes passed until The Hold Steady hit the stage, earlier than scheduled, and nearly tore the place down. “Alright New York, this is pretty cool,” shouted Craig Finn before going into hit after hit. He owned the stage, with his wild “preachy” hand movements; and the sound was huge. Being a long time Hold Steady fan, I could tell how psyched they were to be opening up for such an important band. Finn even noted how, “It’s beyond thrilling to be opening up for my favorite band.” After the last chord on “Stay Positive,” he got to yell, “The Replacements are up next,” something you could tell he never thought he’d ever say.

As the night grew darker and colder, (good thing I bought that $50 ‘Mats sweatshirt), the anticipation grew stronger and the bleachers filled up. The stage lights flashed, and the house lights went down as “Jet Song” came on from the beloved West Side Story. One minute into the song, Paul, Tommy, Josh, and David ran onto the stage, Paul with a cigarette in hand as he mumbled something right before they broke into “Favorite Thing.” Everyone immediately lost their minds.

The band played a 29 song career spanning set, playing everything everyone wanted to hear, including songs people didn't even know they wanted. Who would've thought, after hearing Paul say, “I learned this riff,” that they'd go into “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5? (which was amazing by the way) They even played “Nowhere Is My Home,” which was particularly sad given Paul’s current (or pre-reunion, anyway) circumstance. The mood was lightened when Westerberg hit a sour chord at the end of “Achin' to Be” and laughed it off with the band. He nailed all the words in “Androgynous,” but lost it again three songs later on a bombastic cover of Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene,” asking if drummer Josh Freese “had the beat” after he'd sung out of rhythm. Realizing it was his own fault, Westerberg dropped the charade mumbling, “Ah fuck it” as they went back into the chorus one last time. Tommy then asked, “Is there something off that one record?” before they went into “Merry Go Round” which had the whole stadium singing at the top of their lungs.

The last 6 songs couldn't have been more perfect: “Can’t Hardly Wait," “Bastards of Young,” “White and Lazy,” “Left of the Dial,” “Alex Chilton.” And then they walked off the stage for a minute before ending with “Unsatisfied.” Paul then kicked and threw a couple of tennis balls into the crowd and even threw out a shirt he was wearing. He immediately yelled into the mic, “If there’s any cigarettes in there, throw ‘em back.” Of course, people were throwing packs of cigarettes at the stage as Paul vanished into the dark walking off the stage.

The walk out of the stadium was filled with more cigarette smoke and drunk reunions as I walked past notable Rolling Stone writer/author Rob Sheffield and hometown hero Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus.

It was as tight as it was sloppy. It was as endearing as it was pitiful. It was the only band who could possibly pull it off. It was The Replacements.

Replacement Replacements Edition

Replacement Reunion Friday

Lots of discussion on the Interwebs the last couple of days about the announcement by Riot Fest that The Replacements would be reuniting for three shows, their first in over two decades. Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson are definite, and I've seen in a few places that Chris Mars is a possibility.

Most of the snark I've seen has centered on the idea that, if it only ends up being Westerberg and Stinson, what the world is really getting will be "The Replacement Replacements." I don't know about you; but if just Paul Westerberg got up there and did a "Replacements" show with a bunch of hired guns, I'd be very into it. CoolMom and I have a stronger connection than most to Mr. Westerberg, though, having basically gone on our first real date to his show at Asbury Park's Fastlane on the 14 Songs tour.

People loved it when Morrissey did a bunch of Smiths songs. People ate it up when Johnny Marr lit into "Shoplifters of the World." I've seen the Guns N' Roses Governors Ball set described as "magnificent." Conversely, Leigh Gorman and the new Bow Wow Wow struggled with fan backlash at Long Branch's Brighton Bar. It will be interesting to see what folks have to say about The Replacements come the end of August.

Looks like we're done with the rain for now. Hug your dad this weekend.

And rock on.