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The Replacements Are Reuniting (1 Viewer)

Limp Ditka

Limp Ditka

Footballguy
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-replacements-reunion-20130612,0,5308483.column

The Replacements, who broke up on stage in 1991 at Grant Park, will reunite and return to Chicago as headliners of Riot Fest in Humboldt Park on Sept. 13-15.

Little information was provided in the late Wednesday announcement on the Riot Fest and Replacements web sites beyond the reunion weekend dates, which also include Riot Fest headlining appearances in Toronto (Aug. 24-25) and Denver (Sept. 21-22).

The reunion presumably will include founding members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson. They got together last year to record an EP of cover songs to benefit former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap, who had suffered a stroke. Dunlap had replaced Stinson’s brother, Bob Stinson, who was fired from the band in the mid-‘80s and died in 1995. Founding drummer Chris Mars quit the band in 1990, and has been concentrating on his career as an artist rather than music in the last decade.
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I’m so ambivalent about this news. If Paul and Tommy want to get together in Paul’s basement – which is pretty much the only place he seems to be comfortable playing or recording any more – and cut a new album, like the Songs for Slim stuff, I’m all in. But I worry about these live shows.

I had just turned 18 the first time I saw the Replacements, at a DC club in July of 1987 as they were touring with “Pleased to Meet Me.” I had been a fan for a couple of years by then, finding them with the release of “Tim” and was out of my mind to see them. In addition to all their own great stuff, they played Walk on the Wild Side, they played Gimme Shelter, they played Girl from Ipanema and Hello Dolly. They were loud, sloppy, hilarious and awesome.

Afterward, we went over to Paul at the bar and bought him a beer. The drinking age had only recently changed to 21 in DC and in Georgetown 18 year-olds can still get served almost everywhere. He he was funny and snide, but not unfriendly, and we didn’t take a lot of his time, after asking him to sign the concert T-shirt we picked up for a friend who had bailed on us at the last minute. “Rich, you’re an idiot,” he wrote above his signature.

I probably saw them another 10 or 12 times after that, including in August 1989, when they were opening for Tom Petty in Pittsburgh and just playing out the string. They had sold out with “Don’t Tell A Soul,” in an attempt to be commercially successful, and it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen for them. They were angry, disinterested, and terrible. Petty fired them a couple of weeks after that.

You never knew what you were going to get at a Replacements show, but you always knew it was authentic. The dynamic could be so weird sometimes, almost like if they played too many good songs too well, the audience – heaven forbid! - might think they actually cared, and so they’d intentionally play some show tune (like Hello Dolly) or ruin a classic like Answering Machine, just to prove how much they didn’t care. The capacity for self-sabotage was immense. They’d rather screw themselves up intentionally, rather than risk trying their hardest and maybe not being good enough.

So I just don’t know what these new lives shows are going to be like. But I feel like they’re going to be painfully self-conscious – like is Paul still not going to give a ####, or is he just acting like that now because that’s what the audience expects? Or is he actually going to try now, and is that going to be kind of pathetic and/or will it undermine his entire persona up until now? Or is he going to be great, and just play his music straight, now that he no longer feels like he has to prove how much he doesn’t care?

If there are any things I care about to the point where it’s actually a little embarrassing, the Replacements are one of them (Ravens football is too, and I’m not going to say what the other one is, because it’s more than a little embarrassing). And so I think I would be happier keeping my memory of their live shows as they were, rather than seeing them now as something other than that.

 
The_Man said:
I’m so ambivalent about this news. If Paul and Tommy want to get together in Paul’s basement – which is pretty much the only place he seems to be comfortable playing or recording any more – and cut a new album, like the Songs for Slim stuff, I’m all in. But I worry about these live shows.

I had just turned 18 the first time I saw the Replacements, at a DC club in July of 1987 as they were touring with “Pleased to Meet Me.” I had been a fan for a couple of years by then, finding them with the release of “Tim” and was out of my mind to see them. In addition to all their own great stuff, they played Walk on the Wild Side, they played Gimme Shelter, they played Girl from Ipanema and Hello Dolly. They were loud, sloppy, hilarious and awesome.

Afterward, we went over to Paul at the bar and bought him a beer. The drinking age had only recently changed to 21 in DC and in Georgetown 18 year-olds can still get served almost everywhere. He he was funny and snide, but not unfriendly, and we didn’t take a lot of his time, after asking him to sign the concert T-shirt we picked up for a friend who had bailed on us at the last minute. “Rich, you’re an idiot,” he wrote above his signature.

I probably saw them another 10 or 12 times after that, including in August 1989, when they were opening for Tom Petty in Pittsburgh and just playing out the string. They had sold out with “Don’t Tell A Soul,” in an attempt to be commercially successful, and it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen for them. They were angry, disinterested, and terrible. Petty fired them a couple of weeks after that.

You never knew what you were going to get at a Replacements show, but you always knew it was authentic. The dynamic could be so weird sometimes, almost like if they played too many good songs too well, the audience – heaven forbid! - might think they actually cared, and so they’d intentionally play some show tune (like Hello Dolly) or ruin a classic like Answering Machine, just to prove how much they didn’t care. The capacity for self-sabotage was immense. They’d rather screw themselves up intentionally, rather than risk trying their hardest and maybe not being good enough.

So I just don’t know what these new lives shows are going to be like. But I feel like they’re going to be painfully self-conscious – like is Paul still not going to give a ####, or is he just acting like that now because that’s what the audience expects? Or is he actually going to try now, and is that going to be kind of pathetic and/or will it undermine his entire persona up until now? Or is he going to be great, and just play his music straight, now that he no longer feels like he has to prove how much he doesn’t care?

If there are any things I care about to the point where it’s actually a little embarrassing, the Replacements are one of them (Ravens football is too, and I’m not going to say what the other one is, because it’s more than a little embarrassing). And so I think I would be happier keeping my memory of their live shows as they were, rather than seeing them now as something other than that.
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Saw them in larger venues, the times I was fortunate enough to see them, including the last show at Grant Park as well as an opener for Petty. No idea why I didn't see them earlier in smaller places, because I started listening around the same time as you did (Tim), and attended plenty of shows during that time. So it goes.....

Still the legned of Mats live is there, and there's no chance that they live up to it. Paul seemed fully aware of that at a time

As years went by, a reunion appeared less likely, even as lucrative offers poured in, including at least one from Lollapalooza. In a 2005 Tribune interview, Westerberg said, "I think Tommy wants to get together again and play. I don't know if we could call it the Replacements if it was just me and him and two other guys. I'd be a liar if I said I wouldn't enjoy the adulation. But we were always the exception to the rule when it came to the way things were done. And I'd like to see us maintain that mystique. There's the great problem of us getting back together and sucking the bag, and ruining the reputation forever. Maybe we should just sit tight and let people think we were great. We were about youth and rebellion and fun and wildness, and all the things that don't necessarily sit well as we get older. We were never big jammers or played long, slow music that would make sense to revisit now that we're all better musicians. So I wouldn't look for any reunion soon. If I dropped dead, I think that's the safest bet you could make to see all of us in one place."
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Not sure what changed over the last 8 years, maybe getting back with Tommy for the Slim songs.

Considering I never saw them in the ideal venue, and I love the Replacements like I love no other band, I have no real fond memories of seeing them live. So I'll be going with (hopefully) nothing to lose.

 
All eyes look up to me. High above the filthy streets. Heed no bullhorn when it calls. Watch me fly and die, watch me fall. :thumbup:

 
A friend and I bought tickets to that Petty tour for the Chapel Hill date, more because of the Replacements than Petty (though I am a big Petty fan nowadays). Before our concert, they switched from the Replacements to the Georgia Satellites as the opener. :X I was pissed.

 
Limp Ditka said:
Saw them in larger venues, the times I was fortunate enough to see them, including the last show at Grant Park as well as an opener for Petty. No idea why I didn't see them earlier in smaller places, because I started listening around the same time as you did (Tim), and attended plenty of shows during that time. So it goes.....

Still the legned of Mats live is there, and there's no chance that they live up to it. Paul seemed fully aware of that at a time

As years went by, a reunion appeared less likely, even as lucrative offers poured in, including at least one from Lollapalooza. In a 2005 Tribune interview, Westerberg said, "I think Tommy wants to get together again and play. I don't know if we could call it the Replacements if it was just me and him and two other guys. I'd be a liar if I said I wouldn't enjoy the adulation. But we were always the exception to the rule when it came to the way things were done. And I'd like to see us maintain that mystique. There's the great problem of us getting back together and sucking the bag, and ruining the reputation forever. Maybe we should just sit tight and let people think we were great. We were about youth and rebellion and fun and wildness, and all the things that don't necessarily sit well as we get older. We were never big jammers or played long, slow music that would make sense to revisit now that we're all better musicians. So I wouldn't look for any reunion soon. If I dropped dead, I think that's the safest bet you could make to see all of us in one place."
Click to expand...
Not sure what changed over the last 8 years, maybe getting back with Tommy for the Slim songs.

Considering I never saw them in the ideal venue, and I love the Replacements like I love no other band, I have no real fond memories of seeing them live. So I'll be going with (hopefully) nothing to lose.
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Nothing to say, except that I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for posting. As with everything, Paul said it smarter and better. I don't want them to play, but I don't know if I can stand to stay away if they actually go through with it.

 
Can't possibly understand not wanting to see Westerberg and Stinson playing Replacements songs live if they are your favorite band, but ok. Will probably try to make Denver, as Guided by Voices are going to be there, as well. Along with some others I like. And some others that are head-scratchers. Kind of a bizarre mix of bands. Blink-182?

 
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Apple Jack said:
Can't possibly understand not wanting to see Westerberg and Stinson playing Replacements songs live if they are your favorite band, but ok. Will probably try to make Denver, as Guided by Voices are going to be there, as well. Along with some others I like. And some others that are head-scratchers. Kind of a bizarre mix of bands. Blink-182?
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I remember being asked to go see REM back in 1999 - 2000 and laughed at the idea because there was no way I was going to pay and listen to crap like Shiny Happy People and Everybody Hurts when I had seen them on the Life's Rich Pageant and Document tours.

 
Limp Ditka said:
Apple Jack said:
Can't possibly understand not wanting to see Westerberg and Stinson playing Replacements songs live if they are your favorite band, but ok. Will probably try to make Denver, as Guided by Voices are going to be there, as well. Along with some others I like. And some others that are head-scratchers. Kind of a bizarre mix of bands. Blink-182?
Click to expand...
I remember being asked to go see REM back in 1999 - 2000 and laughed at the idea because there was no way I was going to pay and listen to crap like Shiny Happy People and Everybody Hurts when I had seen them on the Life's Rich Pageant and Document tours.
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Sorry to hear that. They were fantastic every time I saw them in the late 90's and never played shiny happy people.
 
All reports are that it went very well. Happy for Paul - maybe this will be the chance to reap the rewards of the success he never really achieved and always seemed ambivalent about attaining in the past.

 
Limp Ditka said:
Apple Jack said:
Can't possibly understand not wanting to see Westerberg and Stinson playing Replacements songs live if they are your favorite band, but ok. Will probably try to make Denver, as Guided by Voices are going to be there, as well. Along with some others I like. And some others that are head-scratchers. Kind of a bizarre mix of bands. Blink-182?
Click to expand...
I remember being asked to go see REM back in 1999 - 2000 and laughed at the idea because there was no way I was going to pay and listen to crap like Shiny Happy People and Everybody Hurts when I had seen them on the Life's Rich Pageant and Document tours.
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Talk about not getting it.

 
Apple Jack said:
Limp Ditka said:
Apple Jack said:
Can't possibly understand not wanting to see Westerberg and Stinson playing Replacements songs live if they are your favorite band, but ok. Will probably try to make Denver, as Guided by Voices are going to be there, as well. Along with some others I like. And some others that are head-scratchers. Kind of a bizarre mix of bands. Blink-182?
Click to expand...
I remember being asked to go see REM back in 1999 - 2000 and laughed at the idea because there was no way I was going to pay and listen to crap like Shiny Happy People and Everybody Hurts when I had seen them on the Life's Rich Pageant and Document tours.
Click to expand...
Talk about not getting it.
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Not sure what you're getting at here, but since its about music I'm sure you're unquestionably right. So lets just leave it at that.

 
:thumbup:

Awesome. I'm glad you had a good time - would like to hear more if anyone feels they can put some of it into words.

 
Replacements playing Coachella.

I wonder if they're going to pull it together and tour, or if they'll just keep doing these one-off festival gigs.

I'm really, really happy for Paul if this makes him some money and gets him the widespread appreciation he always claimed didn't matter, but that he pretty clearly resented not getting.

 
Another concert - this time headlining in their hometown. On Sept. 13, they're playing Midway Stadium, the soon-to-be-replaced home of the minor league St. Paul Saints. The poster is pretty awesome.

Playing in a minor league stadium right before it gets torn down. That's about as 'Mats as it gets.

 
Returning to 30 Rock

Shortly after their January 18, 1986 performance on "Saturday Night Live", the Replacementswere banned from ever returning to the show after performing an out-of-tune "Bastards of Young" and returning to stage after the first song wearing mismatched iterations of each others' clothing. (They also forgot some lyrics and didn't exactly hide it.)

28 years later, the band is set to return to 30 Rock to play The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon next Tuesday, September 9, according to a teaser for the performance below.

 
Saw them once at UW-Milwaukee a long time ago. That was a very good show. They're not sober now are they?

 
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Limp Ditka said:
Returning to 30 Rock

Shortly after their January 18, 1986 performance on "Saturday Night Live", the Replacementswere banned from ever returning to the show after performing an out-of-tune "Bastards of Young" and returning to stage after the first song wearing mismatched iterations of each others' clothing. (They also forgot some lyrics and didn't exactly hide it.)

28 years later, the band is set to return to 30 Rock to play The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon next Tuesday, September 9, according to a teaser for the performance below.
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Pictures circulating of The Replacements backstage at Fallon with a special guest.

 
Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of "Let It Be." A fairly insightful if not revelatory piece about the record here.

I first heard of the Replacements when "Tim" came out in the fall of my senior year of high school. I about wore out side 2 of that LP:

Bastards of Young

Lay It Down Clown

Left of the Dial

Little Mascara

Here Comes a Regular

I couldn't quite comprehend a band that rocked so hard on Bastards having a song with what sounds like a friggin sleigh bell in it by the time the snow starts to fall at the end of Regular. So then I went backward to discover "Let It Be," which is probably my favorite album of all time.

 
The_Man said:
Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of "Let It Be." A fairly insightful if not revelatory piece about the record here.

I first heard of the Replacements when "Tim" came out in the fall of my senior year of high school. I about wore out side 2 of that LP:

Bastards of Young

Lay It Down Clown

Left of the Dial

Little Mascara

Here Comes a Regular

I couldn't quite comprehend a band that rocked so hard on Bastards having a song with what sounds like a friggin sleigh bell in it by the time the snow starts to fall at the end of Regular. So then I went backward to discover "Let It Be," which is probably my favorite album of all time.
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:hifive:

Let it Be

Pleased To Meet Me

Tim

 
So spring U.S. club tour scheduled by The Replacements.

04-09 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
04-10 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
04-13 San Francisco, CA - Masonic
04-16 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium
04-19 Denver, CO - The Fillmore
04-29 and 04-30 Chicago, IL - The Riviera Theatre
05-02 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
05-03 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
05-05 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
05-06 Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion
05-08 Washington, DC - Echostage
05-09 Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier

Still very much up in the air about whether or not I want to see them now - I feel like I don't, and yet I know it's going to be very hard for me not to go to the DC show.

 
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