crystal ballroom | NIGHTCLUB JITTERS

The ’Mats owe us nothing

Posted on April 17, 2015 by lova33b

Wow. Watching all the shows for the Back By Unpopular Demand tour unfold—or rather EXPLODE—proves that truly, The Replacements owe us nothing.

It’s probably not a coincidence then that The ’Mats played I.O.U for their second encore at the Portland show. Note the little smile from Paul at the end of the video above. In fact, they closed many of their 2013 fest shows with that rocker, too.

If recent fan and critic reports coming out of their two-night stint at L.A.’s Hollywood Palladium are any indication, the train kept a rollin’! “You could feel and see the room swell with energy and joy, both on stage and in the wildly dancing, lyrics-shouting crowd – which didn’t, and nearly wouldn’t, go home when the Replacements were done,” said Peter Larsen of the Orange County Register.

Long-time fan Heather Chakiris attended both nights at the Palladium. Her thoughts on the second night; “I can’t even find the words. JESUS, WHAT A SHOW. WHAT A NIGHT. WHAT A BAND. Closed with I.O.U. THIS BAND IS A FREIGHT TRAIN.”

Paul Westerberg throws his SG to guitar tech during second night of L.A. show. Photo courtesy of @joshfreese on Instagram.

Look out Denver!

“Want it in writing, I owe you nothin’.”

Well, here you have it, boys, in writing.

Here are some other folks who agree:

Live Review: The Replacements Still Beautifully Ramshackle at the Masonic
Live Review: The Replacements at Crystal Ballroom, 4/10
Consequence of Sound review of Seattle show

Die Within Your Reach

Video | Posted on April 15, 2015 by lova33b

“Older, cleaner, still fun.” “Self-destructive…unruly as ever.” “Beautifully ramshackle.” These are just some of the recent media headlines coming out of the ’Mats show in San Francisco. My vote: the last one. Spot on! Of course, I still can’t get the Portland show outta my…

I’ll try to find you…

Video | Posted on April 14, 2015 by lova33b

Epic. It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot, to the point that it loses it’s meaning. But I think the use is appropriate here—in reference to the above clips from the April 10 Portland show. I’ll save the analysis for the music critics….

Playin’ at the Talent Show

Gallery | Posted on April 12, 2015 by lova33b

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It took a good day to recover and post this little retrospective of The Replacements’ show at the Crystal on Friday. I hope you enjoy it…

Simply put—pure fucking joy.

Thanks to the kindness of friends, we were able to get in a bit earlier. Turns out we ended up right in front. Didn’t expect that. The stage was much smaller than I remember. In fact, it was probably the most intimate-feeling show I’ve seen at this venue. Possible reason—I didn’t drink during the show. As it was an all ages show, the Crystal separated the drinkers from the kids. At other shows like Dinosaur Jr. or Archers of Loaf, I ended up at least 20-30 feet away, behind the “beer barrier.” Sober at a Mats show? Well, kinda…and it was worth it!

The Young Fresh Fellows kicked off the antics and didn’t disappoint. I especially liked their cover of Slim Dunlap’s “Loud Loud Loud Loud Guitars.” Their drummer Tad Hutchison is phenomenal! In fact, the whole band was just plain tight! Watch an Instagram video of YFF tearing it up before The ’Mats.

Post YFF, the antsy crowd was kept slightly at bay with Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and other classics on the overheads. Mayhem quickly ensued however, as the lights dimmed and “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen started blasting. Paul comes running out, does a little chicken dance lap around the stage, followed by his mates. You can watch that footage now, if you wish.

They launched straight in with “Takin’ A Ride,” followed by “Favorite Thing”. I don’t have footage of that because I screamed along to the entire song and ruined the audio. However, you can watch a bit of “I Will Dare.” More video highlights to come!

The crowd could not get enough, even after the first encore. I threw a bunch of old used 45s, including Les Paul, Paul Anka, The Partridge Family ( among others, they were supposed to be a gift!) onto the stage, just before Tommy followed the rest of the band offstage. He looked at me, then walked up to the records and just started breaking them and crushing them with his hands. All I could do was laugh.

The band came out for one more, “I.O.U.” off Pleased to Meet Me. Pure rock ’n roll. What a way to end a show!

Does anyone else out there have post-show depression? I miss The ’Mats already. Maybe I should just hit the road and follow ’em? “In my waxed up hair and my painted shoes…” Sigh. I mean, Tommy still owes me $1 for all those records!