Replacements less reckless
Once dangerously raucous, punk band is more reliable
It’s been 24 years since its last tour, but the Replacements actually sound pretty good, at least the band did Saturday at a sold-out show at the Rave’s Eagles Ballroom. But isn’t that a bad thing, fans may ask. Sure, we’ve naturally come to expect competence from our professional rockers. But as much as the Replacements were and are respected for their seminal catalog, the punk act is just as fondly remembered for its sloppy, drunken, unpredictable live shows. Here’s a band once on the cusp of mega stardom in 1986, and it played “Saturday Night Live” so wasted that it was banned from the show for life.
But there were consequences to its recklessness: Foundingguitaristbobstinsondiedfrom organ failure in 1995 following years of substance abuse.
These days, the Replacements — featuring original frontman Paul Westerberg and Bob’s brother and original bassist Tommy Stinson, plus new guitarist David Minehan and new drummer Josh Freese — are playing sober. That is, of course, wonderful, but the dangerously raucous Replacements who once were can never be again.
Nevertheless, the band, Westerberg in particular, still channeled the old Replacements’ spirit in several ways Saturday. For one, the 85minute set felt unpredictable, largely because the band didn’t seem to always know what was next, making apparent changes to the set list on the fly. And while the songs were performed with minimal hiccups, they sounded raw and unpolished, just as the fans love them.
And the band’s one-of-a-kind, simultaneously flippant and endearing attitude is still intact, thanks to Westerberg. His banter suggested he didn’t want to be there. At the end of “Waitress in the Sky,” he charged Minehan like he was going to strangle him. During the low-key, gender-bending ballad “Androgynous,” he took a drag from his cigarette, then flicked it at Freese. During that same song, Westerberg sang like a drunkard hitting the karaoke machine at last call. The Replacements, though, are one of those rare acts where intentionally ugly vocals are celebrated, so thousands of fans belted along, most of them in better key than the singer on stage.
What’s gained from a reliable Replacements, though, is a greater emphasis on what makes the songs so special, like Westerberg’s wild whistle that sounds like a DJ scratching vinyl at the start of “Color Me Impressed,” or the sprinting, surf-rock-inspired guitar riffs of “I’m in Trouble” (masterfully executed by Minehan).
Then there’s the diversity — from arena anthem for outcasts “Bastards of Young” to country tune “Waitress.” Few other bands could pull off all these styles, and at the same time create
THE TAKEAWAYS
Beyond its own songs,
the Replacements briefly covered the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and ’50s R&B diddy “My Boy Lollipop”; played snippets of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene” and Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man”; and came on stage to Jerry Lee Lewis’ country song “What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me).”
Standout banter:
“We’ve got to hurry up. We’ve got a boxing match to watch.” — Paul Westerberg, referring to Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao title bout. a style of its own making, quite like the Replacements.
Another upside to dependability: The band actually made it through two encores, and Westerberg seemed giddy to make it through “Little Mascara” (“Twenty-five years, and that’s the first time that came out right,” he quipped.) And when he came out to perform “Skyway” alone on electric guitar, the effect was surprisingly beautiful. Now that’s a term that’s never used to describe the Replacements.
But then again, this isn’t exactly the same band.
Saturday’s show was by far the biggest ever for Milwaukee-based opener Midnight Reruns. Great connections led to the gig: Reruns and the Replacements share a manager in Milwaukee native Ben Perlstein, and Stinson is producing Reruns’ forthcoming album. But the band deserved the slot. Garage rockers like “Going Nowhere” translated well to the ballroom, and the unreleased material played Saturday suggests the band has upped the ambition.
More on music Find out about the week’s must-see shows, concert tickets and more in the new newsletter “Piet Levy’s Music Picks.” Subscribe at jsonline.com/newsletters. Piet talks about concerts, local music and more on “TAP’D In” with Jordan Lee, 8 a.m. Thursdays on WYMS-FM (88.9).