I hadn't even thought about an opener...Google is uninformative. I see in Seattle it was Young Fresh Fellows, that would be fun.
We are seeing them in a former glorious movie house/current barn. That's where we saw the Pixies...it's not the worst barn in town (which would be Metro). There is seating in the balcony, where those first in the house will be scurrying.
Have they announced who's opening the show you're seeing yet?
The Philly show I'm seeing next month will be opened by J. Roddy Walston & The Business and Superchunk. Never heard of JRW but did some research and like what I heard, plus they recently sold out the 9:30 Club, which is no small feat. Extremely psyched about Superchunk.
The show is one month from yesterday. Not that I'm counting the days or anything.
Me neither, Muggsy (22 days). Those are some good openers in Philly. I'm not a huge J. Roddy fan, but they're enjoyable, and put on a really good live show from what I hear. Superchunk would be awesome.
I'd forgotten all about Lou Reed being on the bill...Obviously not quite the same thing. That was when "New York" was out, something of a comeback at the time. Google tells me Lou broke his ankle earlier on the tour. I'd also forgotten about Cowboy Junkies & Edie Brickell
I shared this with my brother, who is a few years older than me, and he doesn't remember being at this show! Uh oh....
Saw Dave and Phil Alvin with the Guilty Ones last week and they were bloody fantastic. I'm a big fan mostly of Dave's solo stuff so I'd love to see him back (he hasn't been to Australia for 20 years) with a solo show. I waited around to meet them but left to get the last train, which I immediately regretted profoundly. I can't believe I chose the last train over shaking Dave fucking Alvin's hand - I am getting old and pathetic. :-(
This time of year there are a lot of shows that interest me in Sydney as a lot of international acts come out for the Bluesfest in Byron Bay over Easter but theoretically I'm saving to visit Louisiana in October so Dave and Phil were my only absolutely must sees.
Sounds great, Nank. I saw Dave in a stripped-down setting a few years ago...Won't miss it if I get the chance to see him with a full band sometime in the future!
(I also learned from the regular dictionary that to "bork" in non-internet-speak means "to discredit a candidate for some position by savaging his or her career and beliefs," so that was an educational interlude.)
Well, this review is from the night before, but pretty much sums up the show we saw. My first comment was that they were loose in both the good and bad senses of the word, and possibly tight as well. Moments of intentional loopiness and "what are we playing next" alternating with fierce and efficient renditions of the old faves.
How loopy? "Alex Chilton" was played with Westerberg hiding out in a tent set up center stage. But for all the eccentricities, a nice, long, crowd-pleasing show. Craig, will be interested to see what you think of your show tomorrow!
Awesome. Selfishly I'm kind of hoping for a classic shambling Replacements performance. I can hope that, though, because I witnessed the absolute perfection that was the St. Paul Midway show.
1) Kraftwerk is coming to town in October! That's an absolute must of a ticket.
2) The Replacements were fantastic. It was nowhere near the experience of Midway, but I knew going in it wouldn't be, so that wasn't an issue. The venue is beautiful (loved being able to closer than Midway, even though I wasn't *that* far then), the sound was acceptable (room is an oval with the stage in the middle of a long side, so I think the sides sucked up some of the sound), band was definitely loose (although we did not get a tent), and the crowd, which had a huge percentage of Minnesotans, was in the palm of their hand.
Having seen this version of the Mats twice now, I've come to the conclusion that there won't be a classic Replacements show that just goes completely off the rails. Paul and Tommy still have that old "who gives a fuck" attitude, but Freese and Minehan are true pros. While they'll have fun with Paul and Tommy they're also going to get the job done no matter what.
That said, probably my favorite portion of the show was when we really saw some of the old Mats. They played a blazing rendition of "Bastards of Young" and without pause went into a cover of Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop". When that finished Paul said something to Tommy, who started playing something on the low end of his bass. After a few seconds Freese and Minehan joined in, while Paul got a drink, and it became clear they were playing Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". It was just instrumental and not the whole song, but "Bastards" to "Lollipop" to "Love" was just the right amount of batshit craziness.
I was also happy with the setlist. There were some surprising omissions ("Achin To Be" primary among them), but there were a few songs that didn't make the Midway list that I was thrilled to hear, especially "Within Your Reach", "Little Mascara", "I.O.U.", and "Seen Your Video", Also new to the list were "Never Mind", "Nobody", and "Kissing in Action". To the best of my knowledge they have yet to play "Here Comes a Regular" since getting back together, and that's a real bummer. Such a great sing-a-long.
Anyway, that's my review for now. If I think of anything else, I'll add it.
Comments
Craig
Craig
Have they announced who's opening the show you're seeing yet?
Craig
The Philly show I'm seeing next month will be opened by J. Roddy Walston & The Business and Superchunk. Never heard of JRW but did some research and like what I heard, plus they recently sold out the 9:30 Club, which is no small feat. Extremely psyched about Superchunk.
The show is one month from yesterday. Not that I'm counting the days or anything.
Craig
At least this list hits "The Ledge" which is the only other big one they didn't play at Midway.
Craig
Craig
I saw Violent Femmes twice in the 90s, but can always be convinced to sing "Blister in the Sun", "Add it Up", etc. again.
Saw Caribou last night. They were excellent, but the opener Egyptrixx was the worst opening act I've seen in years. Just terrible.
Craig
One day I'll be as old as you.
Craig
Craig
Craig
Craig
Craig
1) Kraftwerk is coming to town in October! That's an absolute must of a ticket.
2) The Replacements were fantastic. It was nowhere near the experience of Midway, but I knew going in it wouldn't be, so that wasn't an issue. The venue is beautiful (loved being able to closer than Midway, even though I wasn't *that* far then), the sound was acceptable (room is an oval with the stage in the middle of a long side, so I think the sides sucked up some of the sound), band was definitely loose (although we did not get a tent), and the crowd, which had a huge percentage of Minnesotans, was in the palm of their hand.
Having seen this version of the Mats twice now, I've come to the conclusion that there won't be a classic Replacements show that just goes completely off the rails. Paul and Tommy still have that old "who gives a fuck" attitude, but Freese and Minehan are true pros. While they'll have fun with Paul and Tommy they're also going to get the job done no matter what.
That said, probably my favorite portion of the show was when we really saw some of the old Mats. They played a blazing rendition of "Bastards of Young" and without pause went into a cover of Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop". When that finished Paul said something to Tommy, who started playing something on the low end of his bass. After a few seconds Freese and Minehan joined in, while Paul got a drink, and it became clear they were playing Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". It was just instrumental and not the whole song, but "Bastards" to "Lollipop" to "Love" was just the right amount of batshit craziness.
I was also happy with the setlist. There were some surprising omissions ("Achin To Be" primary among them), but there were a few songs that didn't make the Midway list that I was thrilled to hear, especially "Within Your Reach", "Little Mascara", "I.O.U.", and "Seen Your Video", Also new to the list were "Never Mind", "Nobody", and "Kissing in Action". To the best of my knowledge they have yet to play "Here Comes a Regular" since getting back together, and that's a real bummer. Such a great sing-a-long.
Anyway, that's my review for now. If I think of anything else, I'll add it.
Craig