All Over But The Drinkin’ – Mats Tribute At First Ave.

Last night’s festivities at First Avenue in Mpls were advertised to promote Jim Walsh’s Replacements oral history, All Over But The Shouting. But mostly what was promoted was a reason to get like minded fans and musicians together and have a big ol’ sloppy fun hootenanny.

Walsh wasn’t so much a host or an emcee for the event, but rather a cheerleader (and sometimes playful pest) for his friends, the bands, and the audience. I would imagine he is taking it easy today after a long night of smiling, singing, shouting, drinking, hugging, signing, and hip-checking guitarists. He also gets points for playing a out-of-the-blue cover of Bittersweet Symphony.

The bands were exceptional from top to bottom. No matter if they were attempting spot-on covers, or spinning their own version of Mats’ classics (and some not so classic)

Here’s a general rundown of the music, as far as I can remember. (this tall boy had his fill of $3.75 PBR Tall Boys. memory gaps are inevitable)

From the mainroom:

The Evening Rig – Solid band that did a pretty straight-up job of playing Valentine, Waitress In the Sky, and Kiss Me On the Bus

The Alarmists – Damn good band. did a damn fine job on Left Of the Dial, Swinging Party, The Ledge, and I Will Dare. (for the record, the singer sang “bacon and cigarettes’. But he is like 20 years old, so what does he know)

Revolver Modele – Industrial/Goth rock versions of Johnny’s Gonna Die, Color Me Impressed, and Unsatisfied. If you’re gonna cover Unsatisfied, rockin’ the pulsing goth/dance beat is the way to go.

One For The Team – they looked a bit hippie-ish, but rocked solid. I’ll Be You, Nevermind, Beer For Breakfast, and Can’t Hardly Wait along with a horn section. Very sweet.

Honeydogs – Just a flat out awesome rock band. Totally underrated. Answering Machine, Sixteen Blue, Darlin’ One, and a great Kids Don’t Follow.

Birthday Suits – Great high-energy guitar/drums two piece band. Slugged out Fuck School, Stuck In The Middle, and Goddamn Job in record time.

From the Entry:

At times it was tough getting into the Entry. Packed to the gills. The vibe in the Entry was very hootenanny-ish. Terry Walsh, Martin Devaney, and friends made a joyful mess of a sound for most of the night. A ‘spirited’ Date To Church was of note.

Also of note from the Entry was Brian Vanderwerf of Chooglin’ covering an unreleased Replacements outtake, Don’t Get Married with a band including two acoustic guitars, banjo, glockenspiel, trombone, and tuba. Probably was my favorite song of the night.

If this is how book release parties go down, I’ve been missing all the literary fun. And that’s pretty much what this night was, fun. What else do you need on a Wednesday night? Let’s do this again, soon.

Chris Riemenschneider’s take on the evening from the Star Tribune.