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Concert Review

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

By 29.Nov.075 Comments

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.

5 Comments

  • Lyndale says:

    Great review Wolf, I’m surprised you could remember it all, ha! Walsh was on fire all over the place. Another amazing evening at First Ave, I love when both rooms are open.

  • Jodi says:

    Nice! I should have been there, but I was too busy bumming out.

  • RJ says:

    Sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for the write-up, Wolf.

  • Hey, no mention of the east coast “all over but the shouting” publication party?! It took place on saturday december 1st at Banjo Jim’s in NYC. Packed house, lots of fun, Jim Walsh is hysterical, and my band, Spanking Charlene performed “I’m in trouble” and “Cant Hardly Wait”.
    Most of the night comprised of people doing acoustic versions of replacments songs. My guitarist Mo joked, “did we walk into the Crosby, Stills, and Nash book party by mistake?”
    Spanking Charlene took the stage and launched into “Cant Hardly Wait”. A couple sitting in front backed away from the stage (i guess it was too loud for them!). I proceeded to take out my left earlplug and wing it at them, wussies!! 🙂
    My guitarist sang “I’m in trouble” and we finished with a very loud extended version of “Stupid Me”, a Spanking Charlene original.
    Oh well, just wanted to let everybody know bout the shindig

    love
    Charlene McPherson, Spanking Charlene
    http://www.myspace.com/spanking charlene