As a fan, it was gratifying—and, I’ll admit, a little surprising—to see how animated Westerberg was onstage. I’ve only seen him once before (in 2005 or so, when Michael Bland was his drummer), and my takeaway then was a genteel songwriter who was a bit creaky. But with Stinson at his side last night, Paul was energized and disarming. In a rough-and-tumble Minnesota mumble, he joked about their time away (“We were having a wardrobe debate. It remains unresolved.”) and about trying to figure out stage banter, while the howl leading into “Bastards Of Young” was a cathartic T. Rex roar. He even grew sentimental in spots: Before a bittersweet “Swingin’ Party,” he said it was a “special request from Slim back home,” a nod to Slim Dunlap, who had a serious stroke in 2012.
via Review: The Replacements at Riot Fest Toronto, August 25, 2013 |.
From the handful of youtube clips I saw, I, too, was pleasantly surprised by how much fun Paul seemed to be having. I was a little worried that he might be going into this with his teeth clenched, sort of an “Ok, let’s do these three shows and then I never want to hear about the Replacements again.” Now I’m really hoping they keep it going and record some new music with this lineup.
Hope all of you lucky enough to catch one of these shows has a great time.
I always kind of thought he was the one who wanted to do it, to go out with a loud bang and flash. Not like how it went down in Grant Park.