Thursday night was one of my dream concerts. The Young Fresh Fellows opening up for The Replacements. A near perfect pairing, at least idealy. Both bands are capable to doing great songs and then messing up complete sets in equal measure.
My view wasn’t as good as I would have liked – nothing like the front row I had back in September. By the time I got tickets it was general admission for the balcony, so I wouldn’t be on the floor. Then by the time I got to the venue, made my purchases at the merch table, well, halfway up the balcony it was. The pictures I took didn’t come out as well as I had hoped and I knew better than to even try taking any video like I did last time.
The Young Fresh Fellows opened things in a way that was appropriate. This is a band that stopped trying to “make it” years ago. Over 25 years ago they were supposed to have been the next big thing” – and while internationally they had some success they never caught on with audiences.
Interestingly the band performed a set that featured more covers than I would have expected. Perhaps it was in deference to the usually legendary covers-heavy sets the headliners would perform. “Strychnine”, “Fan Club” and a couple of others. Of course there were a number of “hits” from throughout the entire career of the band stretching back to the 1984 debut album with “Rock And Roll Pest Control” – along with such classics as “Taco Wagon”, “How Much About Last Night Do You Remember” and “My Friend Ringo” to name but a few.
They were sloppier than usual, again I am assuming to fit in along with the headliners who are notorious even in their more “adult” phase of performing aren’t necessarily prone to being musically tight. At times the banter was meant to be joking and perhaps set up the next song, but often it did not just fall flat with the audience, but with members of the band itself. And again, I mention this is a band that stopped trying because they know it is never going to happen. They are just having fun.
The Replacements came out and were, as predictable as ever, sloppy. They try for imperfection, but not the drunken mess that has made them so legendary. The set list was unpredictable, as was their behavior. At one point the band started launching into a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline” and about 15 seconds into it Paul pulled the plug on it.
In contrast to The Young Fresh Fellows, The Replacements are a band that don’t care if they make it. They are past that phase in their career. The band was all but a memory for two decades. This was the opening date of the band’s first tour since “reforming” just under two years ago. In the late summer of 2013 there were a few appearances followed by a festival circuit in 2014. Now the band is touring, sort of taking a victory lap, perhaps trying out the full road-worthiness of the band as it stands today.
Great songs like “Skyway” done acoustically or a solidly rocking rendition of “Bastards Of Young” were a highlight. “Androgynous” was a crowd pleaser, but it seemed as if Paul was intentionally messing up or forgetting the lyrics. The set was longer than last year’s Bumbershoot appearance, naturally, but there were some songs I didn’t expect to hear, such as “Within Your Reach” and “Never Mind” which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The band reportedly went in to the studio last year and noodled around. Hopefully this won’t be the last we’ve heard from The Replacements.