Concert Review/Photos: The Replacements @ Festival Pier 5/9
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
The most fascinating oddity of the night was their attempt to play the songs "Androgynous" and "Seen Your Video" at the exact same time. Certainly not a perfect moment, but it was an ingenious bit of punk spontaneity.
After energized sets by J. Roddy Walston & The Business and Superchunk, a jam-packed Festival Pier crowd was primed for the return of The Replacements to Philadelphia for their first show since 1991. The speakers began to blare the catchy bombast of The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” and out came the Minnesotan indie rock legends in the flesh. For the next 90 minutes and 25 or so songs, The Replacements owned Penn’s Landing.
Opening with “Takin’ a Ride,” the first track on their debut album Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, The Replacements did not waste any time. Tight and electrifying, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson led the rock brigade. Reveling in the space the Festival Pier stage gave them, Westerberg and Stinson flexed their rock poses while unleashing classics like “Can’t Hardly Wait” and “Bastards of Young.” The crowd responded in kind, singing along in the unseasonably warm Saturday-night air. Guitarist Dave Minehan and drummer Josh Freese, playing with a drumhead adorned with an image from the television show Love Boat, may be the new faces in the band, but they filled out the crunches and jangles quite seamlessly.
Westerberg and company did get a bit loose and creative. Responding to a request, they played part of “Election Day” for the first time on the tour. And the most fascinating oddity of the night was their attempt to play the songs “Androgynous” and “Seen Your Video” at the exact same time. Certainly not a perfect moment, but it was an ingenious bit of punk spontaneity.
Two encores were played, but one could not ask for more than the first ending with “Alex Chilton” and the show concluding with “Unsatisfied.” The final notes of that song still ring in my ear days later. Westerberg sauntered off and Stinson declared his love for Philly and said he may move here someday. What is certain is that The Replacements are adding to a music legacy that still has a lot of gas in the tank and a lot of fans ready for more garage rock road trips.
For those who got to the show before the ticketed time of 7:30, J. Roddy Walston & The Business were a flash of fun and energy. Superchunk followed that up with a brilliant set that featured its fearless leader, Mac McCaughan, in the air seemingly as much as he was on the ground.
SETLIST
- Takin' a Ride
- Favorite Thing
- I Don't Know/Buck Hill/I Don't Know
- Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
- (with "Third Stone From the Sun" snippet)
- Kissin' in Action
- I'm in Trouble
- Election Day (first half of the song)
- Little Mascara
- Hold My Life
- Valentine
- Nobody
- Kiss Me on the Bus
- Androgynous/Seen Your Video (both played at the same time)
- Seen Your Video
- I Will Dare
- Wake Up
- Borstal Breakout (Sham 69 cover)
- Within Your Reach
- Can't Hardly Wait
- Bastards of Young
- My Boy Lollipop (Barbie Gaye cover)
- Never Mind
Encore
- Left of the Dial
- Alex Chilton
Encore 2
- Unsatisfied
For more photos by Chris Sikich, see sikichphotography.com.
