Post Description

THe Replacements
Toronto 2013 [MFS source]
Live at the Riot Fest,
Garrison Common,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
August 25, 2013.

Audience recording.

In October 2012, The Replacements - namely Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson - reunited to record four cover songs for an ultra-limited, vinyl-only EP to raise money to help pay for the medical expenses of former bandmate Slim Dunlap, who suffered a debilitating stroke earlier in 2012. Now, almost a year later, The Replacements played their first show in 22 years at the Riot Fest in Toronto (August 24-25, 2013).

Robert Leedham, wrote in drownedinsound.com:

Westerberg, Stinson and their hired cohortsJosh Freese and David Minehan bundled on stage and leapt straight into ‘Takin’ A Ride’. Not ‘Bastards Of Young’. Not ‘Here Comes A Regular’, but the first song from their debut album when they were still hanging off the coattails of Hüsker Dü.

“Sorry it took us so long,” apologised Westerberg. “For twenty five years we had a wardrobe debate… unresolved.”

For half an hour on a giant open air stage, in front an audience that swamped Toronto’s Fort York, The Replacements relived their toilet hole touring days from 1984. All bets were off and the twin waves of initial bemusement, then relief that rolled across the crowd were palpable. Everything was going to be okay. It might even be great…

In between covers of Chuck Berry, Sham 69 and the Broadway standard ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’, the classics are dropped. ‘Alex Chilton’ booms forth with life-affirming vigour causing the chap stood next to me to declare, “Every verse, chorus and bridge are better than most songs any band will ever write.” He’s not wrong, although the same can be said for ‘Left Of The Dial’ and ‘Swingin’ Party’: a “special request from our friend Slim back home.” This, alongside a scrappy six-stringed rendition of ‘Androgynous’, formed the most heartfelt moments of a set that favoured self-deprecating humour over emotional grandstanding.

Just as on record The Replacements couldn’t write ‘Answering Machine’ without blunting its heart on sleeve sentiment via ‘Gary’s Got A Boner’, Westerberg can’t resist stepping out for the show’s encore wearing a MontrealCanadiens hockey jersey; notorious rivals to the Toronto Maple Leafs. What should have been a triumphant moment is drowned out by a playful chorus of boos and the evening concludes on the provocative, powerhouse strains of ‘I. O. U.’, “You see I want it in writing, I owe you nothing.”

Westerberg wasn’t always in tune, his band’s stage show was non-existent and, if you’d have wished for a ‘perfect’ setlist, they’d have skipped over at least half the tracks involved. On Sunday night, The Replacements picked up from right where they tailspun off all those years ago.

If that’s not worth crossing the Atlantic to witness, I don’t know what is.

Thanks to hagstrom who recorded and sharing.

Lineage:
Church-Audio CA-14/C microphones > STC-9100 stereo preamp > Edirol T-09HR (24/48)

Processing:
- Hard limit, volume boost + track splits in Audacity

additional processing for FLAC:
- convert to FLAC (level 7) in FLAC frontend
- resample to 16/44.1 in r8brain
- fix SBE’s in Trader’s Little Helper
- edit tags in Tag & Rename

Taper’s notes:

1) Quite obviously, these files should be traded freely and never for profit. Remember to support the artists!

2) It is likely that several sources of this show will emerge. For ease of convenience, please refer to this as the “MFS source”.

3) Minor imperfections: there’s a bit of chatter beside me during the start of “Kiss Me on The Bus”. Someone to my R sings along to the first verse of “Androgynous”. There’s some clapping along around me during “Left of the Dial”. None of these are particularly egregious.

Recorded by Mechanical Forest Sound - MFS Master #1653f
http://mechanicalforestsound.blogspot.com/

Including artwork.
Cover picture from bradalmanac, posted on Facebook - Thanks!


Track 01. crowd and banter  
Track 02. Takin’ a Ride  
Track 03. I’m in Trouble  
Track 04. Favourite Thing  
Track 05. Hangin’ Downtown  
Track 06. Color Me Impressed  
Track 07. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out/Third Stone From The Sun [Jimi Hendrix cover] 
Track 08. Kiss Me on the Bus  
Track 09. Androgynous 
Track 10. Achin’ to Be  
Track 11. I Will Dare  
Track 12. Love You Till Friday/Maybellene [Chuck Berry cover]  
Track 13. Merry-Go-Round 
Track 14. Wake Up  
Track 15. Borstal Breakout [Sham 69 cover]  
Track 16. Little Mascara  
Track 17. Left of the Dial  
Track 18. Alex Chilton  
Track 19. Swingin’ Party  
Track 20. Can’t Hardly Wait  
Track 21. Bastards of Young  
Track 22. encore break  
Track 23. Everything’s Coming Up Roses [Bette Midler cover]  
Track 24. I.O.U.  
Track 25. crowd 
1:16:10

Lineup:
Paul Westerberg - guitar, vocals
Tommy Stinson - bass
Josh Freese - drums
Dave Minehan - guitar