Boom, Clack…Boom, Clack?
By Wolfdog | Filed under Media, Seen Your Video, asides | Comments (11)
It was a Wii X-Mas in these parts, and I decided to go above and beyond and get the kids (yes, it was for the kids) Rock Band 1&2.
(No really. The kids wanted it. Honest.)
Of course, one of the selling points for me was the inclusion of the Replacements’ Alex Chilton. But the Rock Band series also seemed less Heavy Metal loaded, and includes everything from Dinosaur Jr to Elvis Costello to The Talking Heads. So, like most guitar players out there, I really wanted to play drums. Without the whole divorce-trap, space-taking, loud-as-hell deal that a real drum kit would present.
So we started our family band, with me on drums, and my daughters on vox and guitar. They picked out the name Pickles (I wanted something with more majesty. Oh well.) and we started our tour. Pickles is doing well so far, we have branched to clubs outside of Boston now, and we stick to mainly playing on medium just to reduce the failure rate.
So I have spent a lot of free time practicing. (Please don’t tell my real band. They think I’m learning our new songs, I’ll just have to fake it in a Paul Stanley sorta way next gig.) I managed to get pretty good at most of the songs on medium. Including Alex Chilton.
So I thought, ‘I know this song inside and out, no reason I can’t master it.’ and tried it on Hard. The best I can say is that I didn’t fail. But the incessant hi-hat and bass drum about killed me. It was much harder than I could imagine. At least much harder than the ‘boom, click’ Westerberg described as he chuckled in his interview for Rock Band.
Then I saw this video on YouTube of some kid nailing 100% on Expert.
After my jealousy died down a bit, I thought about how cool that is. And the dozens of other videos showing kids trying to master that song. I know it’s just a silly video game, and pushing buttons doesn’t equate making music, but the idea of childrens by the millions beating out Alex Chilton in their living rooms makes me smile. I feel that’s the saving grace of a game like this. Exposing people to music they might otherwise never hear. I can’t tell you how tickled I am when my ten year-old daughter starts singing Elvis Costello’s Pump It Up to herself while doing homework.
If it’s on daddy’s iPod, it’s old and smelly. But if it’s in Rock Band, it’s cool. I’ll take it any way I can.
Cover Band: Replacements Rock Around The Clock
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs | Comments (2)
Bar bands usually have certain ‘fall back’ covers to lean on when the gig outlasts their material (or attention span). When in doubt, go to Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly…. or this classic from Billy Halley And The Comets.
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Don’t need to remember the words, just get the key phrases out there.
And let Bob rip.
Tags: 'Mats, bill haley, Cover Songs, the replacements
Cover Band: The Replacements Do Motorhead
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs | Comments (2)
Ever imagine The Mats performing with the artists they have covered? It’s easy to imagine them fitting in with the likes of The Kinks, The Who, and The Stones in their glory.
But Motorhead? Surely they were too metal for the punk scene. But Lemmy was punk before they had a genre for it. And Ace Of Spades is the perfect song to attempt to sonically flatten a Duluth roller rink.
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Tags: 'Mats, Cover Songs, Motorhead, the replacements
All Over But The Drinkin’ – Mats Tribute At First Ave.
By Wolfdog | Filed under Concert Review | Comments (5)
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.
Cover Band: The Replacements Do The Stones Pt. III
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs, Media | Comments (1)
From the Beacon Theatre in 1987, the Keef classic Happy.
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Cover Band: The Replacements Do The Stones Pt. II
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs, Media | Comments (6)
Happy Black Friday! I hope you successfully purchased that wildly discounted electronic device at your favorite retail shop at an ungodly hour this morning!
In honor of this day of manic consumerism, I wish I had a Mats cover of Steely Dan’s Black Friday. But they never seemed to veer towards Fagen/Brecker songs.
So instead I will just post another Stones cover. Here’s Heart Of Stone from the Uptown Bar in 1985.
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Cover Band: The Replacements Do The Stones Pt. I
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs, Media | Comments (2)
Happy Thanksgiving y’all!
This year, I’m thankful for the normal stuff. You know, family, friends, solvency, nutty bars, beer….. but this year I’m gonna add cowbell to the list.
And Honky Tonk Women. (Pittsburg, PA 1987)
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Cover Band: The Replacements Do The Who
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs, Media | Comments (4)
Carrying over a theme from a Kinks cover, here’s the young Mats ripping through the uber-classic Substitute in 1981. The boys would have made decent mods.
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PS – I have a fair amount of material to sift through to find more covers, but would appreciate an special requests or submissions.
Cover Band: The Replacements do The Kinks
By Wolfdog | Filed under Cover Songs, Media | Comments (20)
As Jim Walsh’s book gives witness to, the Mats frequently played the role of a cover band live. Many times the covers were delivered with purpose and practice. Sometimes they were tossed off in bits and pieces seemingly killing time. Either way covers seemed to be solely a way for them to entertain themselves.
So, in the dorky fashion I rolled out way too many Can’t Hardly Wait’s…..here’s a series of live Mats covers. Starting with The Kinks…
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Can’t Hardly Wait, A Retrospective: Covered
By Wolfdog | Filed under Can't Hardly Wait, In Love With That Song, Seen Your Video | Comments (5)
It’s time to wrap up my little nerdy journey through the history of one song. This week’s videos show that there are a lot of bands who are also fans of this song. The only one I have witnessed knocking out a Can’t Hardly Wait is Dash Rip Rock from New Orleans, but judging from what I found plenty have found inspiration to play it themselves.
But first, one more Paul Westerberg solo version. This is from the 2002 solo tour (the one I thought didn’t contain any CHW’s, thanks for the corrections).
…I’ll be home when I’m sleeping….
Here’s Marah
And more from bars across the nation. You have to respect the love in all of them.
Maybe Pete
Johnny Heidt News Experience
Fairmont
Buzz Bomb
The Kickz
Nine Fifty
Porchsleeper
Shock And Awe
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