The Band That Shaped Modern Music! The Replacements Never Got Their Due A Great Night Revisited I have been listening to a wide variety of "alternative" bands lately, from the 80's, 90's, and 00's. Bands like Taking Back Sunday, Nirvana, Blink 182, Green Day, Offspring, Foo Fighters, Weezer, White Stripes, etc. And the more I listen, the more I continue to realize how much The Replacements influenced modern rock music. Will they ever be written up in the same breath as, say, The Beatles, Madonna, Nirvana, Run DMC, bands that have been credited with "starting" a genre of music? No, probably not. But they opened the doors, and influenced many of the significant music makers in the late 80's and 90's which in turn influenced the bands of today. Here's one person's recollection of a great rock 'n roll night… March 1988 - And the greatest band in rock 'n roll history is about to play the cozy Beacon Theater in NYC. I have tickets, and a date (with a young gal originally from the Minneapolis area, which is where The Replacements were from, ironically). I'd seen The 'Mats several times live with mixed results. But that was one of the great things about their live shows. It was true rock 'n roll, and you never knew what you were going to get. We had planned to grab a bite before the show, and we parked in a nearby garage about 2 hours before the show, but while walking on Broadway, a monsoon hit! We were right near the theater and tried to enter to escape the storm, but the doors were locked. We saw an usher and started banging on the doors, showing our tickets. He took pity on us, and said we could remain. He said the bands just finished sound checks, so if we wanted to sit in our seats, we could. We entered the theater, and dried off. Once normal, we went to our seats. We were about 4 rows behind the sound mixers, on the floor. The sound engineer was testing levels, and a song was playing that I did not know. Minutes later, a voice yelled out from behind us - "Hey, play some f…ing Elvis!" We turned around to see a slightly drunk, somewhat cocky young man making his way toward the sound engineer, carrying a bottle of beer. Any Replacements fan would know it was their bass player, the enigmatic Tommy Stinson. He sat down next to the sound engineer, and started talking to him. This was my chance to meet one of my rock 'n roll Gods. I did what every normal male would do - I used my date. I gave her a briefing, and she went first. I followed behind. We went down the aisle right behind them, and my date introduced herself, said we were big fans, and that she was from Minnesota. They started chatting about their home towns, and a few minutes later, Tommy threw his head back, totally splashing my face and body with his long blonde hair, and extended his hand, saying only "I'm Tommy". I said, "I know", and we went on to a five minute conversation. He said he was going to hang out to watch the opening act, punk legend Johnny Thunders. Thunders rarely played live, because of his massive drug addictions. He simply could never practice or devote enough to a tour. This was a rare appearance (and one of his last live appearances before his death). The Replacements wrote a song which they dedicated to him which was included on their first 1981 album release. The song is titled "Johnny's Gonna Die." He could not stop talking about how excited he was to see Johnny Thunders perform again. Then he told us they were going to a party at the China Club after the show, and we were welcome to join them. Say what? I was in heaven. Tommy sat there for all of Johnny Thunders' set. The set was amazing, and I only wish Johnny Thunders would have lived a little longer, and cleaner. He was an amazing talent. The Replacements were beyond amazing. This was one of their famous "on" nights, as opposed to nights when they forgot the words, or chords, to their songs, or simply ripped up the set lists and played a whole evening of covers. Everything clicked. From rousing versions of newer classics like "I'll Be You" and "Achin' to Be," to older standards like "Black Diamond" and "Left of the Dial," everything clicked, including some of the most innovative guitar work I'd ever heard from recent-Replacement Slim Dunlap. Paul Westerberg ("Paul Is God") was basically perfect. Chris Mars (the drummer), generally the most consistent musician of the bunch, was just that. We hung around the side doors after the show, trying to see Tommy, and thinking whether we should try to crash the China Club. After all, we were invited. After a half-hour or so, we decided against it. Tommy was doing an awful lot of drinking, and it's doubtful he would have remembered us. And I didn't want anything tarnishing one of the great nights of my life. If you're a Replacements fan, I hope this brings back a memory or two. If you've never heard them, you owe yourself! Two months ago, WEA and Rhino Records released a new greatest hits titled "Don't You Know Who I Think I Was - The Best of the Replacements." Unlike many greatest hits packages, this includes several lesser known (but true core fan favorites), and two never before released tracks. It's a great start, and an essential buy for tru current rock music fans, all for about the price of three coffees at Starbucks. Please check it out! Bag for E-Crap.com