Written by: Shawn Brown

A few years ago, I was in a small bookstore crowd listening to Hüsker Dü’s Bob Mould answer the question: “What is the main difference you see between your band and The Replacements?” Without a hint of irony, Mould quipped, “We never played a bad show…ever.”

While few who saw Hüsker Dü’ in their heyday would probably disagree with Mould, the beer soaked-ramshackle nature of The Replacements was always one of the most fetching, punk rock things about them. These lovable losers who could sometimes barely stand, represented something important and intrinsically human to a bursting ’80s punk rock/post-punk landscape that was absolutely littered with precisely played, well-behaved bands.

But the Replacements were something altogether different back then and, it turns out, they still are today.

The reunited band, which consists of a core unit of original members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson, treated the capacity San Francisco crowd to a blazing, sloppy 26-song set filled with the kind of hi-jinks and hilarity that only The Replacements can provide.

Westerburg flubbed easily 25% of the lyrics.

Stinson postured and posed and utterly dismissed the audience.

It was classic ‘Mats.

But while both Westerberg and Stinson are clearly aware that they’re playing parodies of their former selves, the heart of the band is found over and over again in their songs.

The band laid out ferocious versions of classics like “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “I Will Dare,” “Left of the Dial,” “Alex Chilton” “Hangin’ Downtown,” “The Ledge,” “Sixteen Blue,” “If Only You Were Lonely,” “I’ll Be You,” “Androgynous,” “All Shook Down,” “Seen Your Video,” “Within Your Reach” and “Skyway.” At times the chaos of their frantic playing veered to the point where the songs risked falling apart altogether. However, having the newly recruited rock vet Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Weezer, Guns and Roses etc.) on drums, nullifies that possibility completely–the guy is unshakable. Second guitarist Dave Minehan is also a great addition; he appeared to watch Westerberg and Stinson forensically, as the selection of songs continued to be a running comedic dialogue just between them and literally any song could have been called out at any moment. Minehan’s possible trepidation was well-warranted, considering the band jumped in and out of covers like T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy” and “Bang a Gong,” Elvis’ “Little Sister,” and Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.”

It was slightly surreal to see Tommy Stinson and Paul Westerberg back together and so clearly enjoying themselves.

But rest assured, The Replacements haven’t grown up that much–they’re still the beer swilling, lyric flubbing, bar band that we’ve loved forever.