Well...never after a show! My friends and I preferred Tecatalan just south of the Metro - but my brother and I still reminiscence about being overwhelmed by their Peanut Butter Strut!
I was at this show too, along with a number of college friends. We all drove in from Ann Arbor. Not the best show I ever saw them do, but a great one nevertheless and memorable for many reasons.
I also saw a great show at Ann Arbor's Necterine Ballroom August of 1985 with Soul Asylum opening (first time I saw SA--became an instant fan). Also saw another good one in April of '86 at Headliners in Madison. Those venues were smaller than Metro, so I was much more in the middle of things. Probably why they rank higher. We got into Metro kind of late and ended up more toward the back of the room. But Metro was super memorable for a variety of personal reasons, as much about the journey as the destination (and where I was in my life right at that moment).
I remember coming in from the cold Chicago outside and my glasses immediately fogging up, a sticky feeling in the air, as the heat seemed to be super-cranked in there, plus all the people, which caused me to immediately start sweating into my wool sweater, wool scarf, etc., as I tried to get some of my layers off. When they played Borstal Breakout, I also remember asking my buddy what song it was, as it seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it.
Really enjoyed your piece, Jake — it's totally spot-on.
We talk about this same issue in the Redd Kross book: Jeff and Steven grew up genuinely loving KISS, but by the time they recorded "Deuce" on 1984's Teen Babes from Monsanto EP, there was nothing LESS cool in the L.A. underground music scene than KISS... so recording one of their songs was, therefore, an incredibly "punk" thing to do.
And by putting it on the same record as covers of Shangri-La's, Boyce & Hart and more obscure Stones, Stooges and Bowie songs, they offered up a musical worldview that was at odds with (but also much more inclusive than) the parameters of coolness and importance that had been previously set by Boomer rock critics.
Also: Much as I love early KISS, I will go to my grave insisting that the Replacements' cover of "Black Diamond" is a marked improvement over the original.
Really brilliant take on why we sometimes resist going back to albums that meant everything at a certian moment. The "reconstruction vs. ruins" comparison is spot on I dunno if its just nostalgia or actual wisdom, but theres something about accepting the flawed original mix as the real artifact rather than chasing perfection. I had a similar experiance with a college band where revisiting their remaster just felt hollow compared to the scratchy version I wore out during finals week.
I respectfully differ about the Tim remix. Going forward, I will always choose the remix. Tim was my gateway to the Mats, so I treasure it and am glad they found a way to uncover what was buried in the mix.
A semi-related point about hearing things as you remember them, not as they are...ever have a record that always had a skip in a certain place ( or developed one after many spins ) that you got used to? And then when you hear that song years later - maybe you "upgraded" the recording to a CD or digital copy - when you DON'T hear the skip where you're used to, it makes your brain go "DOINK!!!!!" a little bit?
Oh yeah - on my original copy of Elvis Costello’s Imperial Bedroom, there was a skip on “The Loved Ones” that was so seamless, I didn’t even realize it was actually a skip until years later!
I was there too Dan - not just the show that night but other places you describe as well. Thanks for putting a finger on it!
Whoa- you were at Zephyr’s?!?
Well...never after a show! My friends and I preferred Tecatalan just south of the Metro - but my brother and I still reminiscence about being overwhelmed by their Peanut Butter Strut!
Hahaha! Some friends of mine and I actually once shared their Marathon sundae (10 scoops!) and totally grossed ourselves out in the process.
I was at this show too, along with a number of college friends. We all drove in from Ann Arbor. Not the best show I ever saw them do, but a great one nevertheless and memorable for many reasons.
What was your favorite Replacements show?
Probably the show I saw at Joe's Star Lounge in Ann Arbor in the Fall of '84, right before Let it Be came out. I talk about that a bit here:
https://jawjawjaw.com/2010/05/27/sucking-in-the-seventies-paul-westerberg-the-replacements-and-the-onset-of-the-ironic-cover-aesthetic-in-rock-and-roll-its-only-rock-and-roll-but-i-like-it/
I also saw a great show at Ann Arbor's Necterine Ballroom August of 1985 with Soul Asylum opening (first time I saw SA--became an instant fan). Also saw another good one in April of '86 at Headliners in Madison. Those venues were smaller than Metro, so I was much more in the middle of things. Probably why they rank higher. We got into Metro kind of late and ended up more toward the back of the room. But Metro was super memorable for a variety of personal reasons, as much about the journey as the destination (and where I was in my life right at that moment).
I remember coming in from the cold Chicago outside and my glasses immediately fogging up, a sticky feeling in the air, as the heat seemed to be super-cranked in there, plus all the people, which caused me to immediately start sweating into my wool sweater, wool scarf, etc., as I tried to get some of my layers off. When they played Borstal Breakout, I also remember asking my buddy what song it was, as it seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it.
Really enjoyed your piece, Jake — it's totally spot-on.
We talk about this same issue in the Redd Kross book: Jeff and Steven grew up genuinely loving KISS, but by the time they recorded "Deuce" on 1984's Teen Babes from Monsanto EP, there was nothing LESS cool in the L.A. underground music scene than KISS... so recording one of their songs was, therefore, an incredibly "punk" thing to do.
And by putting it on the same record as covers of Shangri-La's, Boyce & Hart and more obscure Stones, Stooges and Bowie songs, they offered up a musical worldview that was at odds with (but also much more inclusive than) the parameters of coolness and importance that had been previously set by Boomer rock critics.
Also: Much as I love early KISS, I will go to my grave insisting that the Replacements' cover of "Black Diamond" is a marked improvement over the original.
Really brilliant take on why we sometimes resist going back to albums that meant everything at a certian moment. The "reconstruction vs. ruins" comparison is spot on I dunno if its just nostalgia or actual wisdom, but theres something about accepting the flawed original mix as the real artifact rather than chasing perfection. I had a similar experiance with a college band where revisiting their remaster just felt hollow compared to the scratchy version I wore out during finals week.
I respectfully differ about the Tim remix. Going forward, I will always choose the remix. Tim was my gateway to the Mats, so I treasure it and am glad they found a way to uncover what was buried in the mix.
Lotsa folks love it. I appreciate it for what it is, but have never had any desire to listen to it again after 2-3 spins.
I’m the same way about just about any other remix I’ve heard (recent Dylan remixes, for example), but this one’s different for some reason.
Just turned my daughter on to Let It Be thanks to your article.
Result!
A semi-related point about hearing things as you remember them, not as they are...ever have a record that always had a skip in a certain place ( or developed one after many spins ) that you got used to? And then when you hear that song years later - maybe you "upgraded" the recording to a CD or digital copy - when you DON'T hear the skip where you're used to, it makes your brain go "DOINK!!!!!" a little bit?
Oh yeah - on my original copy of Elvis Costello’s Imperial Bedroom, there was a skip on “The Loved Ones” that was so seamless, I didn’t even realize it was actually a skip until years later!