Photo via The Skyway
The reputation of The Replacements, as a live act during the ’80s, was that they were notoriously unpredictable - on any given night they could sound like the best rock & roll band in the world or a bunch of drunken, unprofessional misfits sloshing their way through aborted covers and other various screw ups. Fortunately (or not, if that‘s the way you prefer your Mats), I have no proof of the latter - all the bootlegs I own sound incredible. And lately I’ve been sorting through and organizing a few of them and feel like sharing. If you’re a Mats fan you’ll want to check back a few times over the coming weeks - I’ve got 5 or 6 excellent sounding shows to share as well as a handful of other rarities that have never before been officially released.
To get it started, here’s a thrashing show from L.A.’s Roxy Theatre from December, 1985. The sound quality is better than good, and the set features a healthy mix of early-to-mid period classics interspersed with some choice covers. Enjoy:
ZIP :: The Replacements / Live @ The Roxy - 12.85 FIXED (117 MB)
(cover art below)
*** UPDATE : IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT "LITTLE MASCARA" WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE ZIP FOR SOME REASON. PROBLEM SOLVED - THAT"S A NEW ZIP WITH THE MISSING TRACK. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO REDOWNLOAD THE WHOLE THING JUST FOR ONE SONG, THE MP3 FOR "LITTLE MASCARA" IS BELOW. ALSO, I NOTICED A FEW OF THE SONGS TOWARDS THE END OF THE SHOW WERE OUT OF THE CORRECT ORDER - THAT'S FIXED AS WELL ON THE NEW ZIP, OR JUST CHECK THE LIST BELOW FOR THE ORDER AND RE-TAG THEM YOURSELF.
MP3 :: Little Mascara (live)
Setlist:
1. Love You ‘Til Friday
2. Bastards of Young
3. Color Me Impressed
4. Hayday
5. Little Mascara
6. Left of the Dial
7. Nowhere Man
8. Can’t Hardly Wait
9. Swinging Party
10. I’m In Trouble
11. We’re Coming Out
12. I Will Dare
13. Favorite Thing
14. Kiss Me On The Bus
15. Baby Strange
16. Rock Around The Clock
17. Be My Lover
18. Don’t Ask Why
19. Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out
20. All By Myself
21. Johnny’s Gonna Die (end is cut)
22. Go
23. Answering Machine
24. Waitress In The Sky
25. Kids Don’t Follow
26. Takin’ Care Of Business
27. Black Diamond
28. Unsatisfied
29. Hitchin’ A Ride
30. Take Me Down To The Hospital
31. Run It
32. Borstol Breakout
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Thanks much. I'm eager to hear this. The only show I attended, I think at the old Cat's Cradle in Carrboro in '83 or so, was a train wreck -- they would start a song, sound incredible and then fizzle. Again and again. To add insult to injury, their previous show there apparently had been outstanding.
ReplyDeleteI was beyond pissed. It's the only time I've ever felt cheated of my admission money. Anyhow, it took me years of therapy but I have been able to forgive and move on - and to enjoy a (sporadically) great live band.
Thanks a lot! I've been looking for this Mats show for years... Unfortunatly it seems there's a song missing in the zip folder : Little Mascara...
ReplyDeleteBill, glad you can finally forgive and forget :~) Wish I was old enough to have had the experience to see 'em back in the day, train wrecks or not.
ReplyDeleteJaime - Sorry, I'll take a look at the Zip and try to re-up it tonight. I wonder why it's not in there?
Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteJust did a quick search on Google and there you go:
http://downunderground.blogspot.com/2009/12/replacements-shit-hits-fans-live-85.html
And for the artwork:
http://colormeimpressed.com/80_85.html
Not so lucky for Maniac but I'll get back to you if I find it.
http://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/2008/02/replacements-boink-bootleg.html
ReplyDeleteYou can DL Replacements "Boink" here.
http://adeepershadeofsoul.blogspot.com/2009/02/bootleg-friday-replacements-1987.html
ReplyDeleteReplacements detroit 11.12.87
wow, thanks for the links. i actually didn't have shit hits the fan!
ReplyDeleteI have Boink already, but I'm sure others who peruse through here will find that useful, so thanks again.
i've seen that detroit show on that site before, but unfortunately it's incomplete.
FYI, the Boink posted at wilfullyobscure is the "bootleg" version, mostly demos and outtakes - not the official release. Again:
ReplyDeletehttp://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/2008/02/replacements-boink-bootleg.html