Riot Fest Day 2: The Replacements, Iggy and The Stooges and many more in Toronto
The day had finally arrivedā¦I was about to realize a lifelong musical dream of seeing The Replacements as well as seeing Iggy Pop and the Stooges in the flesh. Before this could become a reality, I had six other bands to watch first, but after waiting 25 years, a few hours of great live music seemed like the perfect way to tease my ear drums.
First up was Single Mothers from London, Ontario. I missed most of their set as I was record shopping and lost track of time.Ā Nonetheless, I heard about half as I walked up and while I waited in line to get in.Ā They are a rocking good way to start the day. They are raw and in-your-face rockers.
The Flatliners were next up.Ā They were on point, āWe usually tell really funny jokes, but we donāt have much time today so just music today, if thatās ok?ā The boys played some rocking older tracks, āEulogyā being an all-time favourite of mine, as well as a few tracks from their upcoming album Dead Language, including their new single āDrown in Blood.ā For all of you fellow Ottawa fans, The Flatliners are rolling through town on Friday September 6 with The Motorleague, Dead Weights and Sidelines at Mavericks. For information and tickets, click here.
Two bands seemed a little out of place on the bill Sunday, one of those was Best Coast. Their soft cute California style rock, which I like very much on record, just felt odd and lost on the crowd. The lead singer did raise a very interesting point though. She brought up that she was the only girl member of any of the bands over both daysā¦ what is going on hardcore and rock n roll, where are all the girls? I must admit though their very catchy tune ”Goodbye” had me swaying side to side.
A lot of people were confused with Dinosaur Jr. being slotted third, and before bands like The Weakerthans and Rocket from the Crypt, but I was fine with it.Ā I was never a huge Dinosaur Jr fan. They started by saying a growling āhelloā and followed with āplease enjoy our set.ā Unfortunately the sound was absolutely brutal during their set.Ā If the vocals were ok the guitar was way too loud, when the guitar was ok the vocals were off, and the sound on the bass was hit or miss from song to song. The highlight of the set for me was their cover of The Cureās āJust Like Heaven,ā which for me came from way out of left field.
Dressed in matching mariachi outfits,Ā Rocket from the Crypt brought their love for Rock n Roll and shrimp cocktails to the stage. “Who here loves Rock n Roll?” asked the lead singer, “who here likes shrimp cocktails?” Seeing as the crowd erupted to both he said “Great we are all the same then.” This set the tone for a set that was far more than 90s inspired rock with a wicked horn section, but a hilarious set with humour between every song.Ā One of those moments for example is when the lead singer discussed how long it has been since they played Canada. “Long time since I’ve been back in Canadia. We have this sort of kinship, we have not updated our sound and you have not updated your dance moves. I am not complaining though, we like man on man contact.” Their set was chalked full of their great tunes like “Come See Come Saw,” “Made for You,”Ā “Boychucker” and my favourite “On a Rope.”
Up next was a little bit of a head scratcher.Ā The Weakerthans, who I love immensely were a very odd fit between Rocket from the Crypt and Iggy. But John K. Samson and his boys owned it.Ā They are not loud, they are not in your face, but they are very good.Ā Samson opened with “One Great City,” a song about how much he hates Winnipeg and followed that by dedicating “Champion of Hearts” to the curlers. I have been a big fan of The Weakerthans for years and they always put on a great show.Ā They made sure to mix in some of their more rocking songs like “Aside” and “Watermark,” and while not being shy of playing some of their slower songs like “Plea From A Cat Named Virtue,” which has the wicked line in it, “Scratch the terror and begin to believe you’re strong.” They might have seemed out of place on the schedule, but they fit right in with their attitude and awesomeness.
Had you told me as a teenager that not only would Iggy Pop still be alive at 66, but still touring and I would get a chance to see him…I probably would have laughed in your face and asked you if you had any idea who Iggy Pop was.Ā Fast forward to me at 26 and holy shit I was watching as The Stooges strummed the cords to ”Raw Power” and Iggy strutted onto stage.Ā That man is THE energizer bunny. He danced around like only Iggy can, all freaking set. He even invited fans on stage, one of which happened to be Max from the Ottawa band Critical Convictions.Ā The band played ”Fun House” and the 15 or so people on stage had a blast.
I was blown away through the first half of the set and thinking there was no way they could make it any better.Ā Then they played ”I Wanna Be Your Dog’‘ and Iggy dove into the crowd.Ā Now I’m thinking WOW but you can’t top that can you? How about playing ”The Passenger” much to the crowd’s amazement. Then in true Iggy fashion they played the super obnoxious ”Cock in my pocket” and ”Pretty face is going to hell.” I still can’t believe I saw Iggy and the Stooges, it was like watching rock royalty.
People who know me know I was spoiled as a child to have parents who raised me on punk, grunge, alternative, ska and reggae.Ā This is why the moment I saw that The Replacements where playing Toronto I bought tickets and got so excited I shouted in my office.Ā The Mats had not played a show in over two decades and I was now seconds away from seeing them.Ā When the two original member Paul Westerbeg and Tommy Stinson, as well as two fill ins Josh Freese (The Vandals, Nine Inch Nails, Devo and a million other bands) and DavidĀ Minehan (The Neighborhoods) stepped onto the stage I nearly lost my mind! And what were the first words out of Paul’s lips…”Sorry it took us so long, for 25 years weāve been having a wardrobe debateā¦unresolved.ā (You can find the audio of the entire show below)
They opened with “Taking a Ride,” song one from their first album, Sorry Ma’ I Forgot To Take Out The Trash. The crowd cheered and sang the whole way through, heck there was even a mosh pit. Paul and Tommy looked like they were having a lot of fun and were really happy to be playing together again.Ā They often walked over to each other during the set and you could see them talking and laughing.Ā The set list had a little bit of everything, a roller coaster ride through their catalogue and not a greatest hits show. They played stuff from all over the map like “Favourite Thing” to “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out” to “Love You Till Friday” to “Wake Up” to “Borstal Breakout” (Sham 69Ā cover).Ā They even found time to take a request, which ended up being “Androgynous.” Paul forgot the words but it did not matter because the crowd was singing along so loudly that we had his back. They played a rocking version of “Swinging Party” which they said was a request from Slim Dunlap (guitarist for The Replacements who is recovering from a stroke). They then played a very emotional “Can’t Hardly Wait” and revved it back up by closing with “Bastards of Young.”
While cheering and losing my mind, I looked at my watch and noticed they still had time left. Ā As quickly as I could get angry for them leaving, Paul re-emerged from the side of the stage wearing a Montreal Canadians jersey much to the chagrin of the crowd. Ā Just Paul being Paul, punk rock to the bone.Ā They played “Everything Is Coming Up Roses” off a releaseĀ to raise money for Slim and his family called Songs for SlimĀ and ended one of the most magical musical experiences of my life with “I.O.U.”
It took over twenty years to get even two of the members back together, but after that amazing set, it was well worth the wait.Ā Paul and Tommy, thank you, you owe us nothing.
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