Paul Westerberg

[kosmo vinyl]

lead singer for the clash

[Bags]

Westonberger?  No one, no one at all -- some obscure noise band guy from years ago.....

[chaz]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  lead singer for the clash

Is he the one that went on to form Big Audio Dynamite?  I love those guys!  Much much better than the clash.

[kosmo vinyl]

no, the guy that went on form B.A.D. was in ELP

[Random Citizen]

Kinda meh on the show overall. It had its moments, definitely, but I kinda wish I would have left after hearing "Achin' to Be."
 
 That way, I wouldn't have experienced the trainwreck that followed. That show was probably much longer than it should have been. I like between-song banter and even some pointless noodling, but dayum.

[thatguy]

Originally posted by Random Citizen:
 
 That way, I wouldn't have experienced the trainwreck that followed. That show was probably much longer than it should have been. I like between-song banter and even some pointless noodling, but dayum.

you mean you didn't enjoy the part where paul was playing while lying down behind the drummer? you know, when he had the guy that had just been kicked out for jumping onstage brought back in for a turn on the mic?

[Bartelby]

For those of us who survived Guided by Voice's last 930 show,  Westerberg's was crisp, scriped and focused...     I wonder why no one's been asking about this evening's set-list?  
 
 With regards to "Andrews" fifteen minutes of fame (if you include his interrupted eviction from the club...) I'm pissed.  It freaks me out that Westerberg would be so ignorant - and dismissive - of his OWN - let alone his fans - safety.  Insisting that 930 security employees readmit that dude, then put him on stage for five minutes with the mic was BS.  Tho most the crowd for this show was over-30 and probably disinclined to jump onto a stage, some crazy, drunk/stoned, younger kids would find this very encouraging:  WHOA, HEY MAN, I CAN GET FAMOUS TOO...AND THERE'S NO PENALTY INVOLVED.  Furthermore, I don't want some out of control wingnut having elevated access to the Club's public space.  The Club's security staff work their asses off keeping control of some pretty volatile crowds - and what Paul did was very uncool.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by BadSushi:
 It freaks me out that Westerberg would be so ignorant - and dismissive - of his OWN - let alone his fans - safety.  

really?
 
 heres a little clip from allmusic:
 
 "Originally, the band was called the Impediments, but they changed their name to the Replacements after being banned from a local club for disorderly behavior. In their early days, they sounded quite similar to Hüsker Dü, the leaders of the Minneapolis punk scene. However, the Replacements were wilder and looser than the Hüskers and quickly became notorious for their drunken, chaotic gigs."
 
 and
 
 "The Replacements landed a spot on Saturday Night Live, but they were roaring drunk throughout their performances and Westerberg said "f*ck" on the air. Their concerts had became notorious for such drunken, sloppy behavior. Frequently, the band was barely able to stand up, let alone play, and when they did play, they often didn't finish their songs."
 
 these guys set the bar for self-destructive drunkedness ... and while this sounds like a nightmare for 930 staph, i would expect nothing less out of westerberg
 
 same deal with GBV, what would one of their shows be if pollard wasn't drunk off his ass and causing a commotion
 
 its like going to a gwar show and getting pissed off about the fake blood that splattered on your shirt.

[Bartelby]

Thank you for that enlightment, oh wise one. Us stupid losers from VA are often surprised by what you brilliant journalists already know.  BTW:  Is this a "Rhett", i.e., discussing a show you didn't even attend?

[Bartelby]

before my spelling is corrected:  enlightenment

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by BadSushi:
  Us stupid losers from VA are often surprised by what you brilliant journalists already know.

yeah, only "journalists" like me know that the replacements / westerberg are volatile drunks ...
 
 again, sucks for the club to deal with, sounds fucking horrible

[HoyaSaxa03]

from "andrew":
 
 http://paulwesterberg.proboards23.com/index.cgi?board=bus&action=display&num=1114848051
 
 When i first saw the mats in NYC in '91, some clown jumped up on stage during 'color me impressed' and paul gave him his guitar to try to finish the song but he didn't know how to play. Since then i've made it my mission to get into the same situation. Well, Friday night it happened. Towards the end of the show i worked my way up to the front and during 'IOU' paul walked away from the mic. So i nudged some guy next to me and said 'let's get up there and sing the rest'. He didn't seem interested but made way for me to climb on up, so i did. I tried a few 'whoa.. oh, whoa.. oh whoa's' of the chorus to IOU and was swiftly ejected by the security guard and shoved out into the rain on the street. I thought to myself 'that was dumb, now i'm out here in the rain, by myself, missing the best part.' 30 seconds later the door opens and the security guard says' they want you back'. Initially i thought my friend had begged them to let me back in but it was Jim that had asked him to get me. So i walked back in and he pointed to the stairs leading up to the stage, which i ran up and the band launched into 'Alex Chilton' It was do or die, so i grabbed the mic and started singing the song. It was all so surreal, i forgot the second verse (even though i've sang it close to a million times in the car, shower, etc...) and went up to a girl in the front row and shoved the mic in her face so i could get back on track. I could not believe that i was actually there but i could'nt see Paul anywhere so i sang something along the lines of 'where the hell's paul?' but to no avail. When the song ended they ripped into 'Left of the Dial' and i still had the mic. I could not believe that i was singing the encore in front of all those people. It was absolutely amazing. Details are blurry though from a combination of me actually being up there on stage and a quart of vodka washed down with a 6-pack of beer. So sorry to all you DC fans who didn't pay $30 bucks to see an idiot like me up there, stumbling around and slurring the wrong lyrics, but it was an amazing experience and i'm so glad i did it. I wasn't trying to look like "a drunkin' teenager imitating Fred Durst" (i'm close to 30), just i guy who f**kin' loves paul's music. I'm just disappointed paul didn't come out and i didn't get my hands on a guitar to play 'Color Me Impressed'.
 
 michael B - if you stumble across this post... thanks to you and the boys for letting me sing with youand apologize to paul for screwing up but i learned it all from him. you made my year.

[Mobius]

Awesome show.  Just fantastic to hear Merry Go Round, Achin' To Be, Can't Hardly Wait, IOU, the rest . . . Love Untold - I completely forgot about that song and it was just great.  Paul and the band were surprisingly tight.  Other than the predicatably wandering attention span, he generally only seemed messy when speaking/slurring . . . I thought he hit many songs out of the park and it exceeded my expectations.  Definitely time for a reunion w/ Tommy Stinson . . . although I liked the bassist he's with now.
 
 The last time I Westerberg was with the Replacements at Lisner in 91, and I was frustrated (1) by the seats, and (2) b/c when I was 18 I wanted to see a drunken, rocking, out of control Mats.  Much more of a sober, mellow affair focusing on later stuff.  Haven't listened to Don't Tell a Soul or All Shook Down (or even Pleased to Meet Me) in years but it was great to hear those songs again from Westerberg.  This time around I couldn't have been happier to hear the later Mats stuff.  They've aged well.
 
 The guy on stage - during Alex Chilton and Left of the Dial no less! - was annoying in a sense but funny and hey, the guy did know most of the words.  I think it was funny that Westerberg let him keep going way too long.  And its interesting to hear classic Replacements songs played by some random guy (a, umm, Replacement if you will), and three other guys, while Paul friggin' Westerberg is lying down behind a speaker.  Another lovable Mats related letdown.  And a nice move coming back and not letting the show end on that note.

[Bags]

Well, the show was just great, but for me, it hit great levels mostly because of the crowd and the vibe.  I give Westerberg a C+ -- I was *highly* annoyed with the drunk fan singing songs that are so beloved to me.  Also, I have to admit that I went nuts for every Replacements song, but nearly all the solo tunes left me fairly cold.
 
 Also, I found it interesting that his covers (If I Had a Hammer) were indistinguishable from his tunes until you heard the familiar choruses.  They sounded too much like a Westerberg song -- which to me, drew attention to the formulaic nature of his stuff.
 
 So, musically it was an interesting if not always completely satisfying show for me.  But, it was one of those shows where everyone was having a blast, dancing and singing the songs they knew -- high-fiving and putting arms around neighbors.  It was an awesome Friday night event for Replacements and music lovers.
 
 Crowd gets an A -, so overall, a B show.  Not bad.
 
 And personally I was a little worried to see Westerberg fallen so far off the wagon...unlike Bob Pollard, Paul has obviously had and tried to solve problems he's had with alcohol in the past.  I hope he's alright...

[godsshoeshine]

well, i'm kinda glad i didn't go. would have been jacked to see some loser sing like two of the highlights