“Beyond his role as Tommy’s guardian, Jesperson’s diplomatic skills were sorely missed during the tour- particularly when the band debuted at Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club. The headliners, New Orleans pop-punks the Red Rockers, had canceled at the last minute. The club slashed the admission to a buck for the Replacements. Some forty people milled about the club as the band played Bachman-Turner Overdrive covers at shattering volume.
‘They were drunk and fucking around, being contemptuous of the Red Rockers fans who’d stuck around to see them,’ said DC rocker Tommy Keene, who was being courted by Twin/Tone at the time and who attended the show. ‘The club owner was this artsy-fartsy woman who didn’t like Rock-and-roll. She was getting really annoyed as they basically drove out most of the audience.’
Through Carlson, the owner demanded that the ‘Mats get offstage. ‘Gotta quit- club owner is pissed off as shit,’ said Westerberg into the mic, repeating what he’d been told verbatim. They kept playing until the PA was cut off on them midsong.”
From “Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements”, Bob Mehr, 2016, page 133.
Ah to have been there….
