Nearly 30 years ago, The Replacements played one of the worst nationally televised performances in history.
Appearing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 1986, Paul Westerberg and his cronies came to the stage drunk before unleashing two raucous songs that featured forgotten lyrics, unnecessary wardrobe changes, and goon-ish behavior.
The gig was crazy enough that AV Club writer Noel Murray named it one of 10 most memorable SNL musical moments:
During both songs, the bandmembers [sic] were mouthing profanities into the camera, stumbling into each other, falling down, dropping their instruments, and generally behaving like the apathetic drunks they were.
Stereogum culled the following passage from the band's oral history, All Over But The Shouting, in which Bob Stinson discussed the gig.
"Lorne Michaels put food and flower baskets in our [hotel] rooms, free bar tabs — we went to town. I think I'd have to say I abused it more than anybody. They swore no band from Warner Bros. would play on that show again unless we paid the tab on the $1,000 worth of supposed 'damage' we did."
Now, the band appears ready to return to the stage where they made history. A new teaser clip hints at a Tonight Show appearance on Sept. 9. Check it out below, and make sure to view the original performances in full (via Stereogum).
What a mess
by mmr421
That's where we're riding
by mmr421
To be clear: The Replacements have not changed much. Our own Ryan Book wrote about their RiotFest performance in Toronto last year, and noted that the band was not trying to win over any new fans:
Westerberg wore a Montreal Canadiens hockey jersey, supporting the rival of the hometown Maple Leafs, and occasionally forgot the words to his own songs, ad-libbing as he went. Included in the setlist were some off-the-wall covers, such as Stephen Sondheim's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from the musical "Gypsy."
We'll see them give national television another go on Tuesday night.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
