Dear readers...
It's been too long... on many levels. I hope this post finds you well. Things couldn't be better in our corner of the universe. Here we're still basking in the post-show afterglow of the mighty Riot Fest. For the second straight year, we've been fortunate enough to be guests of Riot Mike at his Chicago version of the festival. And this year, The 'Mats reformed... just for Riot Fest. After kicking things off at Riot Fest Toronto just a few weeks prior, Paul Westerberg and the boys were ready to knock bodies around Humbolt Park on a rainy Sunday in Chicago.
Those of you familiar with The Ideological Cuddle know that Bob Mould is one of our favorites - he was in fine form with a mid-afternoon set, backed by Jason Narducy on bass and the unstoppable Jon Wurster on drums (too bad Superchunk couldn't make it to RFC - they tore it up at RF Denver the following weekend). Tearing through songs from his Sugar days, his new classic Silver Age, and several from the mighty Husker Du, Mould was on fire through his 30 minute set. After powering through "The Act We Act", "A Good Idea", and "Hoover Dam" (water-related songs back to back on a very rainy day? cheeky, Bob) from Copper Blue, Mould ripped out "Star Machine" and the epic "The Descent". After "If I Can't Change Your Mind" (with sung arpeggios at the end), it was 4 of 5 Husker Du tunes to finish, closing with "Makes No Sense at All" from Flip Your Wig. All those who braved the weather to catch his early set left happy.
Pixies (minus Kim Deal... not fully Pixies, but whatever) were really tight. They played in the slot just before the 'Mats (so many took off from their stage to get a good spot to see Westerberg and Co.) and played 20 songs in their allotted 60 minute set. I'm not really a fan of the new stuff (EP-1 left me kind of cold. Not as cold as Pitchfork, whose review was kinda cruel) but the classics ROCKED. "Bone Machine", "Hey", "Monkey Gone to Heaven", "Wave of Mutilation", "Isla de Encanta", "Tame"... face-meltingly great stuff.
I really don't know if my small thoughts about the 'Mats set can top what's been said already. I think that Steve Hyden's article from grantland.com sums up everything that I'd want to say from both unbiased observer and super-fan perspectives. Check his fantastic article out HERE.
(To digress, temporarily, Hyden might be the finest modern music writer out there today. Follow him on Twitter at @Steven_Hyden - you won't be sorry).
So, for those of you who didn't have the distinct pleasure to be amongst 50,000 of your closest friends in Chicago a couple weekends back, I managed to track down some of the Replacements' songs from their Riot Fest Toronto set. Sound quality isn't perfect, but it'll give you an idea of how great they sounded.
The Replacements at Riot Fest Toronto - August 25, 2013
"Color Me Impressed"
"Androgynous"
"Alex Chilton"
Until next time, it's great to be back... so until next time, don't miss Riot Fest next year... and listen...
