The Replacements Reunite To Headline Riot Fest

By Jon Graef in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 13, 2013 1:30PM

And with a simple tweet, one of the greatest bands in rock history reunited. According to Pitchfork, alt-rock heroes The Replacements are reuniting to headline Riot Fests in Chicago, Denver and Toronto.

The three shows comprise the band's first concerts in 22 years. In a neat bit of symmetry, the last show The Replacements played was at Chicago's Grant Park for the Taste of Chicago. The band broke up shortly thereafter.

Here's what WXRT's Frank E. Lee said about that infamous gig:

(T)he band played a fine set and everybody was having a good time until the group started to hand their instruments to the stage crew (even offering a guitar to me at one point but I had to hold the microphone) and the concert degenerated into a cacophony of feedback, broken chords and eventually, stunned silence. It was a fitting end for the ‘Mats, who ironically, could not be replaced.

Of course, it goes without saying that this is not a full, original reunion. Original guitarist Bob Stinson passed away in 1995, while original drummer Chris Mars has retired completely from playing music.

The other surviving Replacements, Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson, previously got together in a somewhat modest capacity to record an EP, Songs for Slim, last year. The EP was a benefit for former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap, who suffered a massive stroke in February 2012.

News of a Riot Fest reunion fluttered when the punk rock-inspired music festival sent out, then deleted, a message from its official Twitter account. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the message was as follows: “holy. [expletive]. We’re getting the band back together. #riotfest.” Once was rumor became confirmed fact with a post on Riot Fest's Facebook page announcing the band would headline all three iterations of the Chicago-originated Riot Fest.

We could tell you that the entire Internet preceded to flip the fuck out at the announcement, but quoting the aforementioned Riot Fest Facebook page seems more apt: "Seriously guys, THE REPLACEMENTS. I'm going to do a shot, cry a little, and get ready for a ridiculous summer."

Indeed. "Bastards of Young" anyone?