Aber der Reihe nach: Wer ein wenig hinter die Kulissen des im Frühjahr erschienenen, sechsten Albums “Teeth Dreams” schauen will, dürfte sich über die Demo-Version von “Look Alive” freuen, den ihr unten findet. Der zackig groovende, vor Kraft strotzende Americana-Alternative-Song – ursprünglich ein UK-Bonustrack des Albums – drückt in seiner rohen, ungeschliffenen Form fast noch etwas mehr als sein fertig produziertes Pendant.
Wer auch gern mal liest statt zu hören, sollte sich das Tourtagebuch Craig Finn ansehen: Darin schreibt der The Hold Steady-Sänger nicht nur über die beiden Support-Shows, die seine Band für die US-Alternative-Größen The Replacements spielen durfte, sondern erklärt auch, warum ihm die Band bis heute so viel bedeutet. Unten findet ihr den ungekürzten, englischen Wortlaut.
Zu guter Letzt könnt ihr euch The Hold Steady in diesem Jahr auch noch live ansehen: Am 9. Oktober spielt die Band in Köln ihr einziges Deutschland-Konzert für dieses Jahr, bei dem sie von The So So Glos unterstützt wird. Karten bekommt ihr bei Eventim; nur in unserer Verlosungsrubrik habt ihr allerdings die Chance, 2×2 Meet & Greets mit der Band zu gewinnen.
Stream: The Hold Steady – “Look Alive (Water Music Demo)”
Tourtagebuch: The Hold Steadys Craig Finn über die Shows mit The Replacements
“The Replacements are my favorite band, and they have been for 30 years. When I was 13 years old, I was playing tennis at some courts near my family’s house in suburban Minneapolis. The kid I was playing with asked me what kind of music I was into. At the time my favorite band was The Ramones, and I told him so. He said that if I like The Ramones, I should check out The Replacements, a local band from Minneapolis that his older sister was friends with. I went out a few days later and got their most recent (at the time) record Hootenanny and fell in love. I had a new favorite band.
The thing that struck me about The Replacements is how they were so believable. They looked like people I knew. They didn’t seem like rock stars, but normal guys. They were self effacing, and didn’t ride in limousines. They took the bus. As a young rock and roll fan, it made me believe that I could also be in a rock and roll band. And so, soon after I heard my first Replacements record, I started a band. It wasn’t very good but I kept with it for many years and eventually moved to New York and found some amount of success in The Hold Steady. The Replacements broke up in 1991 but remained number one in my heart.
Last year, the Replacements (or, as their fans call them, The ‘Mats) announced some reunion shows and they continued into 2014. I was beside myself with excitement when they asked The Hold Steady to open shows for them in Minneapolis (actually St. Paul, the sister twin city) and New York City. It was incredible to think about sharing the stage with them in my hometown as well as NYC, where I’ve lived for 14 years now.
Hometown shows are always a bit nerve wracking, but this show produced a special anxiety. The show took place at Midway Stadium, a minor league baseball park that is scheduled for demolition. This was the last ever event to take place at Midway Stadium. The show sold out of all 14,000 tickets in the first hour. I got calls from people I hadn’t heard from in years about trying to get into the show. I couldn’t help any of them, all my allotted tickets were going to close family and friends.
The Hold Steady was on a small tour and had played Chicago until late the night before. I slept soundly and our bus driver, Big Bird, delivered us safely and quickly to St. Paul. I woke up and got some coffee and looked around the grounds. There wasn’t a lot to the venue, just a stage and some fences and a big open field for people to stand in. I had a lot of nervous energy so I went out and ran a few miles in the mostly industrial area that surrounds the stadium. It was a good idea, it helped me calm down a bit.
When I returned I ran into our friends from the band Lucero, who would be playing first that evening. They are a great band and we’ve spent a lot of time with them, so we were very happy they were there to share the event with us. Around noon, The Replacements started sound checking and me and some of the Lucero guys went to the side of the stage to watch. The ‘Mats sounded great. They did a bunch of songs and even brought up Minneapolis blues musician Tony Glover to play some harmonica with them. I got to say hello to Tommy Stinson, who I know a little bit.
Eventually, the Mats finished up and we got to soundcheck. It was a big PA meant for a big crowd and it was fun to play with that much power behind us. Our sound guy Neil was visibly impressed and happy with the set up. It sounded great on stage and our check went smoothly and quickly.
The parking lot was now open for tailgate parties. Thousands of fans had come early to drink, picnic, throw (American) footballs, and listen to The Replacements booming out of car stereos. I headed out to the parking lot to talk about the Replacements with fans for The Current, a local radio station. Right away I saw a few people I knew and I had a lot of fun talking about what makes The ‘Mats special.
When I returned backstage the doors opened and some of my family started showing up. I spoke with them for a bit and then Lucero started. I was a bit too nervous to watch them so I listened from backstage. We went over the set list and did our preshow routines.
When we hit the stage, I was jumping out of my skin. The crowd was huge and I couldn’t even see it all in the darkness. The night was cold but I didn’t notice. We started with Your Little Hoodrat Friend and the rest is a blur. It seemed to go very well. I didn’t talk much because I wanted to make the most of our 45 minute set.After the show, we were elated and after some congratulations we got in position to watch the Replacements. They came out on stage to the song Surfin’ Bird by the Trashmen (an old Minnesota band) and huge roars from the crowd. They launched into Favorite Thing and they were off.
The ‘Mats played a fantastic set list that included some rare and old songs, some I’d never heard them play before. They looked great and were energetic. Most importantly, it looked like they were having fun. I got to watch from the side of the stage and the view was great. It was really emotional. I was so happy to have been a part of it.
At the end of the show, we boarded the bus again. We had a 2pm slot at Riot Fest in Chicago, and needed to make good time to make it down there for our set. Big Bird was in the driver seat and stepped on the gas- we were on our way to the next show with a big historical night behind us.
Six days later, back in Brooklyn, I woke up happy that we were playing another show with The Replacements that evening in Queens. I had breakfast and did some errands and then took the train up to Forest Hills Stadium, the venue for the evening and former site of the US Open tennis championships.
I had only been to Forest Hills once before and got off the train to find a very nice quaint neighborhood and a beautiful tennis center with a bunch of grass and clay courts and a grand clubhouse. I was quite a bit less nervous than I had been in St. Paul but not as calm as I would be for a normal show.
When I arrived The Replacements were already done with their soundcheck and pretty quickly they were ready for us. We played a few songs and once again it sounded great playing through a very big PA. I was pretty excited for the show.
After sound check we ran into Deer Tick, the first openers for the evening and our former tour mates. I hung out out with those guys for a bit and then went on a long walk around the neighborhood. It was really beautiful weather and a very nice setting. On the main street I started to run into fans, people seemed to be arriving early to celebrate pre show.
Back at the stadium my guest started to arrive. Deer Tick played and most of us watched from behind the stage. They were great as always and even played a new song. Soon enough it was time to go on stage.
By now I was a bit nervous but once we got up there I knew it would be alright. The crowd was big and on our side. A lot of people knew the words to our songs and sang along. It was certainly an audience assembled for The Replacements but there was a good amount of support for our set. We opened with Constructive Summer and got through 11 songs in our allotted time.
At some point on the stage, I realized that I had first heard about The Replacements at a tennis court, and here we were playing with them at a tennis court thirty years later. Furthermore, my conversation thirty years ago had also been about the Ramones, who were from right there in Forest Hills. I waited until the breakdown of Your Little Hoodrat Friend and shared that story with the audience, who seemed appreciative of the awesome coincidence.
After the set I got to watch the Replacements again. They were amazing as always and even surprised us with a very unexpected version of their song All Shook Down. I got to watch from the side of the stage with my girlfriend and some buddies. It was a perfect night. They might have even been better in NYC than they were in St. Paul. But it’s hard to say. After the show I tried to go to an after party but I was just too exhausted. I had to go home.
Either way, I consider it a blessing of my life to have played these two shows with my favorite band and be a part of such special evenings. The Replacements did not disappoint, nor did any part of the experience.”