Brown Theater, Louisville, KYDespite being a big Westerberg/Replacements fan (ever since first tracking through the
Let It Be album working at the college radio station during Spring Break 1985), I ended up missing much of Westerberg's set. It was a radio convention, and being what they are, I was dining at a restaurant without a car to get me back to the show in time. Once I arrived at the Brown Theater, I made my way inside and opened the door to the theater itself--only to catch Westerberg already onstage. I only saw his blistering version of "Alex Chilton," which concluded with him whipping around, smashing his electric guitar on the amp stack, and striding offstage to thunderous cheers from the stunned audience.
post continues....That's about all of the factual info I know firsthand (except that when I was heading out to dinner, Westerberg was standing outside the hotel on the South 4th Street sidewalk, talking with a few people and clutching a baseball bat--likely a Louisville Slugger souvenir). But, damn, did I hear a lot of talk surrounding this show, both beforehand and afterwards. What is described below was not witnessed personally, but reported to me by generally knowledgeable and reliable people. Some grains of salt should be standard issue.
The pre-show talk: Westerberg, apparently, did not want to do this gig. I'm told he tried to back out of performing. Westerberg arrived in Louisville on Friday, and he was seen hanging out in "The Gallery" performance area on the 16th floor of the Brown Hotel (oddly enough, that evening's scheduled entertainment included one performer who actually DID back out at the last minute: Mark Kozelek, who, apparently unhappy that his solo set was being promoted as a performance by his band Sun Kil Moon, departed precipitously from Louisville). I heard Westerberg was puffing away on his typical stogie, and gave off the air of being very unapproachable. One person suggested he was wearing a top hat. Another said the 14-year sober musician was "obviously drunk." Another report had Westerberg dropping by a nearly all-night poker party in a hotel room, but he soon departed with the suggestion that the dollar-ante stakes were too low for his taste.
The show: After Sonic Youth's set, I quizzed a few friends who were present for Westerberg and heard that highlights included "If Only You Were Lonely," "I Will Dare," "Valentine," and the aforementioned explosive set-closer. One report said that he changed the lyrics of "If Only You Were Lonely" from "Tonight I'll be doing pull-ups on the toilet bowl" to "The past couple weeks I've been doing pull-ups on the toilet bowl." Someone else pointed out that he altered "Alex Chilton"'s line "I never travel far without a little Big Star" to "I never travel far without a rented guitar"--shortly before destroying his rented $1500 guitar.
The post-show talk: Westerberg was seen by one conference attendee later the same night as the show hanging out near the Brown Hotel bar. The chatter was that Westerberg had fallen off the wagon for the first time since before The Replacements broke up, not just this weekend but recently.
Postscript: I was hoping to be introduced to Westerberg this weekend. To date, my only interaction with him has been me shouting out "Androgynous" at a New Jersey concert on the Don't Tell a Soul tour and him replying "Naw, we'd need a piano for that one," captured on a bootleg I found. I've always gone back and forth about whether I'd like to meet him--frankly, sometimes it's best not to meet heroes. This time I had insiders ready and willing to introduce me, but I backed off. I decided maybe I should appreciate Westerberg only through his work. In retrospect, I think I'm glad I made that decision.
Labels: Brown Theater, John Cale, KY, Louisville, Patti Smith, Polyphonic Spree, Replacements, Sonic Youth
