Saw a FABULOUS show by Paul Westerberg last night at the Music Hall that at times encompassed the raving "who knows what he's gonna do next" ethos of the 'Mats heyday, with a bit more temperance and a bit less sloppy playing to boot. He played a good number of tunes off his latest, but there was a healthy helping of Replacements tunes too, from his opening salute (Merry Go Round) to his final send-off (Left of the Dial) and a whole bunch in between (Kiss Me on the Bus, I'll Be You, Achin to Be, I Will Dare, Alex Chilton, Skyway, several more) and a complete cover of I Think I Love You followed by a couple of dozen bars of Zep's Ten Years Gone. (I was crushed when he bailed out of this one--he'd played enough of it that I thought he was really gonna do it.) And he even shed some blood for his audience--he was cut on the side of his head after he smacked his guitar over an amp near the end of the set for reasons unclear. Pretty shocking, but it sure put charge into the crowd (not that we needed it.)
The show of the year so far, unquestionably.