Bash & Pop, Live at
Vermillion, University of South Dakota, 1st May 1993.
Set-list:
1. Never Aim to Please
2. Satellite
3. Situation
4. Hang Ups
5. Tickled to Tears
6. Any Other Way
7. He Means It
8. Loose Ends
9. Tiny Pieces
10. Keep a Knockin'
11. Speak Now (or Forever Hold Your Peace)
12. Friday Night is Killing Me
13. Don't Shake Me Lucifer
14. Easy Action
15. One More Time
16. Raise Your Window
17. Fast and Hard
18. Nothing
19.
First Steps
Notes:
Complete show: Yes.
Musicians: Tommy Stinson:
guitars, vocals; Steve Foley: drums; Kevin Foley: bass; Steve Brantseg:
guitars.
CD quality: Slight, soft
clicks on some tunes.
Remarks:
Scott Hudson, man about
town, caught this show on DAT. This is what he had to say about the concert:
"The
show wasn't recorded at a small club. It was an outdoor festival held on the
USD campus on a surprisingly cold spring evening. I was the music editor of
Tempest Magazine in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and had done a long interview
with Tommy to promote the show. I was also doing a radio show on KAUR, the
college station of Augustana College in Sioux Falls. On the show, I had an
hour-long segment called the Tempest Concert Series, where I replayed local
shows that I taped on my DAT. I had received the ok to record all of the bands
- three Sioux Falls bands (including Violeet, who have worked with Slim after
the 'Mats breakup) and co-headliner Trip Shakespeare. Tommy had given me the
okay to record when I did the phone interview, but I went backstage on the night
of the show to confirm. Due to the cold, wind, and questionable PA, he said no.
But I wasn't to be stopped. I kept the DAT hooked up, but hid it in my bookbag.
I started it a few minutes before he actually took the stage and luckily the
sound guy never checked.
One more
thing about the Vermillion show. B&P closed the show but there was a bit of
backstage dissension. Trip Shakespeare felt they should be the real headliners
so they played longer than they were scheduled. Because the show was outdoors
close to some dormitories, the show had to be over by 11. This is why B&P
only had an hour to play...of course they probably didn't have much more
material anyway."
Aside from doing
music-related things, he also has a website.
I’m shocked to see that there is a great overlap between his Top 25 albums of
2002 and mine. Heck, he’s even heard of the band Spoon!
OK, back to the show. Who are Bash & Pop and why should you care? Ever wondered whether any other members of The Replacements had it in them? Speculate no longer: Bash & Pop were, in effect, Tommy Stinson’s first attempt at Rock n Roll glory. They released "Friday Night Is Killing Me" in February 1993. This show was in support of that release. Not that anyone else noticed the new album: the band broke up soon afterwards and Mr. Stinson went on to form Perfect.
Is this show essential to your collection? It is if you’re a Mats completist and wish to chart how they each developed. Just listen to the guitars – they sound as if they’ve been lifted straight off The Replacements’ last album All shook down.