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There was a mad glee for many in the Replacements‘ sold-out audience at Echostage on Friday, mostly because few believed the day would ever come after the band walked off that Grant Park stage in 1991, but also because the band had to cancel the two shows prior to D.C.’s because of lead singer Paul Westerberg‘s illness. But the ‘Mats, who are on a full tour again after a few reunion shows in 2013, were their usual selves: shaky in some spots (flubbed lyrics) but mindbendingly brilliant in others (the set-ending “Never Mind”). But that’s always been their charm, the elegant fuck-ups, so no one in the audience cared. The audience was there to sing along and to bear live witness to a discography that was life-changing for many.
See photos from the show in the gallery.