Though I’ve been a fan of The Replacements for most of my life, this was my first time seeing Tommy Stinson play in any configuration. It should be noted that we had planned to attend his show at the newly opened Milk Boy Coffee a week earlier where he was playing with Pete Donnelly (who had a residency there) and The Thirteen, but we couldn’t make it. Thus, I felt like seeing them play a free, 30-minute set would at least partly make up for it. Backed by a band that included his wife Emily Roberts on backing vocals and tambourine and his uncle Chip Roberts on slide guitar, Stinson projects a rock star aura (no doubt partly coming from his time as bassist for Guns ‘N Roses) that looks, breaths, feels and sounds just like the early ’70s of The Rolling Stones, The Faces and others of that ilk. He played a mix of tunes from his newest solo album One Man Mutiny along with a few numbers from his ’90s band Bash and Pop (including the title track of their album Friday Night is Killing Me). Overall, though it made me wish I could see him play a full set of his own music some day, it was still a very satisfactory way to spend part of a Friday afternoon.
