For more than two decades, members of Minneapolis' cult-loved rock band the Replacements have offered riotous responses to the idea of them playing a reunion gig. How fitting, then, that when they finally commit to performing again, it's at the Riot Fest — or three Riot Fests, to be exact.
The band's name was added without much warning to the lineups of the festival's three incarnations in Chicago, Denver and Toronto late Wednesday night. Their first gig back will be in Toronto on Aug. 25, but the big one will be at the Chicago event, happening Sept. 13-15 in Humboldt Park. The Denver fest is a weekend later, Sept. 21-22.
It's unclear what the band's exact lineup will be for the three gigs outside of singer/guitarist Paul Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson, who reunited in the studio late last year to record the five-song "Songs for Slim" EP, benefiting former bandmate Slim Dunlap's health care following a severe stroke. Dunlap replaced Tommy's late brother Bob Stinson, the band's original guitarist. The other co-founding member, drummer Chris Mars, has said he would never rejoin the band.
At the Toronto fest, the band will perform with punk legends Iggy & the Stooges. The Chicago lineup includes Blondie, Blink-182, Bad Brains and Atmosphere. More details are at RiotFest.org.
Chris Riemenschneider
A warm and fuzzy tribute to Warhol
Andy Warhol's art doesn't often conjure warm and fuzzy images — but a proposed tribute to him just might.
An arts group wants to cover a downtown Pittsburgh bridge named for Warhol with knitted blankets in August. Allegheny County Council must sign off on the plan. The plan calls for the blankets to be distributed to homeless shelters, nursing homes and animal shelters after the project winds down. Knit-the-Bridge leader Amanda Gross said, "The point is to knit stronger communities."
back to music: MTV, VH1 and CMT are going back to their roots on July 4th. The networks said they will throw a "Music Independence Day" party that day, showing videos and giving exposure to artists at a time it can be hard for them to break through to a larger audience. MTV will have hours devoted to particular music genres, highlighting such artists as Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. VH1 will show videos and performances from the likes of Alicia Keys, Pink and Maroon 5, and telecast a live concert from Philadelphia featuring the Roots and John Mayer. CMT will offer a "barbecue playlist" of artists such as the Avett Brothers, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.
