Paul Westerberg Says the Replacements Have Played Their Last Show
The writing was on the wall – or, in the case of the Replacements, the writing was apparently on Paul Westerberg's T-shirts. The frontman of the influential Minneapolis alternative rock outfit said during the band's performance at Primavera Sound in Spain that it would be the last time they played together, according to Pitchfork.
During the show, Westerberg said the other members of the band had stayed at the hotel instead of attending sound check, then said "lazy bastards to the end" before smashing his guitar.
Throughout the band's spring tour, Westerberg had been wearing a shirt with different letters spray-painted on the front and back, spelling out two different sentences with each side. Fans decoded as he went along on the Facebook page Paul's Shirt, and discerned that the message read, "I have always loved you. Now I must whore my past.”
The Replacements formed in 1979 and their original run lasted until 1991. They returned in 2012 and, according to Billboard, they had recorded seven or eight new songs during two sessions. But a more recent article cited a source close to the band that said the reunion wouldn't last long. Another sign that the end was near: they didn't rescheule two shows postponed when Westerberg became sick during the tour. Check out a performance below of one of the new songs, "Whole Foods Blues," that they had been playing at recent shows.
The Replacements – "Whole Foods Blues" (Live at the Hollywood Paladium on April 16, 2015)