Tommy Stinson; The So-So Glo's @ Berlin

Tommy Stinson; The So-So Glo's
@ Berlin
New York, NY - November 19, 2015

A full circle. Four years ago, I saw Tommy Stinson play the Bowery Electric, us in the crowd fairly sure in the notion this was as close to "The Replacements" as it was probably going to get. But during the show, in response to someone in the crowd, Tommy hinted that perhaps such a thing was possible if Paul Westerberg ever wanted to. Not too long after, it happened. Over the course of a few years. Reunion, record, tour. Then it imploded. Again. And here we were again. In a basement in the East Village. With Tommy Stinson and a fine backing band (including guitar ace Steve Selvidge, he of the Hold Steady and I do believe Lucero as well) and a run of songs that were a little more amped up than some of the previous solo work. And with that amping up, there was also bit of a city punk edge to the look, a little more in keeping with what we hope for, rather than any slick L.A.-ness.

The So-So Glo's were hammered into my skull most enjoyably last New Year's Eve at the Music Hall of Williamsburg with the aforementioned Hold Steady. A downtown club basement is an even better venue to take in the local lads and their punk anthems. There were chilling whisps of generations gone by, all filtering through this raw, kinetic band.