There’s not an awful lot to say on this topic that hasn’t been covered countless times; I’m certainly no Jim Walsh. For the last few weeks, though, I’ve spent much of my non-working time thinking about this Sunday’s show at Riot Fest Chicago.

I still remember the first time I heard “Dare”, driving up 35th Avenue in East Oakland tuned in to KALX 90.7, pulling over and cranking the pathetic stereo on my Chevy LUV to a quite unreasonable volume. It’s one of the few songs in my life to which I can still attach a specific moment after all these years.

One of the reasons I moved to Minneapolis, in 1991, was that both The Replacements and Prince were from here, so I figured the town must be OK. A few months later the ‘Mats were history, Prince was TAFKAP and I was on my own… but the city stepped up its ante and I found a new home.

Now they’re back. Paul, Tommy and a couple of capable cohorts. Maybe there will be shows here, maybe there won’t. I’m off to Chicago, and I’m happy.

I know Slim’s presence will be heavily felt, Chris’ absence understandable, and I like to think that Bob will make it rain just to have one last gag. There will be a fairly large Minnesota representation, no doubt, but when the music starts I just want to turn the rest of the world off. No tweets, no pictures, no high-fives. Just those guys, and those songs.

Oh – buy Jim Walsh’s book “All Over But The Shouting” here, and pre-order the NEW one “Waxed-Up Hair and Painted Shoes…” here. Every home should have them.