Bash & Pop at Coney Island Baby

Tommy Stinson learn to play bass at age 11, playing and covering songs with his brother, guitarist Bob Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars under the name Dogbreath in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After recruiting singer Paul Westerberg, the band changed its name to the Impediments and in 1980 changed again to the Replacements. The Replacements attained a considerable cult following until its breakup in 1991. The alternative rock band reunited briefly in 2006, and again from 2012 to 2015. After the band's initial split, Tommy Stinson in 1992 formed Bash & Pop, a name selected from a contest hosted by a New York radio station, but the band split in 1994. Stinson then formed Perfect, but that band split in 1998, and Stinson joined Guns N' Roses until 2016, in the meantime also recording two solo albums and playing occasionally in Soul Asylum. In 2016, after working on songs for either a solo album or for the imploding Replacements, Stinson released them under the Bash & Pop moniker, reviving the brand; the album, Anything Could Happen, was released on January 20, 2017. Bash & Pop presently consists of Tommy Stinson on vocals and rhythm guitar, Steve Selvidge on lead guitar, Justin Perkins on bass, and Joe Sirois on drums. Stinson is now based in Hudson, New York.

Bash & Pop returned to New York, headlining the hot new club Coney Island Baby. Bathed in blue light for the entire set, Stinson and company performed polished pop punk songs that sometimes seemed impromptu. This was an informal show, so the musicians appeared wearing casual streetwear rather than the matching 1960s-styled suits they wore in 2017. Early on, Stinson announced to the audience that he had no set list, and so as the show progressed he called out song titles to his musicians and took audience requests.  (A fan shouted “Play a Who Song” and the band responded with a cover of "The Kids Are Alright.") Stinson's vocals flattened often, but were lifted by his rousing rock and roll energy. The band fared well, with Catherine Popper substituting on bass, as all four musicians locked, rocked and rolled at a speedy clip. The performance ignited a rock and roll party and that felt good.

Visit Bash & Pop at www.BashAndPop.com.