Replacements shows have snagged consistently good reviews since the band reunited last year. But the polished performances these days are a lot different than the 1980s.

Back then, Replacements concerts were wild and unpredictable — a great show one night, a drunken disaster the next.

As excitement builds for Saturday's concert at St. Paul's Midway Stadium — the Replacements' first home town performance in 22 years — it's worth remembering one of their more infamous shows, a fast, beer-soaked wreck on the campus of Grinnell College in rural Iowa in 1984.

"They pulled up in their van, and a case of beer cans rolled out the door," recalls Grinnell alumnus Leif Larsen. "They did not finish one song during the set."

"It was crazy and I just remember commenting to other people, 'It's true rock n' roll' ... it was intoxicated rock n roll at its best'."

Opening for the Wallets, the Replacements' set descended into a near-riot involving broken gear and the local police.

Click on the audio link above to hear the full story.

This story originally published on MPR News website.

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