Michelle Shiers on April 19th, 2015

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The Replacements’ “Back by Unpopular Demand Tour” proved a misnomer at the Palladium on Wednesday night, the first of the quartet’s two sold-out shows in Hollywood. There remains plenty of popular demand to see the seminal Minneapolis rockers, out of mothballs after nearly a quarter of a century with original members Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson joined by Dave Minehan and Josh Freese.

• ||| Photos by Michelle Shiers

While the audience was a healthy mix of new and veteran fans, it was clear that the bulk of their devotees had sifted through old boxes to find their retired punk T-shirts and came out ready to be brought back in time by the Minneapolis rock forefathers, who sounded better than they did back in their legendarily erratic heyday.

They opened their set with “Seen Your Video” from 1984’s “Let It Be” and without the frills of too much between-song banter, they pushed through “Takin A Ride” and “Favorite Thing.” Original bassist Stinson and Westerberg exchanged the occasional biting joke, Westerberg noting “Tommy says I don’t have any ass in these pants,” and Stinson retorting “When you are an ass, you don’t need an ass.” Minehan added a restless energy to their performance as he spread out for requisite rock stances.

Wearing a white T-shirt with a glow-in-the-dark letter V on the front, Westerberg lit a cigarette and said, “Well, we can play one that’s hard to sing or one that’s really hard to sing,” and then pushed into “I’ll Be You.”

The Replacements didn’t quite stick to their set list which was covered in question marks but the songs they did perform seemed to please their fans with a raw earnestness that still hasn’t left them after all these years. Punk-ballad “Valentine and the snide “Waitress In The Sky” were a very popular sing-alongs. The harmonica-tinged “White And Lazy,” which was performed partially from inside a tent the band dragged onstage, and the moody soul of “Whole Foods Blues” brought grins on the faces of every fan who was enjoying the throwback to their heyday. The hugest response came from the loud “Bastards Of Young” from 1985’s “Tim.”

The first encore featured the popular “Left Of The Dial” as Westerberg poignantly sang “Read about your band in some local page/Didn’t mention your name,” and “Alex Chilton,” but as they left the stage, the night still felt anti-climactic.

They returned again for one more — “Never Mind” from 1987’s “Pleased To Meet Me.” The audience patiently stood around for longer than usual as the lights went up and the crew began to pack up in hopes that the band might make one more appearance. Alas, it was not so.

The Replacements were supported by John Doe, performing his own songs, some choice covers and dipping into the catalog of the seminal band he co-founded, X.