Cut Out Kid

Toad The Wet Sprocket at Notre Dame’s LaFortune Ballroom-3/2/92

We took a trip to Notre Dame to see Toad The Wet Sprocket, in South Bend, Indiana. They performed in a tiny concert hall called LaFortune Ballroom or “Theodores” named for the University President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh.

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The highlight of the night was when Glenn Philips ended “Know Me,” by screaming, “I’m so, I’m so…unsatisfied,” I was enraptured (listen above). Not only because it sounded so badass, but because it encapsulated everything I was feeling at the time. The confusion, the loss, and the rage.

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At that point, I had no idea it was the hook from a Replacements song called, “Unsatisfied.” No, that connection would actually happen 28 years later, after roaming deeper into The ‘Mats album Let It Be. I’m listening to it and I hear Paul Westerberg singing “I’m so unsatisfied.” I thought, “That sounds like Toad!” It hit me like a ton of bricks, and a big smile enveloped my face. That’s what Glen was referencing all those years ago. The perfect, angsty ending to a hurt-filled song was a nod to The Replacements.

Capturing the general zeitgeist of all teens trying to figure out who they are, this moment will forever be cemented in my head.

“Know me, before you kill/What I wanted to be.”

We all want to be known, respected, and loved for who we are. Trying to prove we are worthy. May God help the kids in this day and age, where you can exploit any asset you want on social media. Back in 1989, when Bread & Circus was released (pre-internet), we were just trying to get out from underneath the weight of our families, and the small town syndrome. For some, this load was crushing. But, regardless of how you interpret Glen’s lyrics, for me, it was a pivotal moment in my life, and one I would never forget.

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We were kids, driving our parents’ car to see a band who, at the time, was our’s only. We liked Toad when few others knew them. That, right there, felt cool. Anyway, Toad plays “Know Me,” and they end it with Glen’s little lyrical add on, “I’m so, I’m so…unsatisfied.” I never forgot that moment, it still plays in my head.

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Since then Toad has returned to Notre Dame several times, it was almost an annual thing for the band. I posted some of the articles and photos I unearthed when writing this post. It’s been awhile in the making, reading through Notre Dame archives and searching the internet for info.

One other cool tidbit was that on this tour in 1992, Toad was covering Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” then going straight into “Know Me,” and ending the medley with that, now famous Replacements’ chant, “I’m so unsatisfied.” What a combo, huh? Bob, Toad, and The Replacements!