Mike Watt and the Missingmen playing a free show down the street sounded like something regrets are made of—if you’d decided to pass it up. Watt announced on his Myspace page that this current trio, with Tom Watson on guitar and Raul Morales on drums, is as close to the Minutemen energy as he has been able to face. The new songs he posted were a mad cocktail of fun, so I was there. Spaceland was already filled by the time they took the stage and—like the immediacy of the rest of Watt’s work—it was a plug-in-and-go affair. The punk-jazz-funk-folk elements were in full display, ratcheted up to the combustive level that Watt brings to his many projects, which is the reason he is the go-to bassist for everyone from Iggy to (dare we say) Kelly Clarkson. This guy has earned any paid gig he gets, and paid or not on this night, he gave nothing less than all for every damn note he played. “Sweet Honey Pie”—a Roky Erickson cover—is a nail-your-ears-back good time. Soon he brought out Minutemen nuggets, including “Forever/One Reporter’s Opinion,” “The Glory of Man,” “Anxious Mo-Fo” and “Toadies.” Now if this can’t get you jumping out of your skin, I’m not sure what will. Watt played with one of his lyrics to describe the crowd in the rear as looking like they were “waiting in line for the gas chamber”—another hilarious spot-on rip from guy who has penned many. Mike Watt and the Missingmen tore up the finale “We Are Time,” with Watt screaming “We are, we are!” until nearly passing out. This was an evening steeped in the past with plenty of new inspiration for the present. Watt is one for the ages and we are lucky he is still putting it out there for anyone who wants to join the fun.

—Erik Ehlert