[ATTENDED: September 19, 2021] Bob Mould Band
I saw Bob Mould play a solo show last year (just before the pandemic). I had seen him 24 years earlier and thought it would be fun to see him again. And it was.
When he announced this new tour, I didn’t feel like I needed to see him again. However, since he was with a band, I thought it would be a different experience. And it was. Not radically different, but different enough to make it more fun.
Last time he played 22 songs in about 80 minutes. And, in what I understand is true Mould fashion, a song would end and he would jump right into the next one. He took a break every few songs to chat and then off he went.
It was much the same at Union Transfer, although this time he played 24 songs in 80 minutes. Having the other two guys Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums added a much appreciated low end.
Plus there are some songs (especially Hüsker Dü songs) where the bass and or drums play something distinctive and it was nice to hear that part.
In 2020, Bob had not yet released Blue Hearts, although he did play four songs from it. For this show he opened with four songs (two were different, like the appropriately angry “American Crisis“). And then he was all over his lengthy discography (dating back to 1983).
It was pretty cool to hear “Sinners and Their Repentances” a rather deep cut from his first solo album. He studiously ignored those albums he released in the 2000s that were not rocking).
The middle of the set was full of songs that he played last year. But again, with the band, the songs sounded really different.
Bob was very funny throughout the set (his speaking voice sounded terrible but his singing voice was in fine screaming form). He started by saying that he usually has to remind people to keep heir masks on but he was happy to see that we were wearing them and weren’t… idiots.
He played a couple of Hüsker Dü songs in the middle of the set and the crowd (especially the guy in font of me) went berserk. “Celebrated Summer” is always a treat to hear.
It was an intense 80 minutes, with only “Hardly Getting Over It” there to slow things down. The only mildly bummer thing is that he played the same seven or so Hüsker Dü songs as last time. I feel like he must have at least 30 Hüsker Dü songs to choose from.
He also only played one Sugar song, but when it’s “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” that really pushes all the buttons.
He has plenty of solo material to choose from too, he could have played a second full set and not run out of songs people want to hear.
I loved watching him stomp all over the stage–in a controlled fashion of course, but still.
After playing one more new song “Siberian Butterfly,” the final five songs were all Hüsker Dü. And yeah, that was pretty great. The Zen Arcade “Something I Learned Today” > “Chartered Trips” segue was wonderfully noisy and intense.
And then after the encore break the duo of “Flip Your Wig” and “I Apologize” were terrific fun. The final song was “Makes No Sense At All,” just like last time. In the previous post, I wrote:
There were definitely times when I would have appreciated drums or a bass line, (the drum fill was so obviously NOT present in “Makes No Sense At All” it was sorely missed).
Well, tonight I got that drum fill and it was awesome.
| 2021 Union Transfer | 2020 SOPAC | 1996 Avalon |
| Next Generation ♥ | The War ⊗ | Wishing Well ϖ |
| American Crisis ♥ | Flip Your Wig ÜF | Hoover Dam $C |
| Forecast of Rain ♥ | I Apologize ÜN | Needle Hits E $B |
| Password to My Soul ♥ | Hoover Dam $C | Your Favorite Thing $F |
| Sinners and Their Repentances ϖ | Stand Guard ≅ | Fort Knox, King Solomon ß |
| I Don’t Know You Anymore ⊗ | See a Little Light ϖ | Can’t Help You Anymore $F |
| The Descent ∇ | Celebrated Summer ÜN | After All the Roads Have Led to Nowhere $B |
| You Say You ¶ | The Descent ∇ | Explode and Make Up $F |
| See a Little Light ϖ | You Say You ¶ | Hardly Getting Over It ÜC |
| Sunny Love Song ♦ | Thirty Dozen Roses ♦ | Poison Years ϖ |
| Celebrated Summer ÜN | Heart on My Sleeve [new] ♥ | Sinners and Their Repentances ϖ |
| Hardly Getting Over It ÜC | Next Generation [new] ♥ | Lonely Afternoon ϖ |
| The War ⊗ | Forecast of Rain [new] ♥ | Roll Over and Die ß |
| Voices in My Head ¶ | Everything to You [new] ♥ | Chartered Trips ÜZ |
| I Fought ♦ | Sunshine Rock ♦ | Celebrated Summer ÜN |
| Sunshine Rock ♦ | Hey Mr. Grey ⊗ | I Apologize ÜN |
| If I Can’t Change Your Mind $C | If I Can’t Change Your Mind $C | Makes No Sense At All ÜF |
| Siberian Butterfly ♥ | Hardly Getting Over It ÜC | Thumbtack ß |
| Something I Learned Today ÜZ | Something I Learned Today ÜZ | |
| Chartered Trips ÜZ | Chartered Trips ÜZ | |
| encore | Never Talking to You Again ÜZ | |
| Flip Your Wig ÜF | Makes No Sense At All ÜF | |
| I Apologize ÜN | ||
| Makes No Sense at All ÜF | [blue hearts not out yet] |
ÜZ = HÜSKER DÜ: Zen Arcade (1984)
ÜN = HÜSKER DÜ: New Day Rising (1985)
ÜF = HÜSKER DÜ: Flip Your Wig (1985)
ÜC = HÜSKER DÜ: Candy Apple Grey (1986)
ϖ = Workbook (1989)
≅ = Black Sheets of Rain (1990)
$C = SUGAR: Copper Blue (1992)
$F = SUGAR: File Under: Easy Listening (1994)
$B = SUGAR: Besides (1995)
ß = Bob Mould (1996)
∇ = Silver Age (2012)
⊗ = Beauty & Rain (2014)
¶ = Patch the Sky (2016)
♦ = Sunshine Rock (2019)
♥ = Blue Hearts (2020)
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