[ATTENDED: October 13, 2026] Sugar
Sugar hasn’t toured in some 30 years. For some reason I thought I had seen them back the first time, but I’d actually seen Bob Mould doing a solo tour (with a band) and they played Sugar songs.
I’ve seen Bob several times, both by himself and with a band, but I was really excited to see Sugar and, while it wasn’t THAT different from when he plays a solo show (with a band) it was all Sugar and there were several songs sung by David Barbe, the legend from Athens. And Malcolm Travis (I had no idea his history) was on drums.
There was a MASSIVE banner that read SUGAR behind them and, aside from lighting changes, there wasn’t much more spectacle. Because this (as with most things Bob does) was all about the music.
After an opening tape of The Beatles’ She Said She Said (which I joked was played at the loudest volume I’ve ever heard The Beatles played) the band came out. Malcolm sat at the drums, David grabbed his bass and Bob headed to the guitar. For the whole show, nobody changed instruments, they just played 23 songs in 90 minutes and left us exhausted and elated.
Bob was his usual antsy self, stomping around the stage like a boxer warming up. He was dripping sweat by the end of the first song. They opened with the first three songs from Copper Blue. I have seen Bob and I’ve seen him play a few Sugar songs in recent years, but as soon as David sang the backing vocals on The Act We Act, it was a real Sugar show.
I deliberately didn’t listen to any of the albums before the show for fear that I’d be upset if they didn’t play the song I wanted to hear and I was pretty thrilled by how much all of this music that I’d listened to so much came back to me.
Hearing the opening bass line of A Good Idea (a very Pixies like song) was wonderful and watching Bob play that rising guitar note was just as cool . We all sang along to “that’s a good idea, she said she said.” There was an older woman in front of my wife. She was short with long gray hair and for the first couple of songs, she was completely consumed by the music–raising her arm (something I particularly hate) and dancing and moving and backing into my wife–she took up way too much space. She settled down after the opening salvo of songs, but it was fascinating. We were annoyed by her, but also appreciative of how into it she was.
I loved hearing Changes, and probably would have happily had them play the entire album straight through (but they had to save a few songs for the end). They sprinkled songs from File Under: Easy Listening throughout the set. So up next came the David Barbe sung Company Man. I didn’t recognize it at first–David’s mic seemed a little quiet and/or he was singing a little too quietly. His backing vocals (which were usually higher) sounded great. But he was a little muffled on lead. I hadn’t thought of Company Man in a long time and it was cool to hear it–Bob’s screams at the end gave it even more punch.
And, wow, Bob’s voice was amazing–powerful, intense and totally in key. What a fantastic performer. Bob just turned 65 and he has more energy than I do. Not to harp on PiL again, but Lydon is 5 years older and barely moved on stage.
They played 6 songs from the B-sides collection, Besides, which was kind of a surprise, but if you only have 2 and a half albums out, you don’t have much to choose from. What’s interesting is that some of the songs only appeared on this collection as live recordings. In the Eyes of My Friends is a poppy song from Barbe. It was vaguely familiar, but I’m surprised I didn’t recognize it better. Then came After all the Roads Have Led to Nowhere (nowhere), a blast of a song that’s not available anywhere else.
Bob didn’t say very much. He said hi, thanked everyone for coming and then introduced Hoover Dam, one of my favorite songs on the album. It was really great hearing the chorus and the part with the guy with the horns and the cape, although I think he forgot the words in the middle. They followed this with another of Barbe’s lead vocals, the super catchy Where Diamonds Are Halos, with the great chorus “every little bit helps, believe me.” I also didn’t know Running Out of Time, which is only available on a Sugar live album that I didn’t know about.
I really liked FU:EL and hearing the soaring guitars of Gift was, well, a Gift. But even more of a gift was My Favorite Thing–I mean, Bob Mould knows how to a right a pop hit.
They really surprised me by playing the bizarre rocking instrumental Clownmaster (with some great bass lines from Barbe). I didn’t realize it was only released as a live song. It was great to hear it. Then came another Barbe song, Frustration–I remembered the “I was wrong” coda very well..
They played two new songs (which I guess I’d never heard about because I didn’t know them). I assumed they were older songs that I just didn’t know, which tells me they fit in perfectly with the Sugar sound. Both songs were really short and then they played the intense FU:EL song Explode and Make Up. On record it’s acoustic but it was even more intense with Bob’s electric guitar and his screaming vocals. They followed it with one more Barbe sung song Anyone, from Besides. I wonder if the next Sugar album was going to have more Barbe sung songs–it’s kind of weird that they’re all on the B-sides, unless he was planning on using them on some other project.
I didn’t really like the Beaster EP when it came out–so much darker than Copper Blue–but over the years, I really grew to appreciate it. And it was interesting hearing three Beaster songs in a row toward the end of the set. In fact, Bob said a few words about how happy they were two play Philly for two nights. And then he said, but then there’s this and started Come Around. Throughout the set I had to laugh that Malcolm Travis was the most boring drummer I’d ever seen. Which wasn’t a criticism per se–he was perfect throughout–but he hardly ever looked up. He didn’t do anything flashy. My wife joked with me that she was watching him and said that during one song, his eyebrows lifted each time he hit a beat and that was the most active he was. But he really killed it during Tilted with his super fast snare hits. Bob doesn’t play a ton of solos, but he ripped out some really intense ones during this song too–it was cool watching his fingers fly around the fretboard.
They ended the trio of songs with JC Auto. I had forgotten this song and as soon as it started I remembered how much I enjoyed the beginning (holiday section) and then when it shifts to the jesus christ part–wow that was intense (with Barbe doing that backing vocals).
The end of the set was three big hits in a row. A poppy and joyful Helpless (I think the first time Bob used a capo). It was fun seeing Bob really enjoying himself up there, smiling during these songs.
I didn’t remember what the other leftover songs could have been, but I was pretty tickled when they started up Gee Angel, a song I had forgotten about but which all came rushing back as we bounced around to it.
Bob joked that they had one more song–spoiler alert–and the biggest surprise was that the woman in front of us left before the song! Did she hate the most popular Sugar song If I Can’t Change Your Mind? It’s not like she left early to avoid the traffic (there is none). Weird. Because she missed a great rendition of the song. I’ve seen Bob do it a solo performer and yet it was just more fun having the original band do it. Even if Bob still sings that closing guitar line instead of playing it.
And that was that. Sensible older folks that they are, the show was done by 10:30. Bob waved, stopped, waved again, stepped back into the light, absorbed the applause and left. I had dragged my wife along to this show with her not knowing ANY Sugar songs and she said it was great–no nonsense, just song after song. I’m so glad I got to see them.
- The Act We Act ©
- A Good Idea ©
- Changes ©
- Company Book ∴
- After All the Roads Have Led to Nowhere ∝
- In the Eyes of My Friends ∝
- Hoover Dam ©
- Where Diamonds Are Halos ∝
- Running Out of Time ≥
- Gift ∴
- Your Favorite Thing ∴
- Clownmaster ∝
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Frustration ∝
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House of Dead Memories §
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Long Live Love ♥
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Explode and Make Up ∴
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Anyone ∝
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Come Around €
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Tilted €
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JC Auto €
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Helpless ©
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Gee Angel ∴
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If I Can’t Change Your Mind ©
♥ single (2026)
§ single (2025)
≥ The Joke Is Always on Us, Sometimes (1995)
∝ Besides (1995)
∴ File Under: Easy Listening (1994)
€ Beaster EP (1993)
© Copper Blue (1992)
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