“I want to see if people are still
interested…” This, according to a “Rolling Stone” interview with the man
himself, was the typically understated reason behind US alternative rock
innovator and icon Bob Mould’s scarcely believable but extraordinarily welcome
decision last October to reunite his short-lived but seminal 90’s post-grunge
power trio Sugar for a select few gigs. Honestly, whatever the reason, don’t
care, I’m there! An initial slew of US/UK gigs were announced, including a double-header
at Kentish Town Forum, where (in its’ former Town And Country Club guise) I’d
had my ears blown off for the first time by this lot back in September 1992
(gig 221), so I booked a couple of tix for the first, Saturday, date, for me
and interested party son Logan the second they hit the O2 pre-sale. Having sold
both dates out in predictably short order, Sugar later announced a second
tranche of shows, one at the much nearer Bristol Electric, but by then we were
in a headspace for a day up the Smoke, so stuck with the original plan!
Some extra tix became available late on, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, we were joined for Logan’s long-time friend Chloe for the day out, and for her first gig – ever! Hoo boy, talk about a baptism of fire…! We headed off just after midday down a sun-baked M4, parking up in the usual Kentish Town pre-booked parking spot, and tubing down to a packed and boiling Camden. Old friend Thom was up from Bristol, so we met up and chatted in the shade of Camden Boxpark whilst the youngsters shopped, ostensibly for shorts for Logan (my errant son going against parental advice and wearing heavy jeans out, then realising his error in the heat!). Street food in a Camden Market pod, then back to the motor to dump purchases and on to the Bull And Gate for much-needed pre-gig refreshments. Spotted a familiar face there, in the ‘don’s veteran punk band Charred Hearts’ estimable mainman Dermot, the man joining us for a chat outside which, when old friend Keith showed up, turned into a Swindon old school punk rock summit meeting!
Eventually hit the queue and, after
a false start, got in on the O2 Priority and bagged barrier spots, house right
for a change – it’s Bob’s side, so there! A slow fill took us to just before 8,
when we were joined by solo support J Robbins, former vocalist of 90’s
post-hardcore grunge-adjacent US lot Jawbox. A band I didn’t know back then, I
enjoyed J’s intricate, almost baroque guitar picking on yearning opener “Anodyne”,
likening it to Massachusetts folk rabble Cordelia’s Dad, and giving the man
props for good use of the word “supine”! A surprisingly tuneful “Exquisite
Corpse”, recalling late period Posies, was juxtaposed with the goth horror of
the lyric, and whilst some numbers seemed too intricate for their own good
(viz. “Outside The Aviary”), J’s self-effacing charm generally won out. “Dear
Leader”, a vitriolic anti-Trump protest song (“I found out I share a birthday
with Trump – I very much do not love it!”) was well-received, and the
off-kilter Primus rhythm of Jawbox’ hit “Savory” was preceded by recollections
of that 90’s post-grunge record industry feeding frenzy. A strident paean to
his adopted Baltimore closed out an engaging set from a likeable 90’s survivor
simply glad to still be playing in such venues, a closing remark being, “if you
told me back then I’d be playing on this show, I’d have shit a brick!”
Passed the interval, as the place properly filled up, with some lively rock chat with Kurt, who’d flown in from his native Alberta, Canada for the gig as he refused to fly South! Good on you, fella! The lights dimmed and, accompanied by The Beatles’ “She Said, She Said” as jaunty intro music, Bob and the boys wandered nonchalantly onstage, plugged in and positively tore into the rock-solid opening riff and rhythm to a brilliantly strident “The Act We Act”, the years falling away. “Act” was, as expected, followed by the creepy “Debaser” bass intro to an equally awesome “A Good Idea”, the “Copper Blue” opening triad being completed with the four-alarm fire ringing opening of a quite magnificent “Changes”. What. A. Start!
“We had to pick the hottest weekend of the Summer to do this, right?” quipped an unusually voluble Bob, before his pocket dynamo buddy, bassist Dave Barbe, lent his vocals to a more languid “Company Book”, the pace and intensity inevitably dropping after that breathless opening (although that was admittedly due to the sheer incandescent magnificence of the opening 3, rather than any shortcomings from the subsequent material). “We’re from the god-forsaken USA,” admitted Bob to pantomime boos before the anthemic “Hoover Dam”, realigning the crowd with, “we’re here to rock, we’re here to have fun!” The descending riff of a ragged “Where Diamonds Are Halos” was again overlaid by Dave’s vocals, nasal and much lighter in comparison to his bandleader’s guttural and stentorian roar; “Your Favorite Thing” was discordant yet insanely groovy and singalong; and the hurtling instrumental “Clownmaster” almost turned into the outro of “Debaser”! Throughout all of this Bob, as ever, prowled the stage like a caged bear and fired riff after riff into the hot and frenzied auditorium like a sub-machine gun, a beatific grin never far from his snowy beard-embellished features. And then it got better… oh boy, did it…
“We’ve got a couple more numbers
for you,” Bob deadpanned before the gyroscopic centrifuge of a savage “Tilted”,
powered by some dynamic drum fills from strongarmed veteran sticksman Malcolm
Travis; then set closer “JC Auto” topped even that, a fist-pumping, undulating,
orgiastic and cacophonous set highlight, Bob delivering one final thunderous
vocal roar then pausing to deliver a HHH-style water spray before joining his
comrades offstage, leaving his beleaguered guitar squealing feedback in his
wake. Woah.
As if deliberately planned to clear the air after that visceral set-closing double, the encores then showcased arguably Sugar’s “poppiest” moments; the delicious descending bassline of “Helpless”, an irresistibly infectious “Gee Angel” and an utterly joyous “If I Can’t Change Your Mind”, rounding off a quite superb showing, Bob and Dave then taking deserved bows. By then we’d been joined at the front by Andrew, vocalist of the excellent Stayawakes, although a combination of my fruitlessly trying for a list (being used tomorrow, fair enough…) and his early train conspired against a lengthier catch up. So we met the balcony-bound Keith in the foyer, bade farewell to Thom and achily wandered back to the car (no mosh tonight, but my dancing and singing along in situ was enough!), reflecting on the gig during a happily swift exit from the Capital and drive home for 1 a.m. A quite superb day out and a triumphant return from Sugar, all agreed, with the opening 3 and final 5 numbers particularly memorable. Either way, one thing is crystal clear… yes Bob, we most definitely ARE still interested!
