These Rough Trade “Meet and Greet”s are
going to serve me well this year, it seems; this is the first of four such
instore CD release shows I’ve got booked on my Spring Dance Card, and let’s
face it, they don’t get much bigger, either in size or reputation, than Bob
Mould! Mould, the iconic US alt-rock figurehead of both seminal 80’s popcore
pioneers Husker Du and equally influential 90’s power trio Sugar, announced
some instore shows in support of his forthcoming new release “Here We Go
Crazy”, his 13th (!) solo release (on top of 7 for the Du and 3 for
Sugar!) yet first since 2020’s “Blue Hearts”, and happily Bristol was on the
list, albeit on a Sunday lunchtime. Hopefully this would mean a decrease in
volume for both the small RT back room and with respect to the Sabbath, given
that my last time out with The Man was “Shiiine On” 2019 (gig 1,161), when he
singlehandedly burst 3,000 eardrums in Centre Stage with a palpable assault of
noise…
A lunchtime gig meant a morning departure, so I dragged Logan out of bed and gave him a quick crash course on Bob’s works on a sunny drive down, grabbing my hungry son some breakfast in Taka Taka before we hit Rough Trade to grab our CDs. Did a bit of shopping as well, Logan filling up my useful bag with flexidiscs and books before we wandered into the already-busy back room 20 minutes before Bob was due on, grabbing a spot house right, about 4 rows back from the stage. Spotted Devizes gig Alfie front row centre; he must have been first in the queue! Also had a nice chat with fellow punters Mary and Dave, Mary having seen Husker Du at the Bierkeller in 1986! Jealous!
The Man Himself wandered on prompt at 1 p.m., arranging his backline before strapping on his faithful Strat, greeting us with a surprisingly softly spoken, “good afternoon,” then ripping into buoyant and upbeat opener “The War” with his usual fierce and intense conviction, blasting out his vocals with his usual stentorian Smilodon roar and striding around the small stage like a caged tiger. Having said that, the sound was loud but not overpowering this time, the riffs strident but not brutal, so a definite improvement from “Shiiine On”, I’m glad to say! Husker Du oldie “Flip Your Wig” flew by in an effervescent hooky flash, before the energetic attack of “Hard To Get” heralded a slew of the new album material. “It’s gotten warm in here in a hurry,” admitted an already-perspiring Bob, replying to a punters’ heckle with, “that’s because I’m hot as fuck!”
Hot stuff indeed! The new album numbers
trod the same time-worn path of his previous extensive and impressive canon of
work; strident hard-rocking punk rock electric guitar sandblasting your ears,
then the underlying irresistible hooks and melodies kissing them better. The
Trail Of Rage And Melody, as his revealing autobiography states, indeed! Title
track “Here We Go Crazy” was next up, slower burn yet potently melodic, then
Bob blamed the pandemic for the unusually long interval between album releases,
prior to a more understated and even melancholy “Breathing Room”. The affable
and unusually voluble singer then shared his thoughts on the state of the world,
and particularly his home country of the USA, admitting, “I’m so embarrassed
for my country,” then explaining US politics through the filter of “MAD”
Magazine. Sounds about right…
A brilliant, desolate and mournful “Too Far Down” followed a pro-Trans rights speech from The Great Man, before he left us on a high note with a triad of deep cuts from his past; firstly, the irresistible hurtle and sinuous tempo-change of the Du’s “Celebrated Summer”, then the soaring metallic resonance of Sugar’s “Hoover Dam”, and finally, after sincere thanks to the audience, the cherry on the icing that was “Makes No Sense At All”, Bob eliciting the help of the audience to sing back the ridiculously infectious hook. In any other world, this song would have dominated the airwaves for decades, but on this, it was just an excellent way to finish a rather splendid 40-minute vignette from The Man and, appetite whetter for the new album.
We caught our breath and chatted to Alfie
(who’d got Bob’s list of course… nice one!), then joined the back of a happily
swift-moving queue to meet The Man. I’d brought along my Gig Book No. 1 to show
him the flyer for my first Bob “live” experience, on the “Workbook” tour back
in 1989 (gig 146!)… he signed said flyer, took a pic of my book and called it,
“a beautiful thing!” Whoa, I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy etc… A Taka Taka for
late lunch before a swift drive home for just after 4pm. Great stuff, and a
most agreeable way to spend The Sabbath; Bob is back and restored to his full
plangent glory (noisy, sure, but not too noisy!), and the new album material
sounds very promising indeed…!
