Internet research suggests that it was in 1989 that I first
saw Bob Mould, at a shockingly badly attended gig at Cardiff University –
following the break-up of seminal Minneapolis punk heroes Husker Du and before
he helped to invent grunge (or maybe “emo”) with Sugar. So, when a gig was
announced at Cardiff’s Globe, I eventually managed to organise myself sufficiently
to purchase a ticket – shortly before the gig sold out, and his subsequent
appearance at the high-profile BBC 6 Music Festival in Bristol was confirmed.
In support were Cardiff-based four-piece The Estrons, who
have been tipped for big things, their single “Make A Man” getting some airplay
at the moment. There were hints of old-fashioned hard rock, overlain with indie
sensitivity; and singer Tali’s raspy vocals cut through rather powerfully. Very
impressive.
By the time Bob came on, the venue had filled up to capacity
and he belied his avuncular appearance by rocking hard from the off. Frankly,
the sound mix was pretty muddy, such that it took time to register each song,
although he began with Sugar favourites “A Good Idea” and “Changes” – indeed,
much of the set seemed to lean on this, the most commercially successful era of
his career. His newer, solo material came across strongly, though – “Voices In
My Head”, and “I Don’t Know You Anymore” being exemplary melodic rock. Sugar’s
classic “Hoover Dam” was an unexpectedly moving stand-out moment for me.
Towards the end, he played some Husker Du tunes, kicking off the five-song
encore with “Flip Your Wig”; it also included, oddly, a version of Generation X’s
“Your Generation (coincidentally, the first band I ever went to see live, back
in 1979). He was even good-natured enough to lead the audience in singing “Happy
Birthday” to bassist Jason Narducy; the drummer being Jon Wurster, another punk
rock luminary.
The day after, one remains somewhat deafened, but heartened.
Labels: bob mould, gig, music, punk, review, rock, the globe
