Bob Mould Band with Halou - Trocadero (Philadelphia, PA) - March 14, 2008

by Matthew Berlyant
22 March 2008

The last two times I’ve seen BOB MOULD (reviews here and here), he played solo, both times at World Cafe Live. The last time was in February for a Free at Noon concert where Mould blitzed through about a dozen songs in about half an hour, barely talking between songs. The time before that was last November at a special show where he was interviewed by a WXPN DJ and then subsequently played a forty-five minute solo set.

This time, however, he was playing with the same band that played with him on the tour for his excellent 2005 album Body of Song. The only difference was that this time, former FUGAZI drummer BRENDAN CANTY was replaced by MATT HAMMON, but the results of the show were similar to the two previous times I’ve seen him with a band, in October 2005 at Irving Plaza and in July 2006 at Penn’s Landing.

There were only a few differences between those shows and this one, to be perfectly honest. The first difference is that there were fewer SUGAR songs played, especially from their 1992 debut Copper Blue. Second, he played “Divide and Conquer” from HUSKER DU’s 1985 SST swan song (and their last album on an indie label) Flip Your Wig. And finally, songs from his recently released District Line were played. Oddly, though, only two of the new songs (“Again and Again” and “The Silence Between Us”) were played, but at least they were two of the album’s best songs. Perhaps Bob views some of these songs as unsuitable for the full band roar (as always, earplugs were a virtual requirement for attendance) given that one of them is an outtake from his quieter 1989 solo debut Workbook. Nevertheless, I didn’t mind this one bit as it gave Mould a chance to mix it up, playing solo tracks from Body of Song (a medley of “Circles” and “Paralyzed”), 1990’s Black Sheets of Rain (“Hanging Tree”) and the aforementioned Workbook (the MTV and college radio hit “See a Little Light”). Furthermore, he dived deeply into the Sugar canon as well, mostly playing material from Copper Blue like “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” “Hoover Dam” and “A Good Idea” (which was executed a bit better than it was the last few times I’ve heard them attempt this live arrangement), though File Under Easy Listening was also represented by “Your Favorite Thing”. Notably, though, only about four or five songs from Copper Blue were played, so the show felt more like the “greatest hits” set that the 2005/2006 tour was supposed to be instead of what felt like an All Tomorrow’s Parties show where he played all of Copper Blue in its entirety (not that it would be a bad thing at all).

Furthermore, and most significantly, he dived even deeper into the Husker Du catalog than I’ve ever seen him do. Yes, he played essentially the same songs that he played the last time around such as “Chartered Trips,” “I Apologize,” and “Makes No Sense at All”, but the addition of “Divide and Conquer” was a real treat and bonus as well. Furthermore, saving them all for the end reminded me of the show MISSION OF BURMA played at Bowery Ballroom back in January 2006 (review here) where a rush of classics concluded their second set of the evening, culminating in an encore featuring BOB WESTON singing WIRE’s “Dot Dash”!

In summary, although this show wasn’t quite as jaw-dropping as the above mentioned Mission of Burma show, it still feels great seeing Bob Mould doing what he does best, even if the novelty has worn off a little now and it’s starting to feel a bit familiar.

Openers HALOU attempted a sound that was akin to late ‘90s trip-hoppers like MORCHEEBA, SNEAKER PIMPS and the like or perhaps a more ethereal CURVE, but their lack of memorable songs and hooks and the fact that for a five-piece, it sounded like they were barely plugged in, made their set forgettable.

The above photo was taken by NINA SABATINO during this show and is used with permission. You can see the rest of her photos of this show here.

Filed under concerts indie-rock