Bob Mould Band at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Photos

Bob Mould and his band just released his latest album Sunshine Rock and they’re out on tour. They hit up Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre and I got to be there to capture the incredible set.

Bob seems to be having a great time over the past decade or decade and a half. He seems to have completely come to terms with his past and has been playing Hüsker Dü and Sugar tunes throughout his sets. It’s amazing to hear the breadth of his musical career presented so energetically. With his solid and well established rhythm section of drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy, the songs all sound fresh and energetic and full of life, delivered with power that few bands can muster.

The show started off with a super-strong combination of tunes from Bob Mould's solo catalogue, Sugar and Hüsker Dü. Bob's "The War", Sugar's "I Good Idea", Hüsker's "I Apologize", Sugar's "Hoover Dam", Sugar's "Your Favourite Thing", and Bob's "See A Little Light". Wow.

From that point, the set continued to bounce between new and old, Bob's solo tunes, Hüsker Dü tunes and one more Sugar tune until closing out with Hüsker's "Chartered Trips" and an encore of "What Do You Want Me To Do?" from Sunshine Rock and "Black Confetti" from Patch the Sky.

The band sounded amazing. They're so tight and the playing style of each member perfectly contributes to and compliments the whole. They may just be the perfect power pop band, the perfect power trio, and the perfect combination of singer/guitarist/songwriter with the perfect rhythm section.

And with that, another amazing Bob Mould Band show was in the books. As always, I can't wait for next time. On this tour, Bob’s selling his own brand of flannel shirts, and he’s modelling one during the show. Looking sharp!

I've covered Bob and the band many times in the past, and attended many shows, including a Sugar show, long before having this blog. If you want to check out that coverage you can click here for coverage of their stop at The Horseshoe for CMW 2016, click here for their set at Riot Fest 2014, check out my pre-DSLR skills here from a 2013 show at The Horseshoe and here for a 2009 show at The Mod Club.

Check out my coverage of The Drew Thomson Foundation, who opened up this particular show, here.

Here are a bunch of my personal favourites from the band's set.

"The War"

Sugar's "A Good Idea"

Sugar's "Hoover Dam"

"See A Little Light"

"The Descent"

"Sunshine Rock"

"Lost Faith"

"What Do You Want Me To Do?"

"Black Confetti"

CMW 2016: Bob Mould at The Horseshoe Tavern - Concert Pictures

It won't come as a surprise to regular readers of this site that I was excited to see Bob Mould at The Horseshoe Tavern on May 3. He's probably my absolute favourite song writer and is a huge influence on my own guitar playing and song writing. His work with Hüsker Dü, Sugar and his solo work all hold special places in my musical heart.

He, along with bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster, a rhythm section that delivers power pop perfection, played a setlist packed with tunes ranging from Bob's latest solo album Patch The Sky through Bob's solo career thus far, to Sugar's Copper Blue and classic Hüsker Dü tunes like my personal favourites "Could You Be The One?", "I Apologize", "Celebrated Summer" and "Makes No Sense At All". This show was so much fun and very close to perfect. 

Here are my favourite tunes from his amazing setlist.

"A Good Idea" from Sugar's Copper Blue

"Changes" from Sugar's Copper Blue

"The End of Things" from Bob's latest, Patch The Sky. Hey, that's the shirt Bob wore at this gig!

"The Descent" from Silver Age

"I Don't Know You Anymore" from Beauty & Ruin

"Voices In My Head" from Patch The Sky

"Hold On" from Patch The Sky

"If I Can't Change Your Mind" from Sugar's Copper Blue

"Hey Mr. Grey" from Beauty & Ruin

"Hoover Dam" from Sugar's Copper Blue

"See A Little Light" from Bob's first solo record Workbook

"Could You Be The One?" from Hüsker Dü's Warehouse: Songs And Stories, the song that made me absolutely love Hüsker Dü and Bob's songwriting

"I Apologize" from Hüsker Dü's New Day Rising

"Tomorrow Morning" from Beauty & Ruin

and they closed the main set with "Celebrated Summer" from Hüsker Dü's New Day Rising

The encore consisted of

"The War" from Beauty & Ruin

A laid-back version of "Love Is All Around"

and "Makes No Sense at All" from Hüsker Dü's Flip Your Wig

Thirty years ago: Hüsker Dü Candy Apple Grey

88.1 on the Toronto FM radio dial wasn't always Indie 88. It used to be the radio station of Ryerson Univeristy before they lost their broadcast licence. Back in high school, I used to listen to this hardcore show on the Ryerson station that frankly introduced me to a whole new world of music, including a great many amazing hardcore, punk and metal bands. If I recall correctly, that's where I first heard music from Hüsker Dü, from their major label début and the album whose 30th birthday is this month, Candy Apple Grey.

I mentioned this album pretty recently when Century Palm covered "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely" from this great album.

It's full of lyrics, chords, melodies and energy that were eye-opening and super-influential on me as a person, a songwriter and a guitarist. Hüsker Dü, and specifically Bob Mould, has been such a huge inspiration in my life and in music that I'll take any opportunity to share the band and their music. Here I raise a virtual glass to the anniversary of the release of this spectacular album.

Here's the full album:

And my favourite tunes from this personally influential album:

"Crystal" What a great sound to start a major label début

"Don't Want to Know If You are Lonely"

"I Don't Know For Sure"

"Too Far Down"

"Hardly Getting Over It", which still regularly appears in Bob Mould setlists

"Dead Set On Destruction" - one of the best tunes on the album

"Eiffel Tower High" - another absolute album highlight. Fantastic energy.

"All This I've Done For You"

Pic from HMV.

Husker Du's Flip Your Wig is 30

Thirty years ago this month, Hüsker Dü released Flip Your Wig. It was their fourth album and their first self-produced album. It's remarkable as an album because of the amazing tunes, and it's even more remarkable as their second album of 1985, the first being New Day Rising.

Flip Your Wig shows the band's continuing progression from more hardcore towards more power pop. There are so many great songs on this influential album, many of which make appearances in Bob Mould's solo sets, like the one he played at last year's Riot Fest.

Here are my personal favourites:

"Flip Your Wig"

"Makes No Sense at All"
Their cover of "Love is All Around", the theme song from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, was on the b-side of the "Makes No Sense At All" single.

"Hate Paper Doll"

"Green Eyes"

"Divide and Conquer"

"Games"

"Private Plane"

Pic from Bob Mould.

Hüsker Dü's New Day Rising is 30

Hüsker Dü is one of my favourite bands. They're hugely influential to my musical taste and Bob Mould in particular is a huge influence and inspiration. They're one of those bands that inspired countless other artists and changed the hard rock/punk/alternative music landscape. Thirty years ago this month, New Day Rising was released.

The tunes on this album are power pop tunes boiled down to their purest form and played with amped up intensity. Songs like "New Day Rising", "I Apologize", and "Celebrated Summer" remain amongst my favourites, whether in their recorded form or when played live.

Pic from Bob Mould.

Riot Fest 2014 Day 2 Band 5: Bob Mould

How often do you see an artist leave the ruins of a highly influential band only to have even greater success with his next band, and then enjoy a decades long solo career, all while being completely uncompromising and delivering with an energy and passion that belies his age?

Bob Mould started his musical success in Hüsker Dü. After their breakup, he put out a couple of solo albums before forming another power trio called Sugar, which released one of the all time classic alternative rock albums, Copper Blue. After the dissolution of Sugar, Bob returned to his solo albums, where he's been ever since. In between all that, he released an autobiography, See A Little Light; The Trail of Rage and Melody, which I thought was a great read.

I've seen Bob perform live many times, the first time with Sugar. I've even taken some of my classic iPod Touch pics at his shows at The Mod Club and The Horseshoe. Toronto's Riot Fest was different. This was the first time I actually got to officially photograph this personal influence and legend.

Bob Mould and the band were in top form, kicking the hell out of the set in a "show 'em how it's done" manner. He opened with some Hüsker Dü in the form of "Flip Your Wig" and "Hate Paper Doll". Sugar tunes "Changes" and "If I Can't Change Your Mind" made it into the set, as did a handful of tunes from Bob's latest, Beauty & Ruin and a little more Hüsker Dü. The only other solo album he pulled from was 2012's Silver Age and the tune "The Descent".

I'll leave the notes I made during the show intact: Unreal energy. Amazing. The peak of my day.

Here's a bunch of stuff from Bob's amazing set.

The two opening tunes. Hüsker Dü's "Flip Your Wig" and "Hate Paper Doll". Amazing tunes but it doesn't give us photographers a lot of time.

Sugar's "Changes"

"The Descent"

"I Don't You Anymore"

"The War"

"I Apologize"

"If I Can't Change Your Mind"

"Hey Mr. Grey"

"Makes No Sense At All"

Five by Five: A fistful of brilliance

Aren't there just some songs that you would give 100 stars to, if you could? They make your heart swell when you hear them, they make you grin uncontrollably, they bring amazing memories, they give you shivers. That is the magic of music.

Stars "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" brings a tear to my eye. I still remember the first time I heard this song. I was captivated from the first note. Amazing! So what if I've posted it before. "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in."*

Hüsker Dü "I Apologize" I can barely believe that I've never posted this song before. Just incredible.

OMD "If You Leave" I got a vinyl 45 of this song when I went to the première of Pretty In Pink. Yeah, you got somethin' to say about that?!?

Oasis "Morning Glory" is just an outstanding song. And so much fun to play live. From the school of "play the song, then play it again" song writing. Classic.

"Crank" by Catherine Wheel. Just because it's awesome. Someday I'll probably post a Rob Dickinson solo acoustic version.

*Quote from American Beauty

Five by Five: Classic Alternative

Here's a smattering of musical wonders, five-star songs from my library. It's a classic alternative set from years gone by. Hope you enjoy it.

7 Seconds from 1986's New Wind with "Put These Words To Music"

The Monks with "Johnny B Rotten" from their 1979 album Bad Habits.

The Clash with "Train in Vain" from the classic 1979 release London Calling.

Hüsker Dü with "Makes No Sense At All" from 1985's Flip Your Wig.

The Police from their second album, 1979's Regatta De Blanc with "It's Alright for You".

Bob Mould heats up the Horseshoe Tavern

What do you get when you cross a punk/alternative rock legend, two assholes, one guy who smells like kielbasa, one who smells like an ashtray, 341 guys and 5 girls in a packed, sweating room? A night with Bob Mould in Toronto at the 65-year old, legendary, Horseshoe Tavern.

Last Friday, March 1, 2013, on a cold winter's night, Bob Mould came through Toronto on tour to support his latest release Silver Age. I've been to the Horseshoe for many, many shows over the years and I don't remember it ever being this packed. I think everyone wanted to be as close to the stage as possible.

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Bob. From Hüsker Dü, through Sugar and throughout his solo career, I've loved Bob's music and he's been a huge influence on my own song writing. His latest album, Silver Age, is fantastic. It featured on my Favourite 20 Albums of 2012 list and the song "The Descent" came in number 2 on my Top 60 Songs of 2012 list.

Here's a fan video of the opening song from the show: "The Act We Act", from Sugar's monumental 1992 album Copper Blue.

And here's a rip from the DVD Circle of Friends of the second track they played, "A Good Idea", also from Copper Blue.

While Bob didn't make it through Toronto on his Copper Blue tour where he played the entire album front-to-back (I did get to see Sugar at the Concert Hall back in the early 90s), he did open this show with the first five songs. He then spent some time with Silver Age before moving on to an assortment of great tracks from across his career. The whole setlist is here. Thanks for not slacking, Toronto.

I love the energy that Bob, along with Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster, put into a show. Whether it's rocking out on the late-night circuit on Letterman or Fallon, or at Austin City Limits, or in Toronto at The Mod Club or The Horseshoe, Bob and the band bring incredible energy and enthusiasm to rocking our faces off and heating up the room.

On the subject of heat, and as a Canadian, I would like to send out an apology for the guys in the band that we didn't have enough heat on to make up for the cold outside. I'm joking of course. It may have been frickin' freezing outside, but it was a sauna inside. It was so hot that Bob's glasses were fogged for almost the whole show, and condensation was beginning to drip off the ceiling.

Sam Sutherland, author of Perfect Youth: The Birth of Canadian Punk joined Bob and the band on stage during the second encore for an inspired version of the Viltones' "Screaming Fist".

For more great music, check out my posts featuring Bob Mould, Sugar and Hüsker Dü.

Overall, Bob Mould and the band played a perfect blend of the old and the new with awesome energy, great sound and a great crowd. See you next time you swing through Toronto, Bob!

Here's a pair of songs from Silver Age: "The Descent" and "Star Machine".

Now Now from Minnesota opened the show with easy-on-the-ears melodic indie pop. You may remember them by the name Now Now Every Children. Too bad most of the audience was chatting so much through their set. I would definitely see this band again.

Here's the song "Thread" from their album, Threads.

One of the photos in this post is mine. I bet you can tell which one. Hint: it's not the one that actually looks professional.

Bob Mould and Dave Grohl do "Ice Cold Ice"

"Ice Cold Ice" is one of my many favourite Hüsker Dü songs. Here is Bob Mould with Dave Grohl doing the song at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It's due to be part of the concert film SEE A LITTLE LIGHT: A Celebration of the Music and Legacy of Bob Mould. There's a Kickstarter if you want to get in on the ground floor and earn yourself a cool package.

"Ice Cold Ice", originally released on 1987's Warehouse: Songs and Stories.

Favourites: Husker Du's version of Love Is All Around

That's right. Hardcore legends Husker Du doing the theme from Mary Tyler Moore.

Bob Mould covers Cheap Trick

Here's a video of Bob Mould covering Cheap Trick in Chicago. The video features Bob and the band doing "Downed" followed by the Husker Du classic "Celebrated Summer". When I caught Mark Kozelek a while back, he performed his cover of "Celebrated Summer". Ever so slightly different from Bob's/Husker's version.

And I just saw this great video of Bob and the band rockin' out on "The Descent".

Songs of the iPod: Great set of songs

On my usual random playlist, which serves up a mix from across my musical collection, I received the treat of a great little set of tunes. So great, that I had to share it. Awesome randomness!

Broken Social Scene with "7/4 Shoreline"


Rainbow Butt Monkeys with "Circles"


Husker Du with "Divide and Conquer"


and Dinosaur Jr. with "The Wagon"


Oldies but goodies.

Husker Du and Dead or Alive: Combinations of the iPod

I posted previously about some odd combinations that my randomized smart playlists will serve up on my iPod. Here's an intersting one:

It went from "Hardly Getting Over It" by Husker Du from their major label debut Candy Apple Grey


To Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"


Wow!

Bob Mould covers Sugar!

Here's a cool piece where the incredible Bob Mould covers one of his favourite bands, Sugar. He mentions a fondness for Husker Du as well!

I must see one of his solo shows!


Bob Mould "covers" Sugar

Bob Mould Highlights the New and the Old at The Mod Club in Toronto

Monday, October 5 marked the third time that I’ve seen Bob Mould live. I saw Sugar at the Concert Hall in the early 90’s and I saw the Bob Mould Band on their last stop at The Mod Club in 2008 supporting the excellent District Line album. After blasting through Hüsker Dü's "Something I Learned Today" from Zen Arcade and the always incredible Sugar tune "A Good Idea", Bob mentioned that this year has kept him busy with things other than touring. He mentioned that they had played Coachella, then arrived in Toronto the day before The Mod Club show, had a rehearsal, and now they were playing for us.

Not that they sounded unrehearsed. The trio (this year they weren’t touring with Bob’s Blowoff partner and keyboard player Richard Morel) were tight and energetic, playing through the now fairly standard mix of Hüsker Dü, Sugar and Bob Mould solo material. This show was different than last year in that Bob pulled out the acoustic guitar for a few songs.

Highlights were Sugar classics "Your Favorite Thing" and "Hoover Dam", Hüsker Dü classics like "I Apologize" and "Celebrated Summer" (Bob, how come you never play my personal favourite "Could You Be the One?"?) and some highlights from his new one Life and Times, including "Life and Times", "I’m Sorry Baby, but You Can’t Stand in My Light Anymore" and "Argos". In my humble opinion, "Spiraling Down" is an awesome new song and would have been an excellent addition to the set.

Overall, another great performance from Bob Mould and his rhythm section. Next up for Bob will be the release of his autobiography. I will certainly be picking it up to get a greater insight into this great songwriter who has influenced so many artists, myself included.

Here's a bootleg video from Bob's show at Irving Plaza on October 8. It's of the last two songs of the proper set "Celebrated Summer" and "In a Free Land" originally from Hüsker Dü.



I took the photos with my Blackberry. Maybe part of the appeal this blog can be the horrible live shots that I take.

Big Concert Week - Bob Mould, Built to Spill, The Twilight Sad, brakesbrakesbrakes, and We Were Promised Jetpacks

As they say, when it rains, it pours.

This week I have three, count 'em, three concert nights out that should give my earplugs a good workout.

The first comes tomorrow with one of my greatest influences musically - from his solo work, to Sugar and back to Husker Du - Bob Mould at The Mod Club.

Then, on Wednesday night, I'm off to see Built To Spill's second Toronto show at Lee's Palace.

Finally, on Saturday night, I'm off to a show that I've debated whether I could attend or not - a great triple bill of The Twilight Sad, brakesbrakesbrakes, and We Were Promised Jetpacks at the Elmo.

What a week it will be, and sooner or later I'll write about each one.

Stay tuned!

Origins: Bob Mould

In previous Origins posts, I've written about Husker Du and Sugar. Now it's time to address Bob Mould. What can I say about Bob Mould? He's been an amazing influence on my songwriting and guitar playing. His music, from Husker Du to Sugar to his solo material has been inspirational and consistently enjoyable. He's grown into a person who seems comfortable in his own skin, very down-to-earth, and genuinely happy. He's had his share of rough spots as well, drug and alcohol dependency, and he blames himself for Husker Du's manager's suicide.

After Husker Du broke up, Bob Mould started putting out solo material. It has been great to watch the progression in his career as he moved through classic confessional songcraft, to dance music and back again to alternative rock. [Aside: I'll confess my discomfort with genre tags like alternative and indie, but often fall back on using them to describe certain styles, time periods and esthetics.] Bob is also working on an autobiography which I will be picking up as soon as it is released.

Here's a video for "See A Little Light" from Bob's first solo album Workbook. Bob has said that he considers his latest, Life and Times, as being a return to the style of songwriting on Workbook, twenty years later.



Here's a video of Bob performing "I'm Sorry, Baby, But You Can't Stand In My Light Any More" from Life and Times.



Bob has announced tour dates and will be hitting Toronto's Mod Club on October 5. I saw their show there for The District Line tour and it was amazing to see Bob in such great form, playing songs from across his career. The Mod Club is one of my favourite venues for live music in Toronto and I'm very much looking forward to the October show. Other tour dates are at www.bobmould.com

Origins: Sugar

A little while ago I wrote about Hüsker Dü. After the dissolution of Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould struck out on his own (more detail coming on that later). After a couple of solo albums, Bob formed Sugar.

Copper Blue still stands as a great album, front to back. It brought much of what made Bob Mould's Hüsker Dü songs great and merged it with the dominant alternative rock sound. These guys were great. I got to see Sugar at a very, very loud Toronto show at the Concert Hall.

Here's the Bob Mould Band performing the Sugar song "A Good Idea". I believe this version is from the Circle of Friends DVD - watching that DVD on a good system is probably the closest you'll get to a night out at a Bob Mould show.



Here's the video for "If I Can't Change Your Mind" from Copper Blue.



Sugar released two proper albums, Copper Blue and File Under: Easy Listening, a mini-album called Beaster and a b-sides and rarities collection called Besides.

Then Sugar broke up.

Origins: Hüsker Dü

Where to start? Should I reach back to the beginning, when I liked the Village People and KISS? Maybe not. I'd like to start with the music that influenced me most. The music that has formed much of the foundation of what I like today, how I play the guitar and how I write songs.

In my teenage years, I got bored with mainstream music and started branching out. I listened to a lot of classic rock, metal and punk, in addition to a brief foray into dance music. And let's get this out of the way out front - I've always liked a good pop song. I like melody and good songwriting, and yes, I realize that "good" anything is highly subjective. So strong pop songwriting with an original twist is a thread that will likely begin to show itself over some time here.

One band really grabbed me back in the 80s and their effect has been felt for many years: Hüsker Dü. With the release of Candy Apple Grey and Warehouse: Songs and Stories, I discovered Hüsker Dü. I always gravitated more towards Bob Mould's songs. Their lyrics, melodies and structures spoke to me and have been a huge influence. There are a lot of sites out there that will take you through the history of Hüsker Dü, Sugar and Bob Mould. I'll just provide a few songs that are standouts for me.

"Could You Be The One" was the first Hüsker Dü song I learned how to play on the guitar and the first one I played with a band. The sound quality in this version isn't great, but hopefully the song shines through.



Then Hüsker Dü broke up.