What can we say about Bob Mould? The obvious details are the stuff of cliche – mainman in seminal (and genre-defying) hardcore speed metallers Husker Du, alongside friend/foe Grant Hart. Founder of pop/rock top 30 hitsters Sugar. Insanely accomplished guitarist as evidenced by his solo releases indluding the magnificent Workbook. Scriptwriter for the WWF, obviously.
And long-term tinnitus sufferer, possibly caused by life-threatening onstage volumes, to the stage where he can’t sleep wihtout some sort of noise to drown out the sounds in his head.
Apart from the wrestling, and to an extent the solo guitar work, all other Bobs mentioned are present and correct. Including the one that’s saying “turn it up”. Whether he genuinely can’t hear himself, or if he’s just determined to drag the entire audience to a life of perpetual eardrum buzz, the volumes are decidedly cranked up to 12.
Not a problem of course for the majority of this audience, who are well versed in the ways of Mould and have brought along hearing protection. The older members who saw him in Hüsker Dü days are in the minority with a sizable number of first-timers present, perhaps as much drawn by his new and acclaimed Silver Age release as his back catalogue.
Indeed, it’s the casual observers who are the real minority, with few here to chatter through the set – not that this is really possible anyway given the ear-searing volumes.
But from the opening bars of ‘The Act We Act’ it’s clear that this is set to be a bit of a crowd-pleasing night. The band played Copper Blue in its entirety last year, and indeed the trio gleefully rip through side 1 with barely a pause. The slightly muddy sound actually picks up thanks to a guitar repair carried out during ‘Hoover Dam’.
The show divides up neatly into the decades of Bob – we get several tunes from Silver Age – better even than the recorded version – including recent single ‘The Descent’, as the volume creeps its way upwards. My own personal hearing damage started on the Beaster tour in the 90s, a stadium-sized PA crammed into the Edinbuirgh Venue, while a recent show at the ABC2 was rather spoiled by a too-loud mix. I burst the seal on the earplug pack, but on insertion the results are disappointing. The sound is deadened, in more than one sense – the bright life seems to be sucked out of the new album material along with the higher frequencies. Removing the plugs makes matters worse, at least temporarily – a squall of airbrakes seems to permeate ‘Star Machine’, as if Mould has stomped on the pedal marked ‘Aural torture’. Eventually my ears adjust and a halfway-in approach seems to allow the sound to flow but the my lugs to remain relatively intact.
From the Silver Age we move on to a Hüsker Dü mini-set – at least one unfamiliar tune is genuinely unrecognisable (perhaps ‘In A Free Land’ – well, it has been 31 years).
Mould is clearly having fun – he seems to have a reputation for being a bit grumpy, but I’ve not really seen this (apart from his terse reply in the past when Grant Hart songs are shouted for). Although his mood probably is morose if compared to his youthful bandmates who are, it seems, grinning from ear to ear, just happy to be invited to play with the legend. The Glasgow crowd are similarly making the most of what is a rare visit from their hero, though it’s a demographic that are unsure whether to pogo or mosh and whether either will do them some mischief.
Apart from one new track and Beaster’s ‘Come Around’ the pace is relentless, especially on the generous selection of Hüskers tunes, so the disappointment at the early finish is tempered by the high songs-per-minute ratio. The Hit and another couple of early tunes including (I think) ‘Something I Learned Today’ are served up as well-deserved encores, before Bob and band depart. Given how mush my ears are ringing I can’t be sure how much Mould’s tinnitus will be bothering him, but he should be able to sleep soundly, satisfied at a job well done.
Good review of Saturday’s @bobmouldmusic gig from @isthismusic
http://t.co/ZD7jkVgaoV
RT @johnclarke1: Good review of Saturday’s @bobmouldmusic gig from @isthismusic
http://t.co/ZD7jkVgaoV
@SplitSingleband @jonwurster bob has “youthful bandmates” http://t.co/3dStwt5zWv