Hugh Russell pipped me to the post for Buzz reviewing duties for last week's Bob Mould gig at the Globe, but in truth my report would have been much the same - making mention of the "relentless battery of well-worn numbers hammered home at breakneck pace"; the gusto with which the veteran punk performed, his T-shirt sodden with sweat long before the night was done; and the fact that the highlights of a set that passed in a bit of a blur were arguably the two tracks from Sugar's Copper Blue, 'Hoover Dam' and 'If I Can't Change Your Mind'.
However, as good as it was to see a legend up close and in fine fettle, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from lamenting the lack of interaction with the crowd (Mould claimed, understandably, to be saving his voice for performing); the relative paucity of material from his latest (excellent) LP Blue Hearts ('Siberian Butterfly' was great, though); and, most significantly, the absence of accompanying bass and drums that would have taken the show to another level. (Ironically, the only previous time that I've seen him, he did have a backing band (and a rather exceptional one at that, No Age) - but on that occasion I was a bit cheesed off because his guest appearance to rattle through some Husker Du classics came at the expense of my favourite No Age song. More fool me.)
All the same, the evening prompted me to dig out Copper Blue and it's been on heavy rotation ever since. As someone astutely put it on Twitter, it's like his Husker Du material given the production quality it actually deserves...
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