Bob Mould- NYC- 2/27/2013

Ah, what could be nicer than to see bouncin' Bobby Mould- all happy, hale and hearty 31 years after I first saw him with Husker Du.

I wuz at the 2nd of the 2 nite stand at The Bowery Ballroom to see Mr. Sunshine. In the last coupl'a years, he's released a fine auto-bio, recorded his best lp since Workbook and apparently shed alot of self-hatred.

It was extremely easy to slice through the crowd in about 30 seconds and plant ourselves right by Bob, even though the guitar monitor was about 12 inches from me. Shit, I'm half deaf already, so a little more tinnitus for the cause of the rawk en rowl is a small price to pay.

So, into the fray Mr. Mouldy, Jason Narducy (bass) and Jon Wurster (drumz) stepped. Leading off with a buncha songs from Sugar (though, not the full elpee Copper Blue set from last year), Bobby-kins was shredding on his blue Strat. I gotta admit- I miss the old Flying V gee-tar, but hey, everyone's entitled to a little change I spoze.

After about 7 songs, Bob sez he's gonna play some of the new Silver Age album. I absolutely love this record and was a little sad he didn't play the title track. But toonage such as "The Descent", "Star Machine" and Steam Of Hercules" were just ducky.

One thing- In "The Descent" he sings"
"I didn't want to play the song/that gave people so much hope"...
 umm... what song was that Bob? Hope?????
Hey Bob Hope! I gotta million of 'em!

And then... time for the "oldies portion (aka HUSKER MOTHERFUCKING DU).
"Flip Your Wig"
"Divide & Conquer"
"Hate Paper Doll"
I believe that this is the first tour that Mould has played these songs on since Hu-Du broke up.
Fred Armison from Saturday Nite Live came out to do backing vox and rhythm guitar for the first three songs. Don't mock him... Freddy got street cred- he used to drum for alt-rawk band Trenchmouth back in the 80's. He was clearly thrilled to be playing up there- if a bit nervous looking. It's one thing to act in front of millions on TV- it's another thing to avoid fucking up on a Husker song!!!!!

Then- even more Husker Du!- "Something I Learned Today", "Chartered Trips", "In A Free Land".
I saw "Real World" and "New Day Rising" on the setlist, but I think they ran out of time and they didn't play 'em.

Well, anyway-- an ass kicking show- While I really enjoy sad mopey Bob ("Hardly Getting Over It", "Too Far Down", etc)- it's great to see him with so much energy and verve.

And here's the video of the year!~!!!!!!!

Gatorade should make a Bloody Mary flavor- I'd buy it!

Old Skool Weekend

Old school, bitches!!!!!!!!



Tonite: Mr. Bob Mould for free in Satan's Asshole (aka- Williamsburg, Brooklyn) for free! Though I dread being surrounded by thousands of douchebag hipster fucktwats, there's no way I'm gonna miss this. Besides, that's why they invented al-key-howl... to put up with these "types" of vermin.

Bobby-kins is slated to play all of the Copper Blue elpee from his Sugar days (not my favorite of his albums or bands- I'd prefer him to play the Beaster ep if I hadda my cherce. But... between Copper Blue and some solo stuff and some Husker muthafuckin' Du stuff I'll be a happy camper. Beeeee-sides... Bobby's new album "Silver Age" is fucking great!!!!!!!!

I first saw bouncin' Bobby with the Hu Du clan waaaaay back in the early 80's -  Probably 7 or 8 times during the Metal Circus thru Warehouse era. Flying fuckin' V's, barefoot drumming and lotsa shreddin'.

Some "adventures" that will also need to be relayed on these cyber pages at some point... including showing up at a show in a dress shirt and slacks (after a student awards event) at Maxwells in Slobw-boken NJ during the Zen Arcade tour and having Grant Hart (my instant best friend from the previous nite's show at the Peppermint Lounge) burst out laughing and immediately install me as stage security- in charge of keeping the divers off the stage- needless to say, by midway thru the show I was shirtless and clad only in slacks!


BRICKLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Tomoro: THE DESCENDENTS (and some other bands like Gogol Bordello and Hot Water Music)- MILO GOES TO BROOKLYN. Gawd- dealing with that venue 2 days in a row is gonna be a a bear, but I have to do what I have to do to.

 


Man- I am really psyched to see The Descendents again- another band from my yoputh- Songs like "Bikeage" and "Hope" and "When I Get Old" and "Rotting Out" and pretty much everything they've ever done are embedded in my heart and mind.

Plus... as an added bonus... it appears I will be interviewing Milo. I'll post the innerview asap-

Davey and I will be there to represent for our fallen comrades.

Bob Mould- "See A Little Light"

 Currently, I am reading and enjoying Bob Mould's auto-bio "See A Little Light". A fine book, not as heavy on the soul searching as I woulda thought, given his cathartic oeuvre of music, but some good insights nonetheless. He doesn't savage Grant Hart as much as you would expect, given their post-Husker relationship. Actually, he seems to think less of Greg Norton- basically describing him as superfluous to Hu-Du (except for his driving abilities).

Additionally, at least so far (I'm about halfway thru the book), Mould doesn't bury the book in overkill as far as his feelings about being gay. Of course he discusses it... but this is a book about Bob Mould, not a book about Bob Mould being gay (if that makes any sense- or makes no sense at all).

After finishing the whole book, I take back my initial perspective of Bob talkin  about his sexuality. He lays it on pretty thick in the second half of the book and  the second half of the book focus's much energy on his gay experience's (whether long term or "bumps in the night". He totally embraces gay lifestyle and is able to flourish in his adopted cities of NY, DC and Atlanta. Good for him- it certainly seems to make him a happier person. I think most people "back in the day" knew that the band was gay. It was a bigger shock finding out that Greg Norton with that handlebar mustache was straight! And despite the usual morons that were in any scene, I don't think that too many people particularly cared that Hu Du were gay.

I met Bob "back in the Hu Du days" a couple of times (and exchanged a couple of e-mails back and forth with him a few years ago) and he was always really really nice (as were Grant Hart and Greg Norton), so the "monstrous" anti-social behavior he describes in the book I never witnessed. There are some good insights into the Hu-Du songwriting and recording history, and I suspect the rest of the book will do the same for Sugar and his solo work. He talks about his drug use pretty candidly- ironically, the only time I ever saw him indulge was with a packet of powdered aspirin (we even asked him if it was coke and he showed us the envelope and it really was aspirin!)

It's also really cool to read his thoughts on some of the great shows that I saw the Huskers play- they were some amazing times for me, and it's always great to think about those old shows when both Bobby and I had alot more hair!

His stories about his subsequent efforts with Sugar and solo and with his electonica dj project "Blow-Off   are interesting. After all Sugar was a bigger band than Hu Du commercially. And Mould's tales of working for WCW wrestling were great. Punk rock!

I am relieved this isn't a "grouchy" look at his past- I hate those kind of "I hated every moment of my life" books. For example, I worshipped The Ramones, but after reading the various "tell alls" that were written about the "brudders", my memories of all the great times I had at their shows and listening to their music are a bit ruined since I know what miserable people they were.

Despite some rocky self hating moments, Bob at 50 seems to be a happy, well adjusted guy. Good for him!


I am posting some covers of Bob Mould penned Husker Du songs today- some really interesting stuff that I hope you enjoy.

(according to the book, Bob smiles at Grant after the guitar solo because he was so happy he nailed it correctly!)

Toonage:

Anthrax - "Celebrated Summer"
Sick Of It All - "Target"
Alloy - "Out On A Limb"
Jonas Jinx - "Something I Learned Today"

Better Things

To all of my friends in the great expanse...
Happy New Year and best wishes for a HEALTHY, HAPPY and PROSPEROUS New Year.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Here's wishing you the bluest sky,

And hoping something better comes tomorrow.

Hoping all the verses rhyme,

And the very best of choruses to

Follow all the doubt and sadness.

I know that better things are on the way.


Here's hoping all the days ahead

Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you.

Be an optimist instead,

And somehow happiness will find you.

Forget what happened yesterday,

I know that better things are on the way.


Its really good to see you rocking out

And having fun,

Living like you just begun.

Accept your life and what it brings.

I hope tomorrow you'll find better things.

I know tomorrow you'll find better things.


Here's wishing you the bluest sky,

And hoping something better comes tomorrow.

Hoping all the verses rhyme,

And the very best of choruses to

Follow all the drudge and sadness.

I know that better things are on the way.


I know you've got a lot of good things happening up ahead.

The past is gone its all been said.

So here's to what the future brings,

I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

I know tomorrow you'll find better things.


Toonage:
David Gilmour - High Hopes (Live)
Fountains Of Wayne - Better Things (Kinks Cover)
Descendents - Hope
Bob Mould - Wishing Well (Live)
Grateful Dead - Sunshine Daydream (Live Closing of Winterland)

The Five Days of Hate - Day 5

Open up your hate, and let it flow into me.

It's been a lovely week.


Toonage:

Richard Cheese - Down With The Sickness (Disturbed cover)
Adolescents - I Hate Children
Nirvana - I Hate Myself And Want To Die
Bob Mould - I Hate Alternative Rock

The day the sun stood still

Today's the summer solstice you ritualistic mofo's. An extra helping of toonage today.

"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."

Toonage:

Husker Du - Celebrated Summer - (Live Trenton NJ 1985)

Bob Mould - Celebrated Summer - (Live Acoustic)

Rush - Summertime Blues (live Atlanta June 2007)

Soul Asylum - Summer Of Drugs

Led Zeppelin - White Summer (live Dortmund Germany)

Barracudas - Summer Fun

Pansy Divison - The Summer You Let Your Hair Grow Long

Pagans - What's This Shit Called Love