Bob Mould Plugs His Distortion Pedal Back In, Thrills Ensue

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 13, 2012 7:20PM

Photo: Peter Ellenby

During the course of his career Bob Mould has fronted two extremely influential bands (Hüsker Dü and Sugar), then abandoned rock and/or roll for the dance club, which led to him exploring his own history to write an autobiography, the writing of which led him back to the guitar and the notion of the power trio. After years of albums that saw Mould veering all over the map and experimenting with folk to electronic pop and seemingly everything between, his latest album Silver Age fully embraces his louder, brasher past. And while we've always respected Mould's willingness to follow his muse wherever it led him, we're extremely happy it's spurred him to write the terrifically loud blasts of melodic rock that populates the new disc.

If Mould was only playing tunes from his new album that would be enough to whet our appetite for his live show, but he's performing an additional set comprised of Sugar's Copper Blue played in its entirety. We admit that for the most part we've begun to tire of this "play classic albums live" trope, but considering his new material can stand proudly next to his past masterpiece leads us to believe this show has the potential to truly be special.

Mould's backing band is the same crew he recorded Silver Age with—Superchunk's Jon Wurster on drums and Chicago ex-pat Jason Narducy on bass—so expect a raucous set. And Mould has promised to play songs from the entriety of his vast back catalog, including the possibility of material reaching all the way back to his days in Hüsker Dü. All of this comes together to indicate that this is a tour you do NOT want to miss.

Tickets are still available for Bob Mould's Sept. 14 show at Metro, 3730 N Clark. Purchase your tickets online here