Bob Mould in K'zoo

Scratch Bob Mould off the list...

It's embarrassing for me to say that, after almost 39 years of being a fan, I finally saw Bob Mould play live.

I never saw Hüsker Dü because they broke up a year after I became a fan. I probably had multiple opportunities when Bob went solo or when he was in his band Sugar, but it wasn't high on my priority list. It wasn't until his recent career resurgence on Merge Records--and a further deepening of my HD fandom, that seeing Bob became a must.

 

I had tickets to see him in March 2020, but I don't need to tell you what global shit show caused that concert to be canceled.

So, five years later, I finally caught him and his cracking band consisting of Jason Narducy (bass/vocals) and Jon Wurster (drums). Of course, Bob adds his slashing buzz saw guitar and anguished vocals to the mix.

Since there is apparently a law that makes Lansing a live music black hole, we once again had to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to Bell's Eccentric Café in K'zoo for the show. Thankfully, Bell's is a wonderful place to spend an evening. They have all the beer you'd want and their summer concert series is like hanging out in a huge backyard that just happens to have a stage on the grounds.

The crowd was mainly middle-aged white dudes, many clinging on to whatever vestige of "coolness" they still possess--or maybe they don't possess it at all anymore but are simply pretending to be who they were 30 or 40 years ago. I saw the standard Hüsker Dü, Dead Kennedys, Melvins, Replacements (etc.) tees, a smattering of leather jackets, plenty of tattoos, and feet sporting Doc Martens and Vans. Aging guys trying to show off their punk bona fides. (It's not as though I am above them, as I had on my Love Forever Changes tee--purchased a few weeks earlier at the Love Revisited show, my zip up hoodie, and black Adidas. Not exactly punk but certainly shooting for casual cool middle-aged dude concert apparel).

After observing all of this amusing assemblage of humanity and grabbing the requisite beers, it was time for opening act Winged Wheel, which includes as one of its members former Sonic Youth (and, much further back, Crucifucks) drummer Steve Shelley. Winged Wheel is a mainly instrumental band best described as shoegaze. They would probably be best experienced with weed, E, shrooms, or acid and NOT beer. I had the wrong mood-enhancing intoxicant.

Near the end of Winged Wheel's set, I noticed Jon Wurster walking towards the side of the stage to check them out. Utterly starstruck, I had to snap a few pics. But hold on! That's not all! A couple minutes later, Bob Fucking MOULD walked towards Wurster to join in checking out Winged Wheel. I snapped a few more pics.

The Bob Mould Band came on about a half-hour after Winged Wheel and blasted through well over 20 songs in less than two hours. There is little banter and no pause between songs. Bob did take a few minutes to say, "Hello, Kalamazoo, how are you?!" and later introduce the band and marvel at the full(ish) moon in the sky. Otherwise, this was a no bullshit rock show, and those guys delivered the goods. Wurster in particular is a dynamo behind the drum kit.

And then it was over, and once again we had that daunting 1 1/2 hour drive home and the inevitable next day fatigue.