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Bob Mould (All Cat Rose photos) |
By Andy
Seattle finally got its night.
A full-throttle and uplifting evening with the sure-handed men of SUGAR — Bob Mould, David Barbe and Malcolm Travis — on Aug. 15 at the majestic Paramount Theatre.
The band’s performance was equally as stunning on this stop of its Love You Even Still 2026 World Tour. It’s been nearly 30 years since many of us have last seen them decimate a venue with melody wrapped around their pummeling sound.
It was definitely worth the wait.
We got a killer 23-song set that generated heaps of head bobbing, arm raising and smiles as wide as the "Hoover Dam" from the stoked crowd and the band itself. It was a communal and ear-drum-rattling experience that gave us all a much-needed boost in these trying times. We all won on this stellar night and had a blast.
SUGAR went straight for the jugular with the "Copper Blue" opening trio of "The Act We Act," "A Good Idea" and Changes" and never took its foot off the pedal during the 90 minutes of sheer joy and musical prowess that everyone fully latched onto until the final notes of the perfect closer, "If I Can't Change Your Mind," put a solid stamp on the evening.
From start to finish, Mould took his guitar, vocal cords and body on the full-workout journey, especially on the jarring "Beaster" trio of "Come Around," "Tilted" and "JC Auto"; Barbe's bass playing, backup vocals and lead vocals on songs like "Company Book," "Where Diamonds are Halos," "Frustration" and more make the set soar; and drummer Travis is a human jackhammer gluing the whole thing together with precision and intensity.
When Mould tilts his head back and roars on the towering, gut-wrenching "Explode and Make Up" and other gripping tunes, you're locked in with him the whole way. When he darts across the stage and swings his guitar, we're sure to keep an eye on the man having the time of his life with his bandmates.
Other highlights of the night were new songs "House of Dead Memories" and "Long Live Love," "Helpless," "Gee Angel," the raging full-on instrumental "Clownmaster" and so much more. And we always want more, but the night has to end sometime.
What will stick with us is how SUGAR is a team effort, with the players constantly feeding off each other during the set and often nailing things down while gathered around Travis' kit. Man, we are lucky to have SUGAR back in our presence.
Of course, the volume was jacked up to the hilt, and I told a Paramount worker -- just four days into his job -- that he may never experience a louder gig at this or any other venue.
Kicking things off in grand style was J. Robbins, whose singing and acoustic guitaristry firmly connected with the crowd during his 10-song, 30-minute set.
Robbins commanded center stage and unleashed tunes from his solo albums "Un-Becoming" ("Anodyne" was the sterling opener) and "Basilisk" along with songs from his former bands Jawbox ("Savory" and "Static") and Burning Airlines ("Outside the Aviary").
** All Cat Rose photos:
SUGAR
J. ROBBINS
