Bob Mould at Tramps
NYC, 51 W.21st Street.
July 16, 1996

Bob Mould came out to a packed house and delivered a set chocked full of incredible energy and verve. I am a long time Husker Du fan and have followed all of Bobs work since they broke up. He comes out accustic with a guy on accustic bass (guitar style, not upright). Blam! they bust into "Wishing Well" from Bobs first solo album. Crank through a set of amazing songs including: "Hardley Getting Overt It", "Poison Years", "Favorite Thing", songs from the history of Bob (Huskers, Solo, Sugar). The finest moment in my opinion was their take on "Celebrated Summer", and old Husker song, that was arranged in a very different manner than on "New Day Rising". It brought blood to the surface. This set of tunes was delivered on accustic guitars in a very unique manner. Bob Mould plays the guitar like it was a hammer to hot steel. He wails on the strings creating this ringing sound that I have never experienced before. The boat is a float on the sea of loud sounds and Bobs wailing voice. And the amazing thing is that they did it all sitting down. [BdeV 8/21/96]