I went to see Bob Mould last night at Cat’s Cradle. The last time I saw Bob Mould was in Boston at the Paradise. That would have been, well, when I was still living in Boston. And thinking about it, since he was solo, probably on the tour to support Hubcap, so 1996 or ’97. So 8 or 9 years ago. Oy! Ok, now that I feel old… That was an incredible show. Like I said, solo. And I mean seriously solo: it was him, a guitar, a microphone, & a chair. That’s it. The most spare show I’ve ever seen. You have to be damn good for that to work. Last night he had a band, and they kicked ass; in the best punk tradition, they were loud, fast, and hard. When Bob Mould throws down, he really crashes his head through it. I was totally reliving my misspent youth. At the same time, I felt like a fogie; by about 10 pm I was already sleepy & Bob Mould had just gotten on stage. This used to be easier. I am happy to report, however, that I was not the oldest person in the place.
My first exposure to what I would once upon a time have called hardcore was Hüsker Dü. I first heard Makes No Sense At All on a mix tape that a friend lent me back in 9th grade, & my musical tastes have never been the same. But I’m not really sure what to call that genre of music now. Bob Mould is 45 years old; I think he gets to graduate from being a punk rocker. But what do you call a superannuated punk?
As an aside, at Cat’s Cradle they generally sell CDs, t-shirts, & whatnot near the door. I noticed last night that they were selling LPs too. The last show I went to at Cat’s Cradle was Robyn Hitchcock, last Fall semester sometime, & I noticed they were selling his latest on vinyl too. What’s the deal? Is vinyl coming back as a retro thing? Of course you can buy LPs but good luck buying an actual record player.