It’s a warm night and we’re queuing outside the esteemed Rock City for the much-anticipated return of Sugar. For many, it’s a pinch yourself moment, for no one ever thought that Sugar would or could return and yet, here we are, some thirty years or more since they last graced a Nottingham stage, and the sense of excitement is palpable.
The night opens with a short acoustic set from J. Robbins (ex-Jawbox), who manages to carry a thirty-minute solo set by virtue of an engaging personality and a selection of tunes that work surprisingly well in this format, despite their somewhat noisier antecedents. He kicks off with Anodyne. A scratchy rocker (complete with violin) in its recorded incarnation, here’s it’s stripped down to its melodic core, grabbing the attention of the rapidly-filling rock city and carrying the audience along with it. The same could be said for Your Majesty – a track that appears to rely so heavily on percussion on record that you fail to appreciate just how much James’s Beatles-esque vocal harmonies bring to the mix. Here, no such omission is possible, and it’s a pleasure to see these pieces reworked in such a way.
It helps that James has a natural way with the audience. While, when he stops to ask if anyone has looked up celebrity birthdays, he expresses surprise at the lacklustre response, he follows up with the wry announcement that his celebrity is none-other than Donald Trump – a semi-humorous segue into the excellent Dear Leader, the vitriol of which is laid wide open when set against a simple acoustic backdrop. Rather more surprising is the way that he takes Jawbox classic Savory and reworks what appeared to be an exercise in dissonance into something entirely compelling. In consequence it earns the biggest cheer of the night.
He wraps his short set up by acknowledging once more just what an honour it is to be supporting a reformed Sugar, before taking the audience through a cover of Lorelei (Office of Future Plans), leaving the audience to roar their approval as he takes his leave.
Honestly, there are not many artists who can walk on stage with only an acoustic guitar and hook a large, loud crowd for half an hour. J. Robbins manages this feat with an easy charm and a bag full of great songs, and he proves an inspired choice for opening act.
And so, to Sugar. Many in the audience, me included, have waited some thirty years for this show to happen, never for a second believing that it would. And yet here we are, hushed and excited, as Bob Mould, David Barbe, and Malcom Travis saunter on stage as if three decades haven’t passed since the last time.
We already have an inkling that this is going to be a loud one thanks to a raucous line check of Bob’s amps but, even so, we’re only partially prepared for the wall of joyous noise that rolls across the audience as the band tear into Copper Blue opening cut The Act We Act. For many, it’s as if the years have simply peeled away and, as Bob bounces gamely on stage, the pit starts to move, uncertainly at first, but with increasing vigour as the crashing chords blaze forth. And oh god, those melodies, those harmonies, the pounding of the toms… close your eyes and it could so easily be 1992 such is the incredible energy the band exude.
Clearly eager to pack as much into the night as possible, the band eschew stage raps to segue directly into the Pixies’-esque A Good Idea, which takes the studio version and blasts it out of what sounds like a hundred screaming amps. Not for nothing did Bob title his career-spanning box set Distortion – this is glorious pop music dimed up to eleven and it’s clear he’s lost none of his love for pairing the crushingly loud with the sublimely melodic.
Highlights come thick and fast. A quick blast through Changes brings us to the brilliant Company Book (one of David’s many turns at the mic) – a standout track from File Under Easy Listening and no less exciting here. We even get a number of b sides, with the punk fury of After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere nodding to Bob’s Hüsker Dü roots and the minor key indie-pop of In The Eyes Of My Friends reminding us that the 90s was an era when bands would regularly squirrel away songs of immense quality on obscure single releases.
With Bob a human dynamo, the energy on stage remains at full-tilt across the night and it serves as a wonderful reminder that bands don’t need screens, fireworks, between-song raps, or choreography to ensnare a crowd; amazing tunes and punk rock energy is enough and this the band have in spades. Indeed, you can’t help but marvel at the sheer intensity of the set, with the likes of Gift and Your Favourite Thing sounding bigger than ever. Hell, they even throw in the instrumental Clownmaster (a track that could easily have fallen off the Fugazi Instrument record), as if to remind the crowd that their instrumental firepower will suffice even in the absence of those amazing, Beatles-esque harmonies.
Of what remains, it’s a giddy whirl, although recent single Dead Memories slots in as if it’s always been there, while Tilted positively explodes with hardcore fury as Malcom unleashes hell upon his unsuspecting snare. The band finally crash out with a frenetic Gee Angel and a characteristically lovely If I Can’t Change Your Mind, which leaves us with one last burst of pop-infused indie rock before we’re forced to return to the present day once more.
Some bands just leave you feeling utterly suffused with energy and Sugar are a perfect example. The whole unflashy, unpretentious show so perfectly winds back the clock to a time when rock bands were just rock bands (as opposed to marketers, cinematographers, live streamers, and circus performers) that, for many, it’s as if we’re teenagers once again, hearing these amazing, life-affirming anthems for the very first time. I suspect, from the slight ache in my jaw, that I have spent the entire night smiling but then, looking around, I’m far from alone in this respect.
Whether Sugar choose to continue, or if this is all there is, is neither here nor there. Tonight is a gift and, from the energy in the room, it’s clear that the entire audience feels the same way. What a way to fall in love, all over again, with a remarkable band.
