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LIVE MUSIC<br />
LIVE MUSIC<br />
Tense and tumultuous,<br />
potent tunes such as the<br />
hook-fueled “I Don’t Know<br />
You Anymore” and furious<br />
“Tomorrow Morning” emitted<br />
the sort of mixed emotions,<br />
self-awareness, and mortality<br />
struggles that linger in<br />
the wake of loss, grief, and<br />
attempted reconciliation.<br />
Similarly themed, the shellshocked<br />
ferocity of “The<br />
War” bounced off imaginary<br />
walls, Mould ending the<br />
purge by whispering advice<br />
to himself: “Don’t give up,<br />
don’t give in.” The back-andforth<br />
lyrical ricochet of “Hey<br />
Mr. Grey” battered around<br />
akin to a metallic pinball,<br />
Mould pushing the tempos<br />
high and hard, and drummer<br />
Jon Wurster and bassist Jason<br />
Narducy responding with<br />
a battering-ram charge. “Kid<br />
With a Crooked Face” arrived<br />
as an agitated hornet’s nest,<br />
the stinging instrumental<br />
notes a blur and the pace attempting<br />
to establish a new<br />
land speed record.<br />
Through it all, Mould kept<br />
the accelerator depressed,<br />
sweating profusely and yet<br />
flashing brief smiles as if it all<br />
was just another day sitting<br />
in front of a computer screen<br />
in an air-conditioned office.<br />
During solos, he stomped<br />
around like a stallion, digging<br />
his heel into the stage floor,<br />
the movements signaling to<br />
the crowd and his two bandmates<br />
that he wasn’t going<br />
to be taken or tamed by anyone.<br />
Sure, the balding head,<br />
salt-and-pepper beard, and<br />
bookish glasses served as<br />
obvious signs of middle age<br />
and settling down. But Mould<br />
has different plans, and for<br />
him as much as any artist,<br />
the decibels, density, and din<br />
provided cathartic release<br />
that’s needed as much as it’s<br />
wanted.<br />
As he proved with the<br />
cleansing grooves during “A<br />
Good Idea,” smash-and-grab<br />
assault of “Star Machine,”<br />
socket-frying jump of “Egoverride,”<br />
and spring-loaded<br />
overdrive on “Chartered<br />
Trips,” beauty can be found<br />
amidst noise, desperation,<br />
and the crush of everyday<br />
life. Mould and Co. often<br />
knocked down everything<br />
in their way to uncover it. At<br />
other times, as on the slowburning<br />
eulogy “Hardly Getting<br />
Over It,” light wrestled<br />
with pitch-black dark, and<br />
the heavy burden of change<br />
and acceptance—perpetual<br />
Mould concerns—seemed<br />
suffocating. Still, gracefulness<br />
and optimism prevailed.<br />
“Fix it, fix it, full enough,”<br />
Mould commanded over racing<br />
rhythms and crunchy guitar<br />
lines on the soul-affirming<br />
“Fix It.” “Time to find out who<br />
you are.” At this juncture, it’s<br />
safe to say Mould answered<br />
the challenge and is better for<br />
it, personal scars and painful<br />
mourning be damned. l<br />
18 TONE AUDIO NO.64<br />
July 2014 19
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