POP MUSIC REVIEW : Post-Punk Avatar Plays Music to Feel

It didn’t take Bob Mould long to figure out Saturday that the reserved-seating Embassy Theatre downtown was the wrong place for him to play. Fans sitting calmly in their seats? Couldn’t have that. So after just two songs, the former Husker Dude stopped the show and insisted that all on hand come down the aisles and rock.

They did, and Mould responded with a performance that exceeded even his own pressure-cooked standards. Expanding on the monsoon of emotional rage and anguish of the recent “Black Sheets of Rain” album, the music made by singer-guitarist Mould, bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Anton Fier rivaled that of Neil Young & Crazy Horse and Sonic Youth for sheer fury. This was music to feel--literally--as much as hear.

Of course, that’s pretty much expected from post-punk avatar Mould. What made this a great show was the unexpected--not just a closing version of Cheap Trick’s lighthearted “Surrender,” but the formerly stocky-and-stock-still Minnesotan’s lean, animated, even chatty manner. It brought new dimensions to his songs and encouragement to those who feared that Mould’s solo route would turn into a dead end. Judging by this show, he’s just started his journey. Mould also appears tonight at San Diego State University’s Montezuma Hall.