The Act We Act	Tilted Jam
Fortune Teller	You Really Got Me
Clownmaster	When Annabelle Cries
The Right Words	Where Diamonds Are Halos
Come Around	Hoover Dam
The Door into Summer	If I Can’t Change Your Mind
Helter Skelter	After All of the Roads Have Led to Nowhere
Dum Dum Boys	Gee Angel
After All of the Roads Have Led to Nowhere
Sapphire Capitol
That’s When I Reach For My Revolver

 

 

1-7 40 Watt Club, Athens GA   20 Feb 92	1 Melkweg, Amsterdam NL   10 Dec 92
8-9 Maxwells, Hoboken NJ   17 Jul 92	2 The Docks, Hamburg GER   9 Dec 92
10 Nottingham Polytech, UK  26 Sep 92	3-4 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver   19 May 93
11 Rkcndy, Portland  16 Nov 92	5 Oz, Seattle   18 May 93
	6-7 Roskilde Festival, Copenhagen DEN  1 Jul 93
	8 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver  15 Dec 94

 

The Act We Act, what a way to kick off a concert, especially this version, which was taken from the first ever Sugar show. The band had not been together for very long, but still - what a thrilling introduction! The next song, Fortune Teller, sees the only known performance of this song - I wonder why ... Next comes Clownmaster, with its original lyrics. This song is about the infamous clownmaster (and serial killer) - John Wayne Gacey. The Right Words is another Bob original, that never made it to record. Its a shame because it is a great song - maybe some of you have heard it in its acoustic form on Break the Mould. Come Around comes next, with slightly different lyrics. Sugar seemed to enjoy their covers, picking some more obscure songs to perform live - The Door into Summer is a Monkeys’ song - who would’ve guessed? To end their first concert, Sugar performs a truly cathartic version of Helter Skelter. From later that summer, comes another cover, Iggy Pop’s Dum Dum Boys. They wring every note out of this song. Next comes a great electric version of After All of the Roads Have Led to Nowhere, another great Sugar song that has no released studio version. Dave Barbe steps up with Sapphire Capitol, a great pop tune that has never seen release, either. Later that concert, they perform a rousing version of the Mission of Burma nugget, That’s When I Reach for my Revolver.
Side B is where the fun begins, a completely over the top Tilter Jam that goes on and on and on, but still doesn’t seem long enough. After that comes a version of the Kinks’ You Really Got Me - Dave Barbe says of that, ‘The Hamburg crowd was very unresponsive, to a pretty good show, thus the jam and You Really Got Me, complete with e. van halen style gtr solo (which they finally went nuts over - go figure)." That’s right, go figure ...If you ever wondered about the band’s instrumental prowess, you need not any longer. When Annabelle Cries is another great Dave Barbe song that shamefully never saw the light of day (until now, that is). During the Beaster Tour, Sugar had a mini-acoustic set midway through the show. The next several songs (Where Diamonds are Halos, Hover Dam, If I Can’t Change Your Mind, After All Of the Roads Have Led To Nowhere) show that Sugar wasn’t hiding behind notorious volume of their shows. Finally, from the last North American Sugar date, comes Gee Angel with the Angelic Chorus (members of Magnapop and more).

John Loughney 16 May 1997 john.loughney@ research.nokia.com

Break the Mould

 

Paint It Black / 12 XU	The Munster’s Theme
If You’re True	Close My Eyes
Walls in Time	Wichita Lineman
Trade	Choices
Glory	Interview / Lonely Blue Dreams
Instrumental	The Door into Summer
Blues Jam	Hey Carrie Ann / Turn, Turn, Turn
Cinnamon Girl	Hey Carrie Ann / Turn, Turn, Turn / Norwegian Wood
Makes No Sense At All	The Right Words
Surrender	The Window
Whichever Way The Jam Goes	The Slim
	After All of the Roads ...
	I Fucking Hate Alternative Rock ...
	Explode and Get Over It
	Roll Over and Die
	Ace of Spades
	I Wanna Be Your Dog

 

 

Civic Center, St. Paul 06 Aug 85 1    (with REM)	Maxwells, Hoboken NJ 11 Mar 91 1
Workbook Demos 1988 2-4	Backstage Tavern, Ballard 06 May 91 2
Maxwells, Hoboken 30 Apr 89 5	McCabe's, Santa Monica 18 May 91 late 3&4
Moore Theatre, Seattle 03 Nov 89 6&7 soundcheck	WFMU, East Orange NJ 07 Jul 91 5
Maxwells, Hoboken 31 Dec 89 8&9	Knitting Factory, NYC 10 Jul 91 early 6
Marquee NYC 26 Oct 90 10	Prince of Wales, Melborne 02 Aug 91 7
Catalyst, Santa Cruz 14 Nov 90 1	McCabe's, Santa Monica 17 May 91 ear 8
	Ravensberger Spinnerei Bielefeld 11 Sep 91 9-11
	Tramps, NYC 16 Sep 92 12
	1st Ave, MPLS 25 Feb 95 13
	The Academy, NYC 4 Mar 95 14
	Tramps, NYC 16 Jul 96 15
	Liberty Lunch, Austin 28 Jul 93 16&17    (with Paul Westerberg)

 

Bob joins REM for the Stones classic, Paint it Black - with Michael Stipe ad-libbing some verses from Wire’s 12XU. The next 3 tracks are from the demos for Workbook. Even more pastoral than the Workbook album, most of these were recorded up at the ‘Farm’. If Your True and Walls in Time never made the album, but deserve to see the life of day. Trade is a left-over (but a darned tasty one) from the last Hüsker Dü sessions. From the kick-off concert of the Workbook tour, Bob does a great Tom Verlaine impression on the Television classic Glory. The next 2 tracks come from a soundcheck during the fall Workbook tour. If anyone knows what these are, let me know. Next up, Bob pulls no punches on Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl and Makes No Sense at All, the only time Bob has played a Hüsker Dü song with a band other than Hüsker Dü. Anyone growing-up in the 70’s knows the next song - Cheap Trick’s Surrender - this was a common encore during the BSOF tour. Finally, ending this side of the tape, is a blistering jam that followed Whichever Way the Wind Blows. Bob has rarely let it all hang out and jam in his post-Hüsker Dü concerts, so this is a real treat.
Starting side b, we see another side of Bob. Bob can be quite chatty during his acoustic shows, and even playful, as he attempts the theme from the Munsters’ TV show. The next song, Close My Eyes (AKA Seattle) seems one that Bob let slip away. To my knowledge, he never performed it again in public. Bob has said that Jim Webb was an amazing lyricist; as he and Vic Chestnut harmonize on the Glen Campbell chestnut, Wichita Lineman. He seems quite nervous before reading a bit of spoken word stuff - Choices - it is amazing that he can get up in front of people and bear himself so completely. On the ever wonderful WFMU (East Orange, NJ) Bob acccepts a challenge from a listener - judge the results (Lonely Blue Dreams) yourself. Bob rarely indulges in covers, which make the next three snippets even more tantalizing. The Door Into Summer (a Monkees’ song) - which was trotted out on Sugar’s first gig. Imagine a full version of Norwegian Wood .... (Hey, Carrie Ann is a Holies’ song and Turn, Turn, Turn is of course a Byrds’ song). The next two songs are more songs that seemed to have slipped away. The Window does sound a little too close to Can’t Fight It, and The Right Words was performed by Sugar (stay tuned for a Sugar rarities tape). Then we are treated to an electrifying early version of The Slim. Another premiere came at a benefit for Victoria Williams, with After All of the Roads Have Led to Nowhere - yet another great Bob song that has no released studio version. Bob vents some bile (with tongue firmly in cheek) on I Fucking Hate Alternative and Wish It Would Go Away. Bob really nails this medley of Explode and Make Up / Hardly Getting Over It. It was at this concert, in NYC, that Pete Townshend wanted to meet Bob backstage. From earlier this summer, Bob shows a new direction for his acoustic shows, with the addition of Andrew Duplantis on acoustic bass. The pair turn in a wonderful version of Roll Over and Die. As a suitable closer, Bob joins Paul Westerberg (who, conveniently supplied the title to this tape) for a pair of punk rock cover nuggets, Motorhead’s The Ace of Spades and the Stooges I Wanna Be Your Dog. Indeed!

John Loughney (john.loughney@ research.nokia.com) Sept 19, 1996

 
^{Studio Rarities}

 

Can’t See You Anymore Ä	Everytime [©
The Truth Hurts Ä	Gotta Lotta [©
Sore Eyes Ä	Iceberg \q
All Tensed Up Ä	Trade q
All I’ve Got To Lose Is You Ä	Ain’t No Water In The Well q
Writer’s Cramp Ä	Get Along With Me q
Won’t Change §	Now That You Know Me q
Dozen Beats Eleven Ñ	Instrumental Mix q
Some Kind of Fun Ñ	Newest Industry Ñ
Piano Piece Ñ	I Don’t Know For Sure V
Erase Today »	Eiffel Tower High V
Listen »	She’s a Woman (and Now He Is a Man)©
Misty Modern Day V	Late Show Interview
All Work and No Play V	We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Fattie V

 

    Ä Savage Young Du Sessions                         © Warehouse Outtake
    § Metal Circus Outtake
    Ñ Zen Arcade Outtake                                     q Rossmore Building Rehearsal 11/87
    » New Day Rising Outtake
    V Candy Apple Gray Outtake

NOTES: Savage Young Du are the first sessions of HD. Taken from these sessions are the version of Lets Go Die and Do You Remember on _Everything Falls Apart and More_. Won't Change was released on the _Diamond Hidden in the Mouth of a Corpse_ compilation. The Zen outtakes are from the _Now and Zen_ bootleg. Erase Today is from the _Blasting Concept II_ compilation. All Work and No Play is the 7" mix from the b-side to the Don't Want To Know if You Are Lonely single. The 12" has a different mix/edit. Fattie is from the Sorry Somehow 12". Everytime and Gotta Lotta are b-sides from Ice Cold Ice and the Could You Be the One 12" singles. The Rossmore Building rehearsal is a run through the these songs, sans vocals. Not great quality, but that's all there is. The remaining songs on the tape are different takes, demos or mixes of the songs.
 

 
^{Live Rarities}

    originals                                                                 covers

Pictures of You J	Chinese Rocks J
I Can’t See You Anymore J	Look Through Any Window g
All I’ve Got To Lose Is You J	Don’t Fear The Reaper g
Uncle Ron J	Fast Cars g
Sexual Economics J	Paint It Black g
Ode to Bo J	Birthday m
Writer’s Cramp J	Sweet Jane Z
Sore Eyes I	Eight Miles High Z
Private Hell I	I Fought the Law w
Travel in the Opposite Car I	Helter Skelter v
Its Not Fair _	Ticket to Ride v
Some Kind of Fun _	Little Bitty Pretty One ,
Drug Party ¡
All Work and No Play ¦
Get Along With Me t
Trade t

 

J Longhorn Bar 79
I Mabuhay Gardens, SF CA 23 or 24 July 81
g Folk City, NYC 27 April 83
_ Goofy’s Upper Deck, MPLS MN 2 July 83 (Early)
¡ Goofy’s Upper Deck, MPLS MN 12 Aug. 83
m G.S. Vigs Madison WI 10 March 84
Z 1^st Ave, MPLS MN 7 July 84
w 1^st Ave, MPLS MN 8 Sept. 84
v 1^st Ave, MPLS MN 30 Jan 85
¦ 1^st Ave, MPLS MN 28 Aug. 85
t 7^th St. Entry, MPLS MN 3 Dec. 87
, 7^th St. Entry, MPLS MN 4 Dec. 87

NOTES: The version of Drug Party features a sax (possibly Dave Pirner). The Version of Helter Skelter is from the b-side of the Don't Want To Know if You Are Lonely 12" (and features a crazed back-up vocal by Dave Pirner), Ticket to Ride is from a NME 45" give-away. The versions of Get Along With Me and Trade are from the 2nd to last MPLS concert. They were also performed the next night. These songs (by Grant and Bob, respectively) speak volumes about what was happening in the band at the time. They still can raise the hairs on the back of my neck.