Odd one this. I've never reviewed 2 gigs at the same time. I'm not sure it's ever been attempted before. Maybe this is a world first. I do hope so as it's always good to be the first to do something.

Anyway. Its probably pertinent to answer the question as to why I'm reviewing both gigs at the same time. There are many reasons, but I guess the one that needs to be addressed first is the one that sticks in my craw the most. On the way home from the koko gig I was mugged. Nothing violent. No harm done. But it still sucked. I'd had a great time at the gig, and I was planning to write it up on the way back. But then calling the police kind of got in the way. And somehow I never got to write the review. And not a single one since. I'm not using it as an excuse. How can I? But from that point on, I never kept this blog up to date. An excuse? Who knows.

But I rememeber that night just under a year ago. I was never lucky enough to see Husker Du. I was stupid enough to miss Sugar at the Manchester Academy all those years ago. But how I love Bob Mould's music. One of the true greats of music, despite pushing 50; a legend, an innovator and an inspiration to the following generation of musicians and artists to follow. If you don't believe me just google his name.

This year (2009), he celebrates the 20th anniverary of his debut solo album "Workbook". Tempted as I am to review this album and many others, i'll leave it at this; he has a whole lifetime of songs to choose from when he performs. He's a true talent as a performing artist, but more importantly as a singer songwriter.

But for me, a fan who owns as many of his recordings as I can get hold of, and a veteran of a few of his gigs, a dichotomy emerges. Hearing the man play with a small focussed well rehearsed band is an experience for which I have yet to find a match. Songs crash into one another like a relentless east coast storm. No break between the songs. Every one as taut and strained as the last. A masterpiece of simple, plaintive songwriting. But all of them, without exception driven by the quick syncopated fusion of bass and drums, topped off with a sweat soaked wall of sound from quick driven guitars that came to define the sound of post punk rock in the 90s.

And in hearing it performed by Mould and his band is something to hear. Loud. Tight. Relentless. I honestly can't compare something to Bob Mould when he's on the edge with a well rehearsed band. And at Koko, he went back to some of the material he'd previously refused to play. The set took us through the Husker Du years, through Workbook, Black Sheets of Rain, the Sugar Years, and ending with his then most recent album District Line. Of the Husker Du material, "I apologize" was the stand out song of a truly stunning encore. There was no coming back from this performance for me. It was the end of it all, the retirement speech. End of the line. No more.

But he wasn't done. Then there was the album "Life and Times". The album and supporting tour was announced on his blog with the lines "Yes. There's a new album. Yes, there's going to be a tour. Yes, there will be a band". I bought the tickets the day they were released.

I'd emailed a friend earlier in the day hoping that he was coming with a band. I knew there wasn't a band deep down. I'd seen him a couple of times before without one. They weren't good. And so I walked throught the doors a little late, a little drunk and very optimistic that I'd be wrong. I heard the voice. I heard the guitar.

Good.

And then I listened for the bass. The drums, and the tightness, the togetherness, and most importantly,the songs I love.

I heard Bob. I heard the guitar. I walked in, disappointed. I wasn't the only one. Bob and guitar. The guitar and Bob. Only the songs needed more.

Am I being unfair? Would I be upset if I turned up to a football match expecting to see something special and only finding a team of 3? Would I turn up to the symphony only to find the brass, the percussion and the woodwind weren't there and be happy?

I don't think so. That wouldn't detract from the efforts of the individuals involved. Far from it; they would try that much harder I think as Mould did tonight. But the end result was a fraud. A diminished experience. The fans knew that. I knew that. And Mould knew it. It turned into one of those embarrassing middle aged gigs where the die hard fans heaped praise on their hero and he returned the love. But with not a single special memory to take home.

I'd dreamed for years to hear him play "Celebrated Summer". I can't fault the way he performed it. But can one man aged nearly 50 with his guitar truly do justice to this? Truth be told. It felt wrong.

We all get old. Bob Mould is no exception. He's moved on. He loves electronica. He's a respected DJ on the East Coast Gay club scene. It's where his heart lies. He can make album after album of genuine post punk mid-life rock. He can perform it. And perform it well.

But you get the impression he doesn't want to much these days. He really wasn't interested. I wasn't either. Not tonight.