Sugar Fix!

[john.l...@gmail.com]

For those who remember the original Sugar list, you might remember the Sugar Fix cassette.  Well, I decided to dust off the DAT and share it. The DAT had a few extra songs than the cassette, and I added a bit more. I really enjoyed going through this and thought some of y'all might like to revisit it as well.

https://spaces.hightail.com/space/1X6ZCgrskL

Sugar (Bob Mould) - Sugar Fix: Rarities 1992-1995

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. It's 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 – they did this in Hamburg, Amsterdam and Ghent . 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, Hoover 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).

16 May 1997

Getting ready for the upcoming Sugar shows, I dusted off my original DAT, which had a few more tracks – 19, 20, 21, 23 and 24. I also updated the Titled Jam to the one from Gent as it was slightly longer, added Ramblin’ Rose that featured Bill Batson, from the Hypsterz, on vocals. Finally, added the full Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross.

15 Dec 2025

1. The Act We Act
2. Fortune Teller
3. Clownmaster (with lyrics)
4. The Right Words
5. Come Around
6. The Door into Summer [The Monkeys]
7. Helter Skelter [The Beatles]
8. Dum Dum Boys [Iggy Pop]
9. After All of the Roads Have Led to Nowhere  
10. Sapphire Capitol  
11. That’s When I Reach for My Revolver [Mission of Burma]
12. Tilted Jam
13. When Annabelle Cries
14. You Really Got Me [The Kinks]
15. Where Diamonds Are Halos (acoustic)
16. Hoover Dam (acoustic)
17. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (acoustic)
18. After All of the Roads Have Led to Nowhere (acoustic)
19. Gee Angel
20. You Really Got Me [The Kinks]
21. The Beer Commercial
22. Ramblin’ Rose [MC5]
23. Man on the Moon
24. NPR Fresh Air

1-7 40-Watt Club, Athens GA  20 Feb 92
8-9 Maxwells, Hoboken NJ  17 Jul 92
10 Nottingham Polytech, UK 26 Sep 92
11 Rkcndy, Portland 16 Nov 92
12 Vooruit Gent NL  11 Dec 92
13 The Docks, Hamburg GER  9 Dec 92
14-15 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver 19 May 93
16 Oz, Seattle 18 May 93
17-18 Roskilde Festival, Copenhagen DEN 1 Jul 93
19-20 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver 15 Dec 94
21 Shibuya ON AIR WEST, Tokyo, JP 8 Jan 1995
22 The Strand, Providence, RI 14 Nov 1994
23 Beeb Basement Theatre, Sendai, JP 16 Jan 1995
24 Fresh Air 8 Sep 1994

[Joseph Zibell]

This is great, John - thanks for sharing.

I don't remember this one coming through the List back in the day. Out of curiosity, do you know the version of the "Titled"/Jam that you used on the first comp? I remember hearing the Melkweg '92 version of that on a cassette back in the mid-90s and being absolutely blown away.

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[Drew Domecq]

Jhc - thanks for (re)sharing this. As a long time lurker, I can't believe I haven't heard any of this until now. So, super super thanks, John.

A couple of things I've been thinking about from previous threads.

1. Am super excited about the Sugar reunion and seeing them in NYC on night 2. I was a college freshman when Copper Blue came out, which is foundational timing as it relates to music. It remains my #1 record of all time...I think every note and tone is burnt into my brain. It also cast Bob as my favorite musician, leading to deep appreciation for Workbook and all his work.  I think FU:EL is incredibly underrated (minus Granny Cool...that one never stuck). Am aware that it was a pursuit of perfection; I think it's Bob's best guitar sounds in his catalog, especially on David's songs. In the Eyes of My Friends ranks very high as a favorite as does Frustration...the guitar is master masterful, imo. I love the battery of the current band. Jason's voice/harmonies and playing are exceptional, and Jon Wurster is a top-top drummer (and source of envy...I mean, come on, playing with Mould, Pollard, and Darnielle?!). But there is only one Sugar...David's punk/head-bopping, and no one on earth drums like Travis with his precision and Frankenstein-ish presence. There is only one true version of Hoover Dam, accordingly, no matter how great the song is and how great other drummers play it. So, yeah...super excited, topped by seeing my youngest who will be ending her freshman year at NYU -- a karmic circle. (Also, if anyone has an extra for night 1, I'd love to see that, too -- am amazed/irritated to not land tix due to Ticketmaster clearly still sucking.)

2. Miracle Year. I never had the experience of seeing Husker Du live. I remember vividly hearing Flip Your Wig on tape in middle school (and "borrowing" it permanently from my friend's collegiate brother, who my friend had "borrowed" it from). And also hearing Warehouse on CD, a first on that format for me (subsequently "borrowing" it permanently from another friend's collegiate sister). Honestly, Husker Du never really super stuck with me even after diving deep into all things Bob after Cooper Blue (except Celebrated Summer, another all-time favorite). Mainly because the CD production, my primary medium as a function of life timing, was/is so shitty. I never honestly cared for Grant's songs, I think as a result of that, other than marveling how a drummer can split his brain, pounding beats and singing simultaneously. But then came Miracle Year...holy shit. It sounds incredible. The band is so incredibly tight. And Grant is a marvel. I wish I had seen them live is my conclusion...would have changed my whole perspective. And don't get me wrong, am certainly a huge Husker fan but just with not enough love for Grant (and the band's full power)...he is a force on the box set in a way that other Husker recordings just don't relay.

Am grateful for this list, which has introduced me to so much other great music over the years. Happy holidays to everyone, and here's hoping the world is better in 2026.

/Drew

P.S. Things stuck in my rotation: Snow Patrol's new one (The Forest Is The Path...drummer Ash Soan and new bassist elevate the band so much, and the songs/melodies are great); There Will Be Firework's last one (Summer Moon...more people need to hear these guys); Moving Mountain's new one (not as great as their s/t from 2013 but still damn good).

[john.l...@gmail.com]

That was from Amsterdam. I'll upload that version and the Hamburg version as well, so you can have a trifecta of Tilted jams :)

[Jeff Yutzler]

Thank you, all!

Even though HWGC was not my favorite album and I had to miss Bob on his normal tour stop, this was probably my favorite year as a fan of Bob/Bob-adjacent things since 1994. Everything since has felt like a bit of a compromise.