The reunited ’90s alternative band Sugar will play their first concert together in over 30 years Saturday in New York City. As frontman Bob Mould tells ABC Audio, he noticed interest in Sugar starting to “buzz” again in 2024, which led bassist David Barbe to come visit him where he lives in San Francisco.
“We got together, had a wonderful breakfast, and at the end of it I asked David if there was any interest on his end in giving Sugar another shot,” Mould recalls. “He said, ‘Yeah.’ We checked in with [drummer] Malcolm [Travis] and Malcolm said, ‘Yeah.'”
The trio then got together and started playing together again, reminding Mould what it felt like to perform Sugar songs in their original form after years of playing them as a solo artist following the band’s breakup in 1995.
“Sugar is a very distinct approach,” Mould says. “It’s a very machinelike band just, I think, in execution of the songs.”
Reflecting on Sugar’s original run, which only lasted three years, Mould says he “didn’t have a moment to take any of it in as it was happening.”
“It was a lot of work, it was a lot of touring,” he says. “Being in the middle of it, I didn’t really understand how much it meant to other people.”
This time around, though, Mould is making a conscious effort to savor every moment.
“The goal for me is to really enjoy this year,” Mould says. “Which is in contrast to working my a** off for the first three years.”
Sugar will play two more NYC shows on Sunday and Monday before traveling to Europe. They’ll return for a full U.S. tour in August.
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