Sugar Setlist

The Act We Act
A Good Idea
Changes
Company Book
After All the Roads Have Led to Nowhere
In the Eyes of My Friends
Hoover Dam
Where Diamonds Are Halos
Running Out of Time
Gift
Your Favorite Thing
Clownmaster
Frustration
House of Dead Memories
Long Live Love
Explode and Make Up
Anyone
Come Around
Tilted
JC Auto
Helpless
Gee Angel
If I Can’t Change Your Mind

Bands break up for a variety of reasons, but there’s always a sliver of hope that they might reunite at some later point. When we saw Bob Mould at Icehouse in October 2025 and former band mate David Barbe was the opener, the venue was buzzing with questions about if this was a sign that they were getting back together. The answer turned out to be yes, and SUGAR reuniting after thirty years off was an improbable hit on the bingo card. On this beautiful Saturday evening in Minneapolis, the band was closing out their third sold-out show in a row at First Avenue.

J. Robbins (full name James Robbins) took to the stage. The prolific DC based musician and record producer has been a member of half a dozen bands, including being frontman for the post-hardcore band Jawbox. But Robbins also has been working solo, with 2024’s Basilisk his most recent full length album. He came up solo on guitar, and it was easy to see why he was opening here. This was as hard core as could be possible on an acoustic guitar and was reminiscent of Mould’s solo shows. Exquisite Corpse was an early example of his solid lyricism and Robbins was a machine as he moved from song to song. Winter Sun had the brutal chorus of “hiding your warmth like the winter sun” and those dark lyrics with the somewhat brighter guitar was an interesting contrast that marked the set. I was impressed by his ability to fly on the guitar, which made an imperative feel in Soldier On and was a highlight of the set. A sincere word to the crowd about how fun it was to be opening earned the cheers it should and Robbins was connecting well with a crowd that might not have super familiar with his work. Dear Leader was the deeply satirical and punchy song you’d hope for on an evening like this. Savory was a late set song that continued the dark world view, with a complicated guitar riff that fueled interest. As he finished, J. Robbins had been quite effective in his thirty five minutes, with a perfectly thematic set to kick thing off.

I spoke briefly with Robbins between sets and asked about what drives the solo work, considering all of the bands he’s been in and the production work he leads. The answer was dense and multi-reasoned, but concepts of getting to put your vision to paper, being forced to really think through the lyrics and music completely (rather than contributing cool parts and jamming it together), and recognizing that getting older means there’s only so much time to do it all came through. Robbins was thoughtful and had much more to say, so maybe we’ll be lucky enough to chat more with him in the future.

The much anticipated headliner SUGAR were ready to go for the third consecutive night. Despite only being active for a few years (1992-1995), the trio (Bob Mould on guitar & vocals, David Barbe on bass, and Malcolm Travis on drums) left an indelible impression with a pair of highly regarded albums in Copper Blue and File Under: Easy Listening. Reforming in late 2025, they have unsurprisingly found delighted audiences, and this set of shows at this venue felt like a perfect match. The band showed up with a ton of energy and you would never have believed this was anything but the first show they had done in a while. A Good Idea was stupendous and though it had a different flow than the album version, it was locked in spiritually. Barbe took lead vocals on Company Book and it had a bit of a late era Beatles feel vocally and Mould’s late harmonies gave an extra edge to it. Back to full paced rocking had Mould just slaying in After All the Roads Have Led to Nowhere and the underlying music was set to pummel mode. Travis’ drums were critical on this fast paced song and it was perfect intensity. Hoover Dam let Mould hit all those staccato notes and he punctuated them perfectly and when Barbe came in on harmonies, it was a deeply satisfying moment in the early going. Also, the instrumental section was pure rock goodness, as strong to the ear as pure sugar is to the tongue. Barbe’s occasional higher, clearer lead vocals were a solid contrast to Mould’s darker punchiness and it melded together extremely well. And seemingly each time Barbe did take lead, the next song was a cutthroat speedster and Mould ran with Gift, tearing through it like the proverbial hot knife through butter.

That we weren’t even halfway through the set at nearly forty minutes in felt extremely on brand for SUGAR, and it was a relentless rock show for sure. Your Favorite Thing had Mould continuing to be in command and the desire and want in that one nearly hurt. Barbe gave an impassioned shout out to the venue and crowd before introducing the band, and the cheers were heartfelt and tremendous, but the band rolled on. Barbe took lead on Frustration and his bass work may have been just as vital as his singing. Explode and Make Up had a deep guitar intro and it felt like a harder edged rock than most of their songs, including some extensive feedback and grunge overtones. There was simply no stopping these guys (Mould and Barbe in their sixties, with Travis in his seventies!) and they seemed to have more staying power than bands half their age. Tilted had crushing drums and even Mould’s nearly yelled lyrics couldn’t top Travis’s breakneck pace and strength. The differing and often overlapping vocals from Mould and Barbe on JC Auto were simply superb and SUGAR was closing in on the end of the run. The last stretch was fantastic, and when they hit the inevitable closer, If I Can’t Change Your Mind, SUGAR had more than delivered the goods and showed that some reunions are well worth the wait.