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From: Travis Vande Berg

I think that Bob may have dropped in on the list lately or he has an 
inside informant. Anyone? :) At any rate, he came out pretty late 
(12:20am-ish) and did the standard tuning. He stopped and said, "It 
seems like I always start out with this huh?... Right before I play 
this..." and started into Wishing Well. Kind of a funny moment in light 
of recent list discussions.

As far as the show itself, it was amazing. Bob looked good, sounded 
good, and was really intense in his performance. He didn't do a whole 
lot of talking - a bit about how the weatherman is a "fucking liar," a 
humorous bit about the "Smashing Pumpkies" how he would seriously 
consider moving to Chicago if it weren't for the winters, and a few 
other things here and there.

As always, I was excited to hear Lonely Afternoon - which had some 
*incredible* fret work. It's also nice to see that High Fidelity has 
made its way back into the rotation. Fade to Black was outstanding as 
well.

As for the "new stuff," this was my second time hearing it, and I have 
to say that I really do like it. The mix of vocals, backing tracks, and 
guitars was a lot better last night than his last visit to Chicago, and 
the songs sounded much better. I don't know why I didn't notice it 
before, but, Sunset Safety Glass excluded, they don't sound like club 
music or techno or anything like that. They sound like Kevin Shields and 
MBV. I think that, more than anything, it sounds like Bob has been 
listening to a hell of a lot of "Loveless." I'd be interested to hear if 
others heard this. As for the crowd, they were so much more receptive to 
the new songs than last time. I saw a couple of people leave during them,
but I'd rather have that than some sort of verbal assult on Bob during 
the performance.

For those debating setlists in recent weeks, I thought that there was 
quite a bit more variety than I've gotten at past shows. Sure, there was 
only one Husker song, but it was Too Far Down - not Celebrated Summer 
(which I am admittedly getting tired of). We also got Panama City Motel 
(surprised the hell out of me and it was a really intense version taboot,
Brasilia, High Fidelity, Man on the Moon, and an extended electric 
Hanging Tree which was simply fantastic.

I think that Bob has also reworked some of the "Workbook" material as 
well. Lonely Afternoon had some impressive fret work that I had never 
heard before, Sinners had a new powerful slower ending, and, although I 
can't really describe it, Brasilia sounded far different than I had ever 
heard it either. Wishing Well was pretty much the same... :)

Finally, this show marked (for me anyway) the return of Poison Years. I 
had commented to Scot before the show that I thought that Bob had kind 
of retired it in much the same way as The Slim. The last show that I had 
seen it had been 2/19/97, and I was pretty sure that it hadn't popped up 
much since that tour. So I was thrilled to hear it, and it was one of 
the most intense and amazing Poison Years that I have every heard, live 
or on tape. The hair on my neck was literally standing on end. Anyway, I 
checked out Distortion Plus today, and sure enough, Poison Years has 
been on a pretty substantial hiatus since 1997. Bob played it 12 times 
in 1997 (almost always as a set closer - High Fidelity seemed to have 
replaced it at the 2/3 point of shows, what I have always kind of noticed
to be the emotional climax of the show), once in 1998, once in 1999, and,
out of just the few shows, once in 2000 (last night). Anyway, it was 
great to hear it again.

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From: eldwyer

I was at the April 15th Chicago show and as always Bob put on a good 
show, but not as enjoyable as his show from Sept.99. Bob was not as 
engaging with the audience this show and during a couple songs he seemed 
to be looking out the corner of his eye like something or someone in the 
audience was irritating him. Was this only me?

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From: Argotvan

I was at the Chicago-Metro show. It was cold and doors didn't open until 
11:30. Metro sign displayed the words Sold Out. Outside I could hear Bob 
warming up. Just playing bits and pieces of a few songs. Bob took the 
stage around 12:15, sporting a few days beard growth and his two guitars. 
Right away someone asked where's the Fender, referring to his electric 
stratocaster. (It's here)Bob replied laughing. He commented on the 
weather man being a liar and then jumped right in to Wishing Well. Played
a few classics and jumped into some new tunes.  I thought the new ones 
were some of his best performances of the night. Seemed to draw from 
Black Sheets alot this night. During a soft slow type ballad, I too 
noticed Bob seemed a bit irritated with the volume level of people 
talking. It was distracting for me. I wish the socialites would make 
their partner selections and go home. So the real fans can enjoy the 
music.  For the most part it was a solid show.  At times he seemed to be 
having trouble concentrating. Halfway through he asked if everyone was 
okay with him playing the downstuff. He came out for one encore. The 
acoustic guitar was really loud towards the end, he was having little 
trouble with feedback through the system. Too far down came off really 
well. The show seemed a bit short. But, I had my fix and was satisfied. 
 Can't wait for a new album. The new stuff shines....

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From: msmuzik

I was so intent on seeing Bob Mould that I flew to Chicago to see him 
from Jersey. Unfortuantely, I wouldn't be able to catch him at Irving 
Plaza in NYC, so I didn't want to miss the chance of not seeing him.

Incidently, was my FIRST time seeing him. I too caught him looking out 
of the corner of his eye. I was stage left, so close that I could throw 
my coat on stage. He looked pissed! Couldn't figure out why. I loved his 
comment about the "F****King weatherman" as well.

Overall I was impressed, however, i was slightly disappointed by the 
live version of New #1. Don't know how this compared to other live 
versions his done. But compared to the studio version, I was a little 
let down. 

I thought Poison Years was great, that definately got the audience 
going.

As well, I thought the crowd was a little loud during some of his 
slower/softer songs.  I thought the audience could have been a little 
more respectful and listen, however, there were a bunch of rowdy guys 
behind me taking pictures of each other. (hey guys, if this is you, VERY 
RUDE!)

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From: Dmregan74

I just caught the Bob show in Chicago. Utterly unbelievable.  The show 
included just an awesome version of Poison Years.  Probably one of the most 
intense performances of a song ever, even by Bob standards. 

Bob was in good spirits for the first half of the show, but I think some 
people in the audience must've pissed him off, because his banter with the 
audience changed.  It could've been the guy who kept yelling for 'If I Can't 
Change Your Mind', which was Not played.