If I Can’t Change Your Mind

It’s not rare for the iconic First Avenue main room to sell out. The 1,550-capacity room isn’t just an iconic venue that has hosted everyone from Prince to Macklemore; it’s a perfect place to catch a show. The ambiance is perfect. The staff is great. It’s clean, safe, and, well, just perfect. Okay, maybe that’s me being biased, as this is my home away from home and I’ve become a bit of a fixture there myself, but First Avenue is amazing, so, naturally, it sells out often. That being said, it’s rare for a band to sell out three nights in a row. Hell, I feel like I’ve only ever seen a band do a two-night stint here max. But the band that kicked off their three-night residency at First Avenue on Thursday isn’t just any band; it was Sugar.

Setting the stage for the amazing night of music was Minneapolis legend DJ Jake Rudh. Some people may not have even noticed Jake, since he wasn’t on stage, but the records he spun before the two “main acts” of the night started definitely set the tone. It was a night of throwback hits. Jake silently spun as dated (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) music videos played on the screen, concealing the stage. I’ll be honest, I didn’t recognize all of the songs he played. Many came from before my time, but that didn’t change the fact that Jake took me back to a much simpler time with the soundtrack. It really got me in the mood for the magic that was to come.

The first of the magic was J. Robbins. Born James Robbins, J. Robbins is best known as the leader of post-hardcore legends Jawbox, but he is so much more than that. He’s also a prolific producer of a slew of bands to come out of the Baltimore and DC area. He has worked with everyone from Jets to Brazil to Against Me! but this was a set of just J. Robbins and, truthfully, it was beautifully understated for the legend that he is.

J. took the stage with just a guitar in hand and, after a short delay due to technical difficulties, laid it all out on the stage. He laid out his talent and his heart all at the same time. Although there wasn’t much to see throughout his set, as he just stood there and performed, you could feel something electric and stunning. You got a small taste of the angst he brought to his work with Jawbox, but you also got a super intimate version of J. that was irresistible. Even if you walked into this show knowing nothing about J. or Jawbox, within the first song or two, you surely felt connected to this musician on a very deep level. I would have loved for this opening set to feel just a bit more amped up to really get me ready for what was to come, but, again, there was no denying the beauty that J. Robbins brought to the First Avenue stage.

As I mentioned, it’s rare for a band to play and sell out back-to-back nights at First Avenue, but Sugar, the headliner of Thursday night’s show, did that and upped the ante by adding a third night that was quick to sell out. This isn’t a surprise if you know the band. Sugar isn’t just a band; they are a supergroup. Led by singer and guitarist Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü, Sugar featured bassist David Barbie (ex-Mercyland) and drummer Malcolm Travis (ex-Human Sexual Response). The band formed in 1992, shortly after Hüsker Dü’s breakup, but lasted only about three years before disbanding. Then, out of nowhere and after about thirty years of inactivity, Sugar came back and started playing again. This stint of shows was their triumphant return to the Twin Cities, which, you may know, is the home of Hüsker Dü, so yeah, you could call this a homecoming celebration on top of just an overall celebration.

Full disclosure, I had no clue who Sugar was when this show was announced, but I recognized Bob Mould in the promo photo, which piqued my interest. Over the past couple of weeks, I dug into everything I could find about Sugar, and I loved it. It was retro and definitely had a 90s vibe to it, but it also felt fresh and super modern at the same time. I didn’t expect much from the live show as, honestly, the promo photos never looked super exciting and, let’s be honest, this is a trio of old guys, but that didn’t stop me from being excited. I knew I was about to see some magic on stage, and that was more than enough to have me sold on dealing with a sold-out audience.

Any idea that this was going to be a boring set flew out the window within the first few seconds of Sugar’s set. Sure, these were a bunch of old guys, but they instantly started playing with their hearts, not just their fingers or hands. They may have taken a thirty-year break, but it quickly became clear they hadn’t lost their power or their ability to thrill an audience. Although I really loved the energy I got from the stage, which was a bit unexpected, the best part of Sugar’s set on Thursday night was the sound. It was crunchy when it was meant to be crunchy and beautifully melodic when the song called for it. The band clearly put detail into not just the presentation of their songs, but also the overall sound, and that gave the set a polished feel that can only come from seeing tried-and-true legends. Whether it was an upbeat bop or one of their more serious-leaning songs, everything this trio did was done with a sense of perfection but also a flair of personality, leaving me as pleased as it did in awe.

Sugar played through a twenty-three-song set. This is longer than most young bands can pull off, just to prove the stamina that these musicians have after all these years. It was hit after hit, from opening with “The Act We Act” to closing with “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.” Even if you didn’t know the songs that came in between, I’m willing to bet you were stuck where you were and lost in a world of absolute bliss, regardless of what song the band was performing. I may not have been one of the many people in the audience singing along to every song like my life depended on it, but I felt the same attachment and, really, that made for a stunningly magical way to spend a Thursday night. Sugar will go on to play two more nights at First Avenue. Unfortunately, I am already booked for other shows those two nights, but if I weren’t, you’d better believe I would be scouring the internet for resale tickets so I could have another beautiful night like Thursday.