Sugar roared back to life at their first show in 31 years (Webster Hall Night 1 full video, pics, setlist)

“Hi, we’re a band called Sugar,” Bob Mould told the packed house at Webster Hall on Saturday night. “It’s been a little bit since our last show.” That’s putting it mildly — this was Sugar’s first show in 31 years — but Bob was running around the stage, spinning like it was 1994.

Mould, bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis are older now, but they were clearly having a blast. Bob had a massive grin on his face for most of the show. The crowd skewed similarly; if they weren’t thrashing in the pit, heads were bobbing and there was plenty of singing along. There were families in tow, too — Barbe told the crowd his kids were babies when the band started and now they’re grown and in attendance. He also shared how Sugar came to reform: he ran into Bob in San Francisco, they hung out for three hours, and as they were saying goodbye, Bob asked, “So: 2026?”

Sugar are a power-pop band with a punk engine, and on Saturday night they played pretty much everything you’d want to hear from their two albums, EP, and even a bunch of B-sides. Walking out to The Beatles’ “She Said She Said,” they opened with Copper Blue’s first two tracks, “The Act We Act” and “A Good Idea,” and proceeded to tear through 24 songs in about 90 minutes. Classics like “Hoover Dam,” “Your Favorite Thing,” “Fortune Teller,” and “JC Auto” sat alongside deeper cuts, and they played both songs from their new 7″, “House of Dead Memories” and “Long Live Love,” which sounded great.

The group were one of the loudest bands of the ’90s, and Bob told me on our BV Interviews podcast that, volume-wise, “We intend to be forceful. I don’t think we need to punish,” which felt about right. You could feel it in your chest, but it never hit painful levels. For those who didn’t come prepared, Sugar did have branded, limited-edition earplugs at the merch booth.

The show ended with their biggest hit, “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” and before launching into it, Bob said he hoped to see everyone this fall when Sugar’s North American tour hits Brooklyn Steel on October 16, which he noted is his birthday.

UPDATE: I totally missed this happening, but during “Clownmaster,” midway through the set, Malcolm Travis fell off his drum kit, but there wasn’t a significant delay in the show. David Barbe told the audience, “sometimes we get overheated too.”

Some people might be back again tonight, as the band have three Webster Hall shows that wrap on Monday. More tickets were released for the run (and resale tickets are available too).

There’s no opening band for Sugar’s Webster Hall shows, but they do have DJs, and Saturday’s was music writer and Our Band Could Be Your Life author Michael Azerrad, who played a set that included songs by Mission of Burma, My Bloody Valentine, Minutemen and fIREHOSE, Teenage Fanclub, R.E.M., Urge Overkill, Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, Black Flag, Dinosaur Jr., Pixies, and more. Check out his playlist below. Sunday’s DJ is WFUV’s Eric Holland, and Monday’s is comedian, actor, and indie rock fan David Cross.

Head below for the setlist, video and a few iPhone shots from Saturday’s show.

 

 

 

 

 

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SETLIST: Sugar @ Webster Hall 5/2/2026
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
Panama City Motel
Can’t Help You Anymore
Fortune Teller
Anyone
Tilted
JC Auto
Encore:
Helpless
Gee Angel
If I Can’t Change Your Mind

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

DJ Michael Azerrad

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1

Sugar @ Webster Hall Night 1