Over the last four months, Bob Mould has taken a rare look back, rejoining SUGAR rhythm section David Barbe and Malcolm Travis for a reunion run, one which stops at Metro Thursday, September 17 ahead of a 4:50PM performance Saturday, September 19 at Riot Fest.

As he usually does, Mould has found a way to push things forward even amidst a reunion, dropping three new singles (“House of Dead Memories,” “Long Live Love” and the latest “Keep Looping”) in addition to “Changes – The Story of SUGAR,” a new 21 minute Rob Hatch-Miller-directed documentary streaming free of charge on YouTube.

Mould is no stranger to Riot Fest, having performed in Humboldt Park in 2013 in addition to Douglass Park stops in 2016 and 2019, a great fit for a still independently owned and operated festival that strongly embraces the punk rock ethos.

Mould also maintains a strong history with Metro, where he’s performed countless times, first as a member of seminal Minnesota punks Hüsker Dü in the mid-’80s, as a solo act and during a particularly noteworthy sold out SUGAR performance in July of 1992, one which pre-dated the release of the band’s debut album “Copper Blue” by almost two months. Thursday’s official Riot Fest aftershow will find SUGAR performing alongside opening acts J. Robbins (Jawbox) and Violet Grohl (who makes her Riot Fest debut at 2:20PM on Friday, September 18).

Chicago Concert Reviews spoke with Bob Mould about reuniting SUGAR, his long relationship with Metro and Riot Fest and much more. A transcript of the phone conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.

How have the last several months gone?

Bob Mould: They’ve been really good. Pretty busy. We had the three shows in New York in early May and then we had a couple of weeks in the U.K. in late May, which included three London shows. We had a couple of weeks on the continent – which were good. A little bit of down time and then we did Denver, Portland and Seattle a few weeks ago. And, now, September is here. We’ve got the Minneapolis run, the Chicago stuff (including Riot Fest), a California weekend (including Ohana) and then three weeks east of the Mississippi in October.

What was it like working with Rob Hatch-Miller, Greg King and Paul Yee on the Changes documentary?

Mould: I worked with Rob on the “Star Machine” video from the “Silver Age” album in 2012. Rob and company put together a wonderful SUGAR mini-doc. Other than the interview portions, we hardly knew they were filming us! I think that’s a good thing. Rob had a story he wanted to tell and all I did was participate as a subject and suggest the title. All around, it was a very good experience.

Well, you’re certainly no stranger to Riot Fest at this point. Covering it for 20 years, it’s still such an interesting festival to me. It remains independently owned and operated, which is so rare in that world. What’s it like coming back and is there a different vibe at that fest?

Mould: I think I’ve done Douglass Park in maybe 2019. I remember 2016 with the site change. “Everything is different, where do we go?” I think 2013 was Humboldt Park? 

At the end of the day, I think the credo of Riot Fest, and the audience that supports Riot Fest, has been pretty consistent now through the 13 years that I’ve been fortunate to be asked to play. I also remember when Riot Fest was doing Denver and doing Toronto – and those had very different flavors. 

But I mean, god, Chicago feels like a musical home to me. Whether it’s my history with Metro or Nick Miller (of JAM Productions) or the Thalia Hall folks and SPACE, and of course WXRT, most of my career, and a lot of my adult life, revolves around Chicago. 

So, it’s always a riot – no pun intended – to come back to town. I can never get enough Rotary Sushi! 

You mentioned Metro and obviously a long relationship there. How does it feel returning to Metro with SUGAR?

Mould: The Thursday thing is gonna be awesome. The response was… I was just surprised how quickly everything went! 

Gosh, Metro… I cannot even count the amount of times I’ve been on that stage. I mean, SUGAR, was that July ‘92 when we did the Metro before any music? I think Metro ‘92 happened before anybody heard any of the new music! It was before the singles and before “Copper Blue.” We got such a great response! Then, coming back in ‘94 at Aragon. 

It’s gonna be cool to come back to Metro on Thursday and then to go back to Riot Fest on Saturday. What a great weekend. So, yeah. It’s gonna be a very busy weekend in Chicago.

I jotted down a quote you gave The Guardian earlier this year: “My only thought in the ’90s was to just ensure this thing could keep going,” you said. “This time, I’m just trying to enjoy it all in a way I wasn’t able to the first time around.” That quote was from April. How has that worked out so far as the October end of this run nears?

Mould: So far, so good. We are blessed to have great crew folks, which makes the work days easier. We’re enjoying the moments as they happen. It’s been wonderful to see the audiences enjoying the music. Can’t ask for much more.

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Sugar performs at the Metro on Thursday, September 17 for Riot Fest Late Night and at Riot Fest on Saturday, September 19. For additional details, visit SugarCopperBlue.com, MetroChicago.com and RiotFest.org.