Seven months after the release of 2005’s Body of Song, Bob Mould is still going strong, making appearances on television and Top 40 radio. Sort of.

After a genre-departing detour in 2002’s electronically-infused Modulate, Mould’s past and present are converging in the weirdest places. In a rare television soundtrack appearance, Body of Song’s “Circles” made the rounds on Fox’s O.C. last fall, while Train’s recent release features a cover of ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind’, a Mould signature piece that helped earn Sugar’s Copper Blue the 1993 “Album of the Year” accolade by the UK’s New Music Express.

As a writer and publisher, “It’s one of the few ways I still make money in the music business”, reveals Mould in Boblog, a blog that serves as a personal diary and online shoutout network for slices of Mould’s personal and professional life.

After a solid and floor-shaking October appearance with a full band at Neumo’s, Mould returns with only an acoustic guitar in tow. This time around he’s supported by Seattle’s rising acoustic star, Rocky Votalato, who recently celebrated his Barsuk Records debut with a pair of packed shows at The Crocodile in late January.

Anyone tempted to blowoff the February acoustic show as a rehash of his electric tour should be warned that Mould’s solo acoustic sets vary greatly from tour to tour, often bringing out songs that work better in Mould’s trademark piss-and-vinegar acoustic setting. In the early 90s, Mould was one of a handful of solo artists in rental cars hopping from town to town, delivering intimate acoustic performances in a setting that MTV would popularize with its “Unplugged” franchise. Back then, Mould could lift up audiences and knock them on their butts in one masterful swoop. With a string of sold out winter European and West Coast shows in his rearview mirror, it’s hard to imagine that Wednesday will be any different.
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