A capacity crowd thirsting for a morsel of 90’s nostalgia at the plush Voodoo Lounge inside Kansas City’s Harah’s casino were treated to a high-energy and well-paced set from Bush- a band that transcends the grunge era that they were forged from.
Frontman Gavin Rossdale, a man that neither looks nor performs like a 52-year-old, was in complete control of the crowd on this night and his energy was almost astonishing as he seemed to feed off the crowd’s ferocious energy.
The opening chords of “Everything Zen,” a hit from the band’s 1994 debut “Sixteen Stone” set the tone perfectly, and while the set was sprinkled with songs from their entire career, “Sixteen Stone” will forever be known as Bush’s cash-cow. Songs like “The Chemicals Between us,” “The Sound of Winter,” and “Swallowed” all went over great, with Rossdale’s vocals and charisma gaining even more steam as the show progressed.
It was quite a different and ethereal experience seeing Bush in a smaller venue this go-around, especially after seeing them in front of 10,000 + just a week ago at Chicago’s WKQX Piqniq. Bush will also begin a large-scale headlining venture beginning July 18th in Nashville, TN with fellow 90’s cohorts Stone Temple Pilots.
“We are looking forward to see everybody in the summer. This is a great tour for rock fans,” Gavin Rossdale said in a statement.
The show really hit its proverbial stride during the final third of the set with Rossdale’s solo performance of the timeless “Glycerine” followed by “Little Things,” a song that saw Rossdale wade his way through a tightly-packed crowd receiving hugs and high fives all the way to the balcony of the venue, where he finished the song surrounded by show-goers trying to get closer to the enigmatic frontman. A three-song encore would follow including another massive “Sixteen Stone” song, the high-octane “Machinehead” which is likely the band’s masterpiece, combining one of the more memorable guitar riffs of the decade with a chorus that builds into an amazing sing-along crescendo. A cover of the Beatles “Come Together” would follow before the night ended with “Comedown,” perhaps the song that got me into the band in the first place after hearing it in the Mark Wahlberg thriller “Fear. “
Overall, Bush are showing audiences that they are still a force to be reckoned with, whether it be a large amphitheater or smaller club, this is a band that survived the grunge era (and although have had two members virtually retire from music) are still maintaining relevance with new music and a frontman that is likely the most underrated of his era.
Setlist:
1. Everyhing Zen
2. Nurse
3. The Chemicals Between Us
4. Testosterone
5. The Sound of winter
6. Greedy Fly
7. This is War
8. Let Yourself Go
9. Swallowed
10. Glycerine
11. The Gift
12. Little Things
13. Machinehead
14. Come Together (Beatles Cover)
15. Comedown
