DECEMBER 5th, 2023
BUSH
Review by Metallic Barbie
Photos by Peter Ruttan

Alternative nostalgia was alive and well (and looking good) at The Orpheum in Vancouver on December 5^thwhere Eva Under Fire and Bad Wolves set the stage for Bush to power through some of the biggest hits of the 90s. Pre-empting the 30^th anniversary of Sixteen Stone, Bush’s first release after forming the band in 1992, and supporting the November 10^th release of Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023, vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale, guitarist Chris Traynor, bassist/backing vocalist Corey Britz, and drummer Nik Hughes casually and confidently stole the VSO’s home and made it their own.

An energetic, emotional, and fulsome experience was delivered from “Everything Zen” to “Comedown”, peppered with favourites like “Machinehead”, “Swallowed”, and “Greedy Fly”, and newer adoptions like “The Kingdom” and “More Than Machines”.  Watching Rossdale, it was as if he stepped through a time warp from the early 90s and landed on stage in 2023.

Not only did he look, sound, and play just as he did when he was in his 20s, Rossdale gyrated, headbanged, and toyed with stacks, his toned physique and angelic face making it look effortless despite approaching 60 years old.  Traynor, Britz, and Hughes jived sonically but were truly simply support for the Rossdale experience.  And it was generous and liberal: Rossdale made it a point to move into the crowd both on the floor and in the balcony, singing to and hugging rabid, appreciative fans.

Rossdale and the band seemed to absorb and redirect the energy emanating from the room, gaining momentum, and getting higher as the set progressed.  They fed on the vibes as a rockstar parasite would feed on cocaine and brown M&Ms.

Not only did most of the women in the room need to change their panties by song three, but one of the best setlists of any band I’ve seen this past year was played, plowing through golden thickets to pure, unadulterated Bush. The quartet find themselves in Spokane, WA, followed by Indio, CA, wrapping up the tour (or this leg of it) on January 13^th, 2024, in Anaheim, CA.  This is an absolute must-see if you were even a zygote in the 1990s, and a lesson to others of the industry in longevity and relevance.