Bush Rocked the Riviera in Chicago

13 Feb, 2015 Sarah Hess Alternative, Concert Reviews, Rock

Bush

Alternative rock gods Bush played for a packed house at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre. Frontman Gavin Rossdale, drummer Robin Goodridge, guitarist Chris Traynor, and bassist Corey Britz had fans going mad all evening. The foursome have been touring in support of their latest album, Man on the Run, but they played a mix of material from Sixteen Stone to The Sea of Memories.

The night kicked off with “The Sound of Winter.” Girls swooned. Guys cheered “Hell Yeahs.” Behind the band, images jumped around on a giant screen, while lights off every color flashed. Things got really crazy three songs in when Bush broke into “Everything Zen.” Fans were anything but zen. Rossdale hit the floor, wailing on guitar, while people say along: “I don’t believe that Elvis is dead!”

Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman stood against a wall to the right of the stage, watching from the side with fans as Bush played their single “Man on the Run.” Between songs, fans posed for selfies with him, but quickly got back to rocking out to songs like “The Chemicals Between Us,” off The Science Of Things, “The People That We Love,” off Golden State, and “Swallowed,” off Razorblade Suitcase. Rossdale jumped around stage like a teenager, proving age is just a number. During “The People That We Love,” he moved through the pit, embracing fans and giving high-fives. In playing with the lyrics, he screamed, “Chicago, what the f**k happened to you? What the f**k happened to me?”

For “Little Things,” he jumped off stage, ran through the aisles and up to the balcony where he danced with and serenaded fans. Cellphones popped up to catch it all on video. Rossdale made his way back down and ran into the pit, causing more of a stir.

The sweaty frontman returned to the stage for a four-song encore, which included The Talking Heads cover “Once in a Lifetime.” Before playing “Glycerine,” Rossdale thanked fans for coming out in the cold, and then said, “It feels so good to tour. For me, anyway. It’s very cathartic.” As he broke into the 90s hit, standing alone on stage with his guitar, his eyes closed, and he gently sang, “Must be your skin that I’m sinking in/Must be for real ’cause now I can feel.”

The night ended with “Comedown.” Watching Rossdale’s face and all the smiles coming from the balcony and across the theater floor, as fans sang, “‘Cause I don’t want to come back down from this cloud/It’s taken me all this time to find out what I need (yea, yea, yea)” was a reminder of why music is so important. The affect it has on people is magical, and in that moment, magic was made!

Bush is on tour now. Visit their website for a list of tour dates.