Bush made a stop at Chicago’s Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on their Greatest Hits Tour to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Marking 30 years since the release of their debut album Sixteen Stone, Bush is currently on their Greatest Hits Tour across the US. While many bands release special anniversary editions of their albums, Bush opted to go the greatest hits route by releasing Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023 in November 2023.
Watching Gavin Rossdale on stage, it’s incredible to think this band has been around for 30 years. Recently we’ve been hearing of a number of singers who have had to either have vocal surgery or retire from singing altogether due to the issues they have encountered with their voices. Listening to Gavin Rossdale perform proves he is certainly not experiencing any of these issues. What was noticeable was how incredible his voice sounded, even with all the punishment he gives it during his performances.
If the energy Rossdale manifests during his performances could be bottled up and sold, they’d make a fortune. From the moment they stepped onto the stage, he was unrelenting. Jumping up and down, working every inch of the stage, and not to mention venturing around almost the entire audience at the Huntington Bank Pavilion, all while pouring his heart and soul into singing. It was infectious to witness. If ever there was someone who looked like they enjoy what they do, this was it.
Although Rossdale is the only original band member, the rest of the band have been around long enough now to be accepted as fully-fledged members. Chris Traynor held the attention of the crowd in the palm of his hand, hanging on his every note. Whenever he raised his hands in the air, the crowd reciprocated with enthusiastic cheers. A special shout-out has to go to Nik Hughes on the drums, who beat his drum kit into submission throughout the entire set! All too often, it’s extremely difficult to see the drummer as they are usually tucked away at the back of the stage. Not here. Nik was given pride of place, elevated up above the rest of the band and clearly visible to the crowd. Not only could you see him pour everything into every song, but you could feel the vibrations pound through you no matter where you were in the pavilion. Corey Britz was not one to stand on the sidelines either, as he interacted with fans who were along the barrier as he walked through the pit in front of the stage.
This was definitely not one of those phoned-in performances. All four members of the band certainly worked for their money and all looked like they enjoyed it as much as the crowd did. This is their greatest hits tour and they made sure to cover the biggest hits from the majority of their albums, with songs from Sixteen Stone booking-ending the setlist. They kicked off the set with “Everything Zen” and “Machinehead” before pausing briefly to dedicate the show to Chicago’s Steve Albini who passed away in May. A stripped-back version of “Swallowed” with just Rossdale on stage with his guitar had the entire audience singing along, almost as much as they sang along to “Glycerine.” “Greedy Fly” received a well-deserved amount of praise from the crowd. The evening was rounded off with a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together,” “Glycerine,” and “Comedown.”
This was a fun show for fans both old and new. As the crowd trickled out of the pavilion, it felt as if they weren’t in any rush to leave, just wanting to savor every last minute of the great night they’d had.
The Greatest Hits Tour continues until late September so be sure to catch them if they come to a city near you.
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HUNTINGTON BANK PAVILION AT NORTHERLY ISLAND
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