BUSH! (The band, not George H.W., George W., Neil, Barbara, Jeb, etc.)

[GulDukat]

Since Bush were pretty big in the mid-to-late 90's, when NIN were really popular, I'm sort of surprised that there isn't a thread about them.

I thought they were lame in their heyday, a sort of second-rate Nirvana. However, over the years I have reevaluated their music and am now a pretty big fan. I would still give them a second-tier status, behind their 90's peers, like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, AIC, Soundgarden, STP, Smashing Pumpkins, NIN, etc. That said, they have some really great singles ("Everything Zen," "Greedy Fly," "Sound of Winter," etc.) and their albums are all pretty solid. When you see how rock radio was dominated by nu-metal, emo, and bands that were pretty generic in the years that followed, Bush look even better in hindsight. While their biggest singles are on the first two albums, I feel that, overall, their post-reunion albums are better.

I saw Bush last night in Boston. They are touring with Chevelle and completely blew them off the stage. They stuck with all the hits and singles from their entire career and Gavin looks and sounds awesome for a guy who is 50 years old and is a very underrated frontman, imo, very charismatic. They are awesome live, very high energy and just a lot of fun.

[kdrcraig]

I still really like the first two albums, especially Razorblade Suitcase, that's just a great album. I kind of fell off after that, I think I listened to The Science of Things, if that's the right title? I was going to use a voucher from that ticketmaster settlement to go see them in Philly but it sold out of vouchers before I got the chance.

[frankie teardrop]

probably my biggest guilty pleasure band...and by pleasure, i mean i maybe listen to them once or twice a year, if that. i like the singles from sixteen stone and the science of things about as much as anything on the radio at the time, while otherwise i do like razorblade suitcase as an underrated effort that was mostly panned at the time.

despite all this, i'd hardly consider myself a big fan, and probably wouldn't see them unless it was for that free ticketmaster thing which didn't work out. nostalgia is a helluva drug.

[GulDukat]

I still really like the first two albums, especially Razorblade Suitcase, that's just a great album. I kind of fell off after that, I think I listened to The Science of Things, if that's the right title? I was going to use a voucher from that ticketmaster settlement to go see them in Philly but it sold out of vouchers before I got the chance.

The Science of Things (2009), their third album, is their weakest effort, imho. They tried too hard to sound hip and modern with some electronic flourishes, but it just fell flat. They came back with a great album, Golden State, which recapured their classic sound, but by then (2001), the ship had sailed and their audience had mostly moved on.

Bush came back with a new lineup (new guitarist and bassist) for The Sea of Memories in 2010 and Man on the Run in 2014. The former goes for their classic, Sixteen Stone sound, albeit more polished and the latter uses some electronic flourishes, like The Science of Things, but is a much better, more cohesive album.

[GulDukat]

probably my biggest guilty pleasure band...and by pleasure, i mean i maybe listen to them once or twice a year, if that. i like the singles from sixteen stone and the science of things about as much as anything on the radio at the time, while otherwise i do like razorblade suitcase as an underrated effort that was mostly panned at the time.

despite all this, i'd hardly consider myself a big fan, and probably wouldn't see them unless it was for that free ticketmaster thing which didn't work out. nostalgia is a helluva drug.

I hear you. While I can still relate to bands like NIN, Pearl Jam, etc. as an adult, for me, nostalgia is a big factor of why I like Bush. Those first two album really take me back to high school, and I didn't even own them then.

[Failure]

Man, I loved Bush in like 97-98. Razorblade Suitcase is still a classic. The deeper cuts on there hold up surprisingly well (Synapse, History, Bonedriven). There was short period of time when I used to hunt down their rarities too (the songs Old on the X-Games Soundtrack, Bubbles on Mall Rats, Broken TV on White Man's Burden, etc.).

They always put on a good show. Saw them at the Spectrum with Veruca Salt, at Hershey Park with Jesus Lizard, and at Woodstock. They have never been the same after Nigel left though. And they sort of lost me on TSOT. "All the fishermen and their families"!

[GulDukat]

There is also Institute, which was sort like like a Bush album under another name.

[Jinsai]

I used to feel super guilty for liking the song Comedown. Glad that part of me is well and dead

[october_midnight]

Can't lie, was eating lunch with my wife downtown in a cafe and Comedown came on. First time I heard it in like 10 years and I thought 'damn, I still kinda dig this!'

edit: also, random coincidence...they've just announced a show here in Vancouver on Halloween. I can get in to any show at the venue they're playing at for free and Oct 31 IS a Monday so chances are I won't have any other plans. Might have to check it, lol.

[Mantra]

I loved this band when I was about 11 or 12. Grew out of them pretty quickly though and I don't think I could ever enjoy them again, even for nostalgic purposes. There's some thing kind of interchangeable about a lot of their songs.

That said, I am eternally grateful to them for introducing me to Tricky with this remix.

[perceptionnexus]

[Uraki14]

I am very bummed they aren't coming to Nashville on this tour. I've always wanted to catch them! Greedy Fly is one of my favorite songs. I really don't mind The Science of Things at all. I rather enjoy the differing sound from the previous two albums. Warm Machine is hands down in my top 5 album openers. Overall I like Sea of Memories. I really dug Sound of Winter and especially All My Life. Still have yet to listen to this last album though.

[Archive_Reports]

I used to absolutely adore Razorblade Suitcase and it still kind of holds up. Bush/Veruca Salt was a surprisingly good show in 19-whatever.

[thevoid99]

I do like Sixteen Stone a lot while Razorblade Suitcase was alright. It's been downhill after that and Gavin is a wanker.

[GulDukat]

Seems like Razorblade Suitcase is a fan favorite here! It was sort of like their own In Utero. It was even produced by Steve Albini.

[wight rabbit]

I think, comparing Bush albums to Nine Inch Nails albums, Sixteen Stone was their Pretty Hate Machine and Razorblade Suitcase was their Downward Spiral, with Deconstructed being their Further Down the Spiral.

[bobbie solo]

I love everything up through Golden State. Only time I have seen them live was them touring behind Golden State at Hammerstein Ballroom. One of the best shows I've ever seen. They played everything I wanted to hear, including my favorite song of theirs, Little Things. The sound was perfect, and Gavin was a madman, running all over the place and in the crowd. This was one of the few times I've had a balcony seat at Hammerstein, and Gavin came out and sang like half a song right in front of me and my friend Farah. It ruled.

Super excited to see them & Chevelle in Asbury Park tomorrow. Setlists for both bands look solid and it will be awesome to revisit Bush (::snort:. Never the greatest band around, but solid 90's radio rock that still had substance behind it.

[Arcspiral]

Warm Machine is hands down in my top 5 album openers.

Couldn't agree more! I was never the biggest Bush fan, but that song is amazing and still finds its way into my personal rotation fairly frequently. Also, that song "The Disease of the Dancing Cats" is great too. That's gotta be the heaviest riff Gavin ever wrote.

[Uraki14]

Couldn't agree more! I was never the biggest Bush fan, but that song is amazing and still finds its way into my personal rotation fairly frequently. Also, that song "The Disease of the Dancing Cats" is great too. That's gotta be the heaviest riff Gavin ever wrote.

Right now I absolutely love you lol

[bobbie solo]

And I imagine that's why they're playing it while touring with Chevelle.

[bobbie solo]

What a mess tonight's show was for me. Left for the show 2 hours before Chevelle was scheduled to start (7:25pm). Forgot my wallet at home after 15 minutes of driving. Needed my ID b/c I was on the guest list. Go get it, get back on the NJ Turnpike, now there's an accident on the Turnpike Extension bridge connecting 14A-C to 14. Lose like 20 minutes there. Race down to Asbury, start looking for a spot near the Stone Pony at like 7:30.

Figure I'll miss 2 or 3 songs of Chevelle, which I was fine with. Finally find a spot in like fucking Guam 20 minutes later and get to the Stone Pony a little before. My name isn't on the list! I work my magic and get in only a few minutes later luckily, only to find out Chevelle actually went on at 7:05...20 minutes early! CSLKNSNLKSDALNKSDADKDMLDSLD

So I only caught like 4 songs. I understand there's a noise ordinance and curfew on outdoor shows in Asbury, but now you're putting a co-headlining band on at 7pm? Jesus.

Bush....I have mixed feelings about. The band was solid. Gavin's voice is still solid, and he has tons of energy up there. Great setlist. But the mix was off! The rhythm section was very loud, and Gavin's guitar and vocals were too low in the mix. Bass guitar was very muddy and overpowering. I wanted to tell the sound guy, but I had a great spot and didn't wanna lose it. The sound balance got a little better later on, but he was always too low in the mix. Chevelle's sound was excellent, so this falls completely on Bush's sound guy.

I also think that Robin Goodridge was employing an electronic snare along with his regular drum kit throughout the show. The snare had this weird snap to it that didn't sound natural. Maybe it was just the mix. Either way it was distracting to me. No idea why he would use that. Maybe I'm wrong.

The crowd...sheesh. Buncha mongoloids. Not surprising considering the bands & venue. A Friday night outdoor show down the shore with a nostalgia band from the 90's? Sadly, these were mostly not music people. Lotta awful bro's just tryin' to get their drink on and rawk out to Machinehead BRAH! Probably their one concert of the year, you know? Some idiots next to me started chanting "Bush" DURING Greedy Fly:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIwWR3ED...bronxtalebliss


There were a good amount of mousy-looking female Bush superfan types too. The chicks who are in love with Gavin but not groupies. Funny mix of people tonight for sure.

I discovered tonight that the previously described "Gavin's runs into the crowd and sings a whole song from there" clearly is a regular occurrence:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIwXWikD...bronxtalebliss

That was pretty awesome. Little Things is my favorite Bush song, so that kinda shifted my whole mood around about the show. Pretty sweet.

Oh, and the R.E.M. surprisingly worked really well! Nice surprise.

1. Everything Zen
2. The Disease of the Dancing Cats
3. The Chemicals Between Us
4. The Sound of Winter
5. Greedy Fly
6. Monkey
7. The People That We Love
8. Swallowed
9. Alien
10. The Only Way Out
11. Insect Kin
12. Little Things
13. Encore:
14. Machinehead
15. The One I Love
    (R.E.M. cover)
16. Glycerine
17. Comedown

[GulDukat]

Hmm, I thought the mix sounded fine when I saw them. Maybe it was an off night?

And yeah, Gavin seems pretty fan friendly, especially with attractive women. One woman, 40-ish, jumped over several rows and ran to the stage. The security tried to make her stop but Gavin allowed her on stage, where she hugged him, before the security kicked her off.

Misplacing your wallet sucks, btw.

[allegro]

G and I saw Bush sometime during the late-90s, our friend was taking his teenage daughter, and seriously the only thing I can remember is ALL THAT SCREAMING EVERYWHERE OMG IT WAS ALMOST LIKE THE FUCKING BEATLES OR SOMETHING. These girls everywhere were SHRIEKING "GAAAAAAAVIIIIIIIIIN!" and they were CRYING. What the fuck. I turned and yelled at one girl, "HE CAN'T HEAR YOU, YOU MORON." I think I lost my hearing for hours.

[bobbie solo]

Yeah but can you blame them? That dude has great genes. Even now, He's an alarmingly good looking man haha. Pushing 50 and looks like early 30's. Still has most of his hair and is in good shape. I get it.

[bobbie solo]

Rhett, when did u see them and was it indoors or outdoors? And thanks for the sympathy.

[GulDukat]

Rhett, when did u see them and was it indoors or outdoors? And thanks for the sympathy.

Outdoors, pavilion at the Boston Harbor. Last two times were at the Boston House of Blues.

[henryeatscereal]

"Sixteen Stone" is a good album, the others are nothing to scream about and they did deserve to be forgotten after that one, they tried the same formula and they evolved little, but i do admit i still play "Sixteen Stone" every now and then...

[GulDukat]

Yeah but can you blame them? That dude has great genes. Even now, He's an alarmingly good looking man haha. Pushing 50 and looks like early 30's. Still has most of his hair and is in good shape. I get it.

A personal trainer, tons of cash and hair-plugs don't hurt either!

[GulDukat]

"Sixteen Stone" is a good album, the others are nothing to scream about and they did deserve to be forgotten after that one, they tried the same formula and they evolved little, but i do admit i still play "Sixteen Stone" every now and then...

For most people they might be a one or two album wonder, but I pretty much enjoyed all their albums, except for The Science of Things. It's nice to know that with Bush, we still have one band that hasn't really changed in 20 years and will consistently deliver a solid, 90's grungy rock album and put on a good show.

[henryeatscereal]

For most people they might be a one or two album wonder, but I pretty much enjoyed all their albums, except for The Science of Things. It's nice to know that with Bush, we still have one band that hasn't really changed in 20 years and will consistently deliver a solid, 90's grungy rock album and put on a good show.

Yeah, i guess they filled the void that Silverchair left when they disbanded, i've never seen them live so i can't give my opinion on that matter...