Bush at the Electric Factory

review by Elliott Sharp October 17, 2011

“This is my most favorite place I’ve ever played in my entire career,” confessed Gavin Rossdale to an ecstatic audience on Friday night when his band, Bush, headlined at the Electric Factory. Yes, you read that correctly. Bush—the English band that whacked the radio with hits like “Everything Zen” and “Glycerine” in the early 1990s—still exists. And at 44, Rossdale remains very good at playing to the crowd.

Bush opened with “Machinehead,” a post-grunge anthem that perfectly combines anger and acceptance: “Got a machinehead, better than the rest,” goes the self-deprecating/congratulating chorus. As soon as the first, now-classic guitar chords rang out, the crowd remained electrified—jumping, singing, swaying, and smiling. The band performed tunes like “Greedy Fly” from its sophmore album, Razorblade Suitcase, and “The Chemicals Between Us” from 1999’s The Science Of Things, but fans were hungriest for hits from the band’s excellent 1994 multi-platinum debut, Sixteen Stone. During “Everything Zen,” a song criticizing the stupidity of post-hippie spirituality and the media’s sexualization of violence, several people beside us raised their arms and voices to echo Rossdale’s stubborn declaration: “I don’t believe that Elvis is dead.”

continue reading: Bush at the Electric Factory: post-grunge in middle age | Music | Recap | The A.V. Club Philadelphia.