No Comedown: Bush and Rival Sons Rock Halifax
PHOTOS and Review BY: MITCHELL JODREY // THE BOOM AT NOON 
Gavin Rossdale of Bush
Last week, Bush brought their Loaded: The Greatest Hits tour to Halifax for a night of high-energy nostalgia. In the weeks leading up to the show, Filter was quietly dropped from the lineup, possibly due to a scheduling conflict with a show in Pennsylvania that same night. Their absence raised some questions and left some fans online angry, but it did result in the headliner hitting the stage earlier in the evening, which is always a welcome change, if you ask me.
Rival Sons opened with a tight, seven-song set. Familiar tracks like “Open My Eyes” and “Pressure and Time” hit hard, but it was the sweeping, prog-leaning ballad “Where I’ve Been” that ended up being the standout of their set.
Bush took the stage a little past 8 pm. They opened with “Everything Zen.” One of my favourite songs, “Machinehead” followed right after. Shooting photos in the pit while that riff hit was surreal; the feeling and energy in the pit was palpable. After “Machinehead”, Rossdale got more comfortable, coming back to the stage without his jacket, in a t-shirt, performing a newer song “Bullet Holes,” my last song in the pit before heading to my seat.
I got to my seat sometime in the middle of “The Chemicals Between Us”.The vibe in the crowd was easygoing. A guy who had settled into my spot while I was away offered a sheepish apology, assuming I wasn't coming. I explained I was late to my seat from shooting photos, and he kindly slid over a few seats.
Not long after, I saw a guy being escorted down the stairs by security. Once he hit the arena floor, he suddenly tried to break away, pulling off a quick duck and spin that, for a split second, felt perfectly synced to the riff of “All Things Must Change,” like he’d chosen his own personal soundtrack for the escape. But the moment didn’t last. He was quickly cuffed and led out, the whole scene over almost as soon as it began.
One of the more striking moments of the set came later during “Swallowed,” performed a cappella, and stripped down. Then, during “Flowers on a Grave,” Rossdale left the stage completely and went on a journey through the arena. He made it all the way into the upper bowl, hugging fans, making it feel less like a performance and more like a reunion.
Rossdale in the crowd (cellphone shot)
The encore brought a surprise cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” with a grunge twist. Earlier in the evening, when looking at the band’s setlist from their show the night before in Laval, the band introduced “Glycerine” in French and was surprised to hear the French intro in Halifax as well. The final song of the night was one of their biggest hits, “Comedown,” a perfect end to a setlist built on nostalgia. The whole arena fittingly sang along: 'Cause I don't wanna come back down from this cloud…'
