02/07/23
The Midland Theatre, Kansas City, MO
I’ve only been to the Midland once before, about 5 years ago with my family to see Carol Burnett. The theatre itself is beautiful. The architecture evokes a classical feel, as though you were stepping into a great concert hall to hear Mozart perform.
Bush brought their Art of Survival tour to Kansas City and The Midland, bringing Los Angeles-based Starcrawler as support.
Riotous and chaotic, the lead singer of Starcrawler, Arrow de Wilde, evokes the energy of the punk pioneers that proceeded her, charging from one side of the stage to the other, to the floor, and into the crowd, one moment dancing like a ballerina, the next thrashing around the stage. The crowd certainly got into it after Arrow announced, much to the chagrin of the crowd, how they were happy to be in Kansas and stated that their favorite BBQ was from Texas.
The honest no fucks given spirit makes her stand out from the rest of the band, who produced the base for her antics, highlighted by the pink suit worn by the lead guitarist Henri Cash, who, to close out their set, made his way into the crowd to send them off the right way, bringing a young fan onto stage to finish the set. This is the first I have heard of Starcrawler, and holy shit, I cannot wait to see where this chaos goes next. They have landed on my radar.
Starcrawler is currently out promoting their album “She Said“.
Gavin Rossdale, in my humble opinion, is one of the best songwriters of my generation, and after tonight’s show, I’m a 14-year-old freshman again, slogging my way between math and science class with headphones on and Sixteen Stone on repeat in my discman. Their music and lyrics are forever ingrained in my brain, and traveling the three-and-a-half drive to Kansas City to see one of the bands that introduced me to rock music, the reality of being there hit me. I’ve been to some amazing concerts and rarely do I ever have the opportunity to see a band that has been with me through my entire adult life.
Opening with Identity, from their 2022 album “The Art of Survival“, they had no issue in bringing the audience to their feet. Following with Machinehead, their very first single from “Sixteen Stone“, I lost myself to the moment, singing along in the pit, my childhood self looking on excited for me at what an opportunity this was.
During Flowers on a Grave, from 2020’s “The Kingdom“, Gavin jumped into the pit and exited through the side door, and reappeared in the crowd at the top balcony of the Midland.
Crossing from one side of the balcony to the other, and back again as the band played on, continuing to sing through the chorus of Flowers.
Following that, a personal favorite, Everything Zen, returned me to that part of my youth. Hearing everybody else in the theater singing along, you find yourself becoming one, becoming family. That’s music.
Newer music, 1000 Years, Quicksand, and Heavy is the Ocean, topped off with More Than Machines, the first single off of “The Art of Survival”. After a brief break, the blatantly obvious encore just taking its time, giving everyone on stage a chance to take a breath.
When they returned to the stage, the title track from the previous album, The Kingdom, bringing everyone’s adrenaline back before shining the spotlight down on Gavin as he speaks to his audience. A fan in the front, he points out, is attending their 105th Bush concert. He states that he kind of feels bad, like a record on repeat, for what he’s about to sing, Glycerine. Everyone in attendance echoed the lyrics as he sang. Like lighters lit up to illuminate a darkened auditorium, the melodic rhythm filled the spirits and souls of the crowd, rejuvenating the energy over the last hour. Moments like this, they’re special and memorable, and you never really will forget the first time you hear it lives. Rosedale has not lost a step, sounding just as he did nearly 30 years prior on “Sixteen Stone”. They closed the show with Comedown, and I still feel it’s going to be a while before I do. The lyrics, “I don’t want to come back down from this cloud” are ever so true to this 41-year-old man becoming a 14-year-old boy again. I can get used to this.
Now, a few days removed from the show, as I export photos, the reality hits me one more time. Naming a folder “Bush”, I remain in awe that I had this chance.
Bush’s “The Art of Survival” Tour continues through Feb. 26th, finishing in St. Louis.
