Staind bring to the table a surprisingly slick and well put together set without turning it into a pretentious wankfest. “Eyes Wide Open” is a perfect example of the deep, rolling bass lines and spine kicking drums that punctuate the set. Staind have a strong following and do not disappoint the fans that have waited many years to see them back on Australian shores.
“Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” shouts vocalist Aaron Lewis and as expected he is met with an overwhelming reply. “Outside” is met with enthusiastic shouts from the audience, who hang over the balcony to scream the chorus back at the band. Lewis’s visceral growl is at its best, switching from his formidable singing voice into a far reaching scream with jaw dropping ease.
Unfortunately, Staind lose momentum as they reach into their more adult contemporary tracks. Switching to an acoustic to sing the one song that everyone in the room was guaranteed to know, “It’s Been A While” before being joined onstage by the rest of the band, it was almost as though an entirely different band was playing. Clearly this is a band that should stick to its heavy roots. While not unenjoyable, it was unfortunate that Staind seemed to cater for their fair weather fans than the ones who realised they had a back catalogue consisting of more than one song.
One of the biggest curiosities of the Soundwave Festival was the choice to include Bush. Having not had a hit record, or even having released a record since 2001’s Golden State, there were more than a few in the audience waiting with bated breath to see if Bush can pull a rabbit out of their hat.
Opening with “Machinehead”, the floor underfoot seems to sag and bounce back as Gavin Rossdale sings “breathe in, breathe out” backed by a near full house who sing back twice as loudly. Considering the fair amount of piss-taking that had been going on in the lead up to their show, Bush sound fucking awesome. Rossdale’s voice is still there in all of its raspy glory and he savagely rips through “The Chemicals Between Us” without any sign of slowing. A special mention must go out to their lighting tech who has designed a show with enough blinders and strobes to cause a thousand seizures. The sometimes uncomfortably strong lighting somehow manages to bring the show up to another level, although it was not so kind to Rossdale’s slowly growing bald patch.
“It’s like it’s like a sight to behold you tonight, thank you so much,” the singer says with the sincerity of a man who is genuinely chuffed that so many have come out to his band. They are happy to be back and the packed out crowd is happy to reciprocate the love as they sing along to “Everything Zen”. Wisely, they reach back into 90’s grunge gems Sixteen Stone and Razorblade Suitcase. Though Bush have had a warm reception they are smart enough to know where their strengths and the audiences’ affections lie.
In what may be the cleverest manoeuvre in “getting-the-audience-not-to-boo-your-new-stuff 101” ever seen; Rossdale abandons the stage while singing “Afterlife” from their new album The Sea Of Memories and twists his way to the very top balcony. This is much to the delight of the many (mostly female) admirers who clamour to touch as he stops along the way to sing another line. Winding back down to “Little Things”, it is nearly time to wrap things up.
Beginning a three song encore with a cover of “Come Together”, and perpetual sing-along “Glycerine”, the entire band is literally dripping in sweat as they tear through final track, “Comedown”. If Bush do nothing after this record, this gig at the Palace will stand out as the night they proved to be a sleeping giant, not a defeated one.
– Madison Thomas
