Gavin Rossdale fronts Bush at The Anthem on April 6, 2018. (Photo by Chris R. Smyth)

From the start, it felt as if Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale wanted to get as close to the audience as possible. He stalked around the stage like a caged animal who wanted out.

When the band played the number “Greedy Fly” — from second album Razorblade Suitcase, Gavin climbed down from the stage and jumped up on the security barrier so that he could play right in front of the crowd. But that was just a precursor for what was to come at a sold-out show at The Anthem on Friday.

Bush performed the first show of their current North American tour as part of the DC 101 Blossom Bash. Not allowing anyone to feel complacent, Bush came out firing with “Machine Head.” They played songs across much of their catalog, including “Nurse” and “This Is War” from their 2017 album, Black and White Rainbows.

For the first half of the show, Gavin played rhythm guitar in each of the songs. In the second half, he shed his guitar for most of the songs, and it looked as if he was let off of his leash. Rarely did he remain in one place. Jumping and dancing all around, and sliding up to the front of the stage on his knees, Gavin was freed. By the time the band played their hit song “Little Things,” Gavin needed out of his confines of the stage, and he jumped the barrier to be with his fans. More than happy to be with those who paid to see him, it took time for security to be able to extract him from the crowd.

Once Gavin made it back on stage, one of the big highlights of the show came when he performed the band’s famous ballad, “Glycerine.” Gavin played the song solo, and the crowd was all the support he needed, as everyone sang along with every word.

Mixing it up for a moment, Bush then played a slightly rocked up cover of REM’s song “The One I Love.” The night ended with “Comedown,” one last song off Sixteen Stone.

Set list:
Machinehead
Nurse
The Chemicals Between Us
The Sound of Winter
Greedy Fly
Everything Zen
This Is War
Little Things
Glycerine
The One I Love
Comedown

Here are some photos of Bush performing at The Anthem on April 6, 2018. All photos are copyright and courtesy of Chris R. Smyth.