Bush

Live In Tampa CLEOPATRA

Brit-grunge superstars party like it’s 1995.

In August 2019, Bush hit Tampa, Florida with fellow Bill Clinton-era throwbacks Live and Our Lady Peace, where they recorded this lavish-looking concert film. Of its 12 songs, 10 date from the 90s; even alternative rock has finally given in to nostalgia, it seems.

Time has treated Bush’s music kindly. Crucified in the press at the time as piss-poor Nirvana knock-offs, here Swallowed and Everything Zen ripple with a confidence that comes from knowing that what the critics say stopped mattering years ago.

That isn’t to say that Live In Tampa is above criticism, although its problems aren’t musical. Frontman Gavin Rossdale is a magnetic performer, going full walkabout in the crowd at one point, but his between-song chat and the snippets of off-stage interview veer between unedifying and plain embarrassing. Still, that’s a distraction rather than a flaw, and it won’t stop you from wishing things were as simple as they used to be. ■■■■■■■■■■