Bush!

Bush came to Colorado on May 27, 1997! I had second row center seats along with four other friends. This show totally rocked the house. Although Souls wasn't the greatest, Veruca Salt was okay. However, Bush was the best. The songs Bush played were:

1. Personal Holloway 6. Everything Zen 11. Hotel California ENCORE
2. Greedy Fly 7. History 12. Wild Horses 16. Swallowed
3. Machinehead 8. Cold Contagious 13. A Tendency to Start Fires 17. Alien
4. Insect Kin 9. Glycerine 14. Body 18. Bomb
5. Mouth 10. Bonedriven 15. Comedown 19. Little Things

Take a look at a backstage pass (It wasn't mine, however). I also have a transcript of an online chat with Nigel Pulsford from Bush on May 7, 1997. Look for questions from Gantless, as that would be me. At the bottom of the file is a list of questions that I submitted since not all of them were answered in the chat.

Concert Review

Tuesday, May 27, 1997 at Fiddlers Green in Denver, Colorado.


I went to school on Tuesday and began to get psyched about the concert. When second hour rolled around, Jenn talked to me and said that we were going to meet Carrie at the Citadel at 12:30. Another one of my friends, Alan, kept commenting to me about how slow the class would go if he mentioned the time to me every minute. He stopped after a while and the class did go relatively fast.

After class was over, I went to my car and met Greg there. We left and went to my dad's house to switch cars. I have a little car and it is uncomfortable for four people to ride in it even for a short distance, let alone five people for a hundred miles. Greg and I then went to my house and ate lunch. I tried looking for the on-line chat with Nigel transcript so that he could read it, but I couldn't find it. As we were leaving, Greg said he needed to go cash some checks so we went to a bank. Then I remembered I had forgotten my ticket, so we went back to my house and then to Lenae's house. Jenn and Lenae were waiting in the driveway when we drove up. They commented on my blatant disregard for any punctuality. I did not deny their accusation and made a few jokes about forgetting them and my ticket. After getting everything situated in the car, we left for Colorado Springs.

We made it to the Citadel about 12:45. We left there immediately after picking up Carrie, went to Denver, and checked out Fiddlers Green to see if anyone was allowed to enter the seating area yet. The security guards told us that no one was allowed in since Bush was doing their sound check. It was about 2:00. We left to go to the Park Meadows mall, only to return to Fiddlers Green later.

Park Meadows was a large and very nice mall. We all commented on the low levels of people, but I think it the reason is that it was a Tuesday afternoon. I did not have any desire to shop for anything that day and I doubt Greg did either. Consequently, we remained as a group and went into just about every women's clothing store in the mall.

Before we left, we had stopped at Sam Goody and at the food court so that Greg and I could eat. Jenn, Carrie, and Lenae brought food to eat and they were going to eat it in the parking lot before the concert. We left the mall around 4:20 and got back to Fiddlers Green about 4:35. From then on, we waited around the car.

About 5:00 they started letting people enter the arena. I was not too concerned because we had reserved seating and could enter at any time. We got our stuff together and went in shortly thereafter.

The security was not that detailed. I had a handbag ("frameless backpack" as they say) along with Jenn and Lenae. They frisked us and asked us to open our bags. They glanced inside and squeezed the bags together evidently to feel for harmful objects. We got in and went to the merchandise stand. They had several items available. Only two shirts appealed to me, but I only wanted to buy one shirt at $30. I decided a long-sleeved shirt with a blue sunflower on the front and the tour dates on the back would work. I also got a sticker for my car, which I may not put on.

We got in a huge-ass line to wait to enter for our seats. They had let people enter the complex, but not the actual seating place. We waited until a little after 5:30 before the line moved to enter. Once again, the security guard sentries were waiting to make sure everyone entering through the gates had a ticket for reserved seating. We sat down to our second row, center seats, waited about 45 minutes, and then watched Souls. They played for about 25 minutes. I did not particularly like them. The overall impression I got from them reminded me of No Doubt. It started raining after they left. It never rained too hard, but I was glad I brought a blanket. The concert was delayed about 25 minutes. Veruca Salts came on when the rain was ending. They played for about 45 minutes and then we waited for about a half-hour while the stage was set up for Bush. Bush totally rocked and even I was screaming at them. As many people can vouch for this, I do not get excited or enthusiastic about very many things. After they had played for awhile, they left the stage. The audience was screaming for about 15 minutes amongst chanting "We want Bush!" and banging on the seats. They came back out and played a four-song encore.

We did not stay and try to get backstage nor did we try to meet the band afterwards. Greg had run up to the stage and picked up a pick that was laying on the ground. Carrie also wanted a pick. After the concert, we asked the security guard that we had talked to the entire time if he could do anything. He consulted with another member on stage. The guy on stage was about to hand the pick to Carrie when another person screamed for it and got it. We talked to the security guard again. He pulled out two picks out of his pocket and handed one to Carrie. This is not bad, but the guy on stage was an ass.

We stopped at a convenience store before the trip back to Pueblo. I bought a Dr. Pepper to assist my driving home. I was the last one to enter the car; and when I did, everyone started laughing. I never did figure out why. It was shortly after 11:00 before we left Denver. Greg and Jenn fell asleep on the way home, but Carrie, Lenae, and I listened to Love Line on the radio. I never realized the radio show was so long until we listened to it the entire way home. Everyone said for me to let them know if I was unable to drive. Carrie was the appointed person that would ask if I was okay the entire trip home. Jenn even woke up once to see if I was okay. I was okay and appreciated the efforts of my fellow crewmates; however, if I did not have the Dr. Pepper I may have needed to take them up on their offer during the long stretches of dark highway and the incessant hum of the car. I dropped everyone off at their houses and went to switch cars at my dad's house. I then took a shower because there were so many people smoking at the concert. I probably inhaled enough smoke to have smoked a cigarette myself (along with portions of whatever else people were smoking). It was 1:10 before I got into bed that night and needed to go to school the next morning. However, this was the best concert I have ever attended and it will be one I never forget. I would not hesitate to attend another concert if Bush comes to Colorado again. It was also the most fun I've had in a long time, partially because of all the freedom I had since none of our parents was around.