Rock bands Bush, Mammoth, and James & the Cold Gun opened the season at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre on Wednesday.
When Bush opened for Alice in Chains in 2022, I noted that Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale was quite energetic at age 56. He’s now 60 (?!) and it’s arguable that he had even more energy on Wednesday night than his last stop in Charlotte.
The singer, whose voice sounded like it needed a couple of songs to truly warm up, often danced around the stage while he performed. Though his microphone and guitar pedals were set back about 10 feet from the edge of the stage during the first song, “Everything Zen” (1995), Rossdale quickly ushered in stagehands before attempting to move all of it forward himself.
“I feel like I’m too far away,” he told the crowd. “They said it’s because of feedback, but we’ll deal with it.”
From there, the band launched into “The Chemicals Between Us” (1999), with Rossdale perched at the front of the stage soaking in the crowd’s energy. The band has been touring in support of their 2025 album, I Beat Loneliness, so the setlist contained a handful of songs from that.
However, with 10 studio albums under their belt, Bush had plenty of songs to choose from, including fan favorites like the two previously mentioned set openers, bookended by the encore trio of “Machinehead,” “Glycerine,” and “Comedown,” all from their 1994 debut album Sixteen Stone.
The second band of the night, Mammoth, garnered attention thanks to their frontman — singer/guitarist Wolfgang Van Halen. It’s no surprise the son of legendary Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen would make guitar playing look easy, but it was the songs themselves that simply sounded good — solid riffs, hooks and choruses.
While Wolfgang may have had some doors open because of his famous father, his music is different enough from Van Halen and catchy enough to stand on its own.
The American tour will continue ’til the end of May before hopping overseas to Germany for a few shows in June.
Bush setlist
Everything Zen
The Chemicals Between Us
We’re All the Same on the Inside
The Land of Milk and Honey
Warm Machine
May Your Love Be Pure
Human Sand
The Sound of Winter
Swallowed
Ghosts in the Machine
Float
Love Me Till the Pain Fades
I Beat Loneliness
More Than Machines
Flowers on a Grave
Little Things
Encore
Machinehead
Glycerine
Comedown
Mammoth setlist
One of a Kind
Another Celebration at the End of the World
The Spell
Epiphany
Happy
Distance
Don’t Back Down
The End
Be sure to check out Queen City Nerve’s Soundwave, Charlotte’s most comprehensive live music listing, so you don’t miss out on any shows or concerts coming up. And hell, if you’re looking for something else to do, you can check out our events page as well, which runs the gamut of things to do in Charlotte. You don’t ever have to be bored again. You can check out more of Jeff’s pics and live reviews here.
