It’s been a good number of years since I’ve gone to Seaside Park in Ventura for a show. In fact the last time I was there was for a Warped Tour and I honestly thought that I would never go back. However, the Ventura County Fair would change that and on July 29, 2026, I got to see the band Bush. Let’s take a look….
There’s just something different about seeing a band at a seaside park. For one thing the vibe is certainly a lot more relaxed compared to LA. Seeing a band like Bush at Seaside Park in Ventura was certainly a fun experience. This is my first time seeing any band at a fair which is kind of cool and knowing that Bush would be the only band at an event like this is kind of nice. I really can’t explain it but it’s in a fun, cool sort of way.
Kicking the night off was their hit “Machinehead” followed by “Bullet Holes” then “We’re All The Same On The Inside.” They are currently on tour in support of their latest album I Beat Loneliness which was released last year and it’s a really good, solid album. It picks up where the previous album The Art Of Survival left off and the fact that this band has been around for 30+ years and can still put out great albums is really impressive. Now they did play 3 songs off the new album but I do sort of wish that they would’ve played at least one, maybe two more songs but the ones they did play “I Beat Loneliness,” “The Land Of Milk And Honey,” and “We’re All The Same On The Inside,” sounded great.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Bush show if they didn’t play one of their biggest hits “Glycerine” which of course was right in the middle of the set. Now I am not the biggest fan of that song and in fact I would’ve been fine had they not played it at all but live it’s SO much better. It’s definitely one of those songs that is better live and for someone who can be stubborn such as myself, it sounded great. During the song “Flowers On A Grave,” Gavin Rossdale gets down from the stage and sings the song while walking through the crowd. He walks around the entire venue and since that took longer than the song, the rest of the band started jamming until he got back on stage. Immediately after that, they played “I Beat Loneliness” before taking a break.
Time for the encore and out walks Gavin Rossdale. He looks at the crowd and then starts the song “Swallowed” by himself for the first half followed by the rest of the band joining him to finish it. After that, they played “Little Things” and then they closed the night out with “Come Down.” I have to say the fact that this band has been around as long as they have and they still sound great including Gavin’s voice is pretty damn impressive. Sure his voice has gotten deeper and isn’t 100% the same but you can hardly tell. There aren’t too many singers that can sing the same now as they did in the early days. If you haven’t seen Bush live, definitely do so because aside from Rossdale, the rest of the band has always been great. Besides sounding great, they are one of those bands that don’t just play the hits and singles which is rare these days for bands like this.
Final Grade: A
Bush Played:
- Machinehead
- Bullet Holes
- We’re All the Same on the Inside
- The Chemicals Between Us
- The Land of Milk and Honey
- Everything Zen
- Identity
- May Your Love Be Pure
- Glycerine
- Heavy Is the Ocean
- More Than Machines
- Human Sand
- Flowers on a Grave
- I Beat Loneliness
Encore:
- Swallowed
- Little Things
- Comedown
Bush is:
Gavin Rossdale: Voice/Guitar
Chris Traynor: Guitar
Corey Britz: Bass
Nik Hughes: Drums
