Bush / Our Lady Peace / DEVORA @ Toyota Music Factory, Irving, TX

Words and photos by Duane Clawson

Where were you the first time you heard Bush? Not a question I get asked often but, for some reason, I know the answer. On this particular evening in 1994, I was watching a friend’s band perform at a small bar in Ohio. In between sets my friend asks me what I think of Bush, as “Machinehead” was playing on the jukebox. I told him I had not really listened to their music, he said, “they’re really good!”. It’s funny what you remember as you’re walking in to see a band you first heard twenty-nine years ago!

But first things first, the night’s opening acts. Leading off the night was outlaw-pop songstress, Devora. With stated influences ranging from Marilyn Manson to Dolly Parton, one could find it hard to label her sound. Taking a listen on Spotify her studio sound is a bit over-produced, luckily the stage versions were raw and in your face. The hard gallop of Devora’s 2020 single, “Not Dead Yet", introduces her and the band to Irving, TX. As she performed, I had the feeling she was about to cut loose but never quite made it. I have a suspicion that given the opportunity, maybe in a smaller venue, Devora would bring heat!

Opener number two, Canada’s Our Lady Peace ramped things up a bit, with their thirty-one years of musical know-how. If one thought time has slowed this multi-Juno award winning band, you’d be sadly mistaken. Our Lady Peace comes with all cylinders firing as frontman Raine Maida steps to the mic, casually working up the growing number of Toyota Music Factory spectators. Turning it a notch, they slip into something more comfortable, one of their biggest songs, “Superman’s Dead.” Closing it out, guitarist Steven Mazur plays a brilliant extended intro to their 1994 release, “Starseed.” Maida vows at the end of the song it will not be another six or seven years before Our Lady Peace returns to Dallas, hopefully it is a promise they’ll keep!

Awash in sea of red lights, Gavin Rossdale and Bush waste little time letting Texas know this leg of the tour is going to end with a bang! Since this is my first-time experiencing Bush live, I’m not sure if Rossdale is always this energetic but for this show he never stopped. Continuously bouncing, covering the whole stage, and eventually traversing the entire perimeter of Toyota Music Factory! The list of songs covered was thick with everything Bush, with nearly a third of the songs from their latest album, The Art of Survival.

Pandemonium ensues as Rossdale leaves the stage and wanders through the audience during, “Flowers On a Grave.” As he makes his way around the venue, he personalizes the experience with hand slaps and a few stops to sing a line or two! Being the last night of the tour, prior to the encore, Rossdale invites all the technicians out to the center of the stage for a thank you. Kudos to the band for recognizing the folks that make it happen! Before blasting through “Glycerine”, Gavin acknowledges he is very grateful and states, “it’s what we give to you (the fans) everything we have.” Mr. Rossdale, I couldn’t agree more with that statement!

A big thank you to Bush for allowing MTC MAG to be front and center! And as always thank you to Toyota Music Factory for hosting a great show!

Photos of the show are below:

DEVORA