Epicenter Concert Review by OneSecondBush
courtesy of Dora
It’s hard to believe that Epicenter was only 4 days ago and I’m just now getting around to my review. Maybe I still can not believe it really happened. I waited eight long years for this show and it was all that I imagined and more.
I did not know what to expect going into this Festival since it seemed to be such a hodgepodge of different acts including some very big names (Eminem and Kiss). The morning had come and I managed to convince my friends to get up at the crack of dawn to get to the venue by 9am. Crazy right. I could sense the reluctance, but they agreed anyhow. Upon our approach to the Auto Speedway entrance there were a dozen other fans milling about. The guard gate stopped us to relay that the parking lots did not open until 11am. Bummer right?! Heading in towards the blue sign where we had been directed to turn around everyone in the van started shouting…’Keep Going!!’ So we did. Swooped into the nearest lot, parked and walked the long walk to Gate 14 with a story good enough that security did not ship our asses right out of there!
courtesy of Dora
The first taste of the heat began waiting by the ticket booth. There were two hours before the parking gates would open and let the rest of the fans in. Just before 11am we headed over to the barricades to form the line. As more and more fans trickled in, most of which seemed to be there for Eminem, they all followed suit and formed a civilized line along the barricade behind us. We had feared the worst. At this point the rest of the Bush Army was still MIA. I was hoping to get to meet more fans and hang out while waiting in line, but 11am was just too early for some. The heat was getting to us and Wayne and I managed to trigger a stampede of people to the security search tables while trying to secure first entry into the venue. Everyone was getting impatient. Twenty minutes past noon and the only people they had been letting in were VIP ticket holders. Once the gates opened it was every man (or chic) for themselves.
The moment my ticket was scanned I took off running towards the stage. It was front row or die trying. I had no clue where anyone else went. I made it 80% of the way before I realized that ‘die trying’ was feasible. The stage location was so far away. I stopped grab some water and ran past Dora and Wayne as they made their way to the barricade. Heaven was shining down upon us because the majority of the people that got in before us positioned themselves on the right side of the stage leaving the left side wide open. Out of breathe and elated at the same time.
The next 6 hours were spent with the sun beating down upon us as Southern California dished out a rogue heat wave with temperatures reaching 106 degrees. Drinking loads of water to keep hydrated. The Eminem fans behind us were misting us down and spraying us with sunblock. Security was handing out water as well. You couldn’t ask for a nicer bunch of people to help make the situation more bearable. The opening acts were bouncing between being hip hop acts to alternative acts. It was a confusing mess.
During our final moments before the band, our band, Bush emerged I hung up the homemade Bush Army poster, we cleared the debris from the barricade step (just in case) and got our cameras in place.
courtesy OSB
Enter Bush! They each came out one by one with no intro song being played like in their usual style. The crowd began to scream as Gavin emerged. Once in place they began with ‘Machinehead.’ It was like old times. During the second song, ‘Little Things’ Gavin spotted the Bush Army (that’s us) in the audience and immediately B-lined towards us. The area in front of the barricades was filled to maximum capacity with photographers that were allowed there for the first 3 or 4 songs of each band’s set. We were all screaming and cheering with excitement as Gavin climbed up onto the barricade platform directly in front of me. I thought he was gonna chill there and play for a moment like he typically does, but he had another plan in mind. Gavin grabbed my waving hand and proceeded to scale the barricade! He put his foot on the top rail as I helped hoist him up. He looked down at Jess and I with this ‘do not drop me’ look on his face. The whole thing was utterly amazing! I tried to help brace him by holding his legs, but what he really needed was Bone! Gavin then made his way down the rail into the center of the crowd before heading back onstage.
courtesy Melissa Sanchez
The first and only new song ‘Afterlife’ was next. It was very awkward hearing it live. Gavin headed down to stage opposite our end to play ‘Everything Zen’. Guess you gotta show that side some love too. By now they were finally kicking out the photographers so the real fans could see the show properly! At some point Chris was trying to ask us where one of the other fans were at so he could toss them a slide, but I had no clue where everyone ended up (with the exception of Christine and the other Bush Army folks that won their seats on stage). Since I were right in front of Chris I got some killer photos of him. It was fun watching him and Gavin interact, but it seemed he wasn’t interested in climbing up the ramp they made him. Corey on the other hand was up and down that ramp like there was no tomorrow! He was totally having fun! Corey was also sporting a new super blond do. Dora was loving it!
‘Greedy Fly’ and ‘The Chemicals Between Us’ followed up ‘Afterlife’. Then onto “Swallowed’. Robin had to of been my favorites to watch throughout the night. Maybe because I haven’t seen him in eight years? Or maybe because he was totally out of control. He had his troll dolls all set up and was doing all sorts of crazy stuff. Watching him during Swallowed was the best, he was practically acting out the whole song and we were loving him. I think he enjoyed watching us going nuts too.
courtesy OSB
Right before Glycerine started Gavin was talking to the crowd. It was really the only time he did. I’m guessing he didn’t talk more throughout the show because they had a limited time frame. Basically he apologized for not playing more new material. Then they finished out the show with ‘Comedown’. Gavin changed it up a bit singing ‘She fucked me right back down to size’ right at the beginning of the song instead of at the end like he normally does. I thought he might say it both times, since it is my favorite lyric. But sadly, no. They all looked so happy as they exited the stage. It really was a great show! Wait.. one more thing… I didn’t notice that Robin had made it out to the front of the stage until he was in front of us. I thought he was gonna wave and keep going, but he stopped and pointed to me so that he could toss me his drum sticks! I was totally shocked because I didn’t see that coming. Unfortunately someone else grab one of them just to grab one and the security guard had to hand me the other one. But I’m still happy with one :)
Awesome night! Most of left the pit immediately after the performance. I was super dehydrated by then because I used every ounce of my energy singing and screaming. We happen to run into a bunch of the other Bush Army people just as we exited the barricade area, so it was nice to finally see everyone!
courtesy of OSB