The 90s Called, and Vegas Answered: Bush, Jerry Cantrell & Candlebox Take Over the Bakkt Theatre

September 11, Bush brought their headlining The Hits tour to the Bakkt Theatre inside of Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Supporting that bill was Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) and Candlebox. Having seen all three before individually, this was definitely a show I did not want to miss under any circumstances!

First up on the stage was Candlebox. I have to just say that every time I see them, I am completely blown away by their energy. These guys are solid musically. You can close your eyes and feel like you are listening to the radio. From the softer “Cover Me” and “Far Behind” to the heavier sounds of “Arrow” and “You”, the band did not falter once in their delivery.

Throughout the show, vocalist Kevin Martin would stop during guitar solos and breakdowns, pull a Sharpie from his jeans, and sign drumsticks to toss in to the crowd. Members of the audience threw everything from t-shirts to passes his way, and he’d sign them and toss them back no issue.

While Candlebox may not have gained the same notoriety as some of the other bands from the 90s, which is a goddamn shame because they’re incredible, they own the stage every time they are on it.

Candlebox Gallery.

Next up was Alice in Chains’ guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Mister Cantrell is never anything short of amazing. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him solo on his Brighten tour, as well as with AIC on a number of occasions. This show was especially special though for me, as one of our ZRockR friends and local Vegas guys Zach Throne joined Cantrell on this tour, and getting to see a friend do something so awesome always leaves one beaming with pride.

The set was peppered with Cantrell’s solo works such as “Cut You In” off of 1998’s Boggy Depot and his newest single “Vilified”, which will be on October’s release of I Want Blood as well as some AIC classics like “Would?” and “Them Bones”. The only thing missing for me was “Between” (also off of Boggy Depot), which is probably my favorite solo song from the legendary guitarist.

Cantrell and his band still have a few dates left on this tour, but if you want to catch them in the US, you’ll have to head out to California because they then fly off to South America for a few dates. While I wish the tour would be a bit longer, or a second run would come around, I can be grateful and hopeful that this means new Alice in Chains is coming after the break… One can only hope.

Jerry Cantrell.

Closing out the night was Bush, who much like Candlebox and Cantrell, was incredible. Vocalist Gavin Rossdale, when free of having a guitar in his hands, works the crowd with high energy. Rossdale did seem to be feeling a little under the weather, but that did not stop him from running back and forth across the stage.

The band opened up with “Everything Zen” and followed with “Machinehead”, both off of their debut record Sixteen Stone, which turned 30 this year.

The entire evening was hit after hit after hit. Fitting really considering the title of the tour, but no Bush fan is going to complain. There were some other cuts weaved into the set as well such as “Bullet Holes” and “The Sound of Winter”, but the real treat to come was during the encores.

We the audience were treated with a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together”, where Kevin Martin of Candlebox joined Bush onstage to perform with them. After “Glycerine”, arguably one of the most known songs from the 90s, Bush went into “Comedown”, this time bringing out Jerry Cantrell to perform alongside them before saying goodnight to the Vegas crowd.

If you were ever a fan of the grunge, or post-grunge, genre, then this was the show for you. Like I said, I wish the tour was coming back around, but alas…

Bush Gallery.

PHOTO CREDIT: All photos by Stephy Hayward-Muzio (c) 2024 for ZRockR Magazine – All Rights Reserved