Any trace of originality having been crushed by the might of Ross Robinson's famed production process, openers Vex Red file away unobtrusively, kindly taking their nasty, conformist sludge rock with them.
Must be nice, for a bunch of guys from a small English town to be randomly plucked and propelled into the realms of potential megastardom, by little more than association.
Surely no comparison with Bush, then. Although their success may have originally been borne of hard work and solid tunesmithery, recently, with new releases demonstrating a lack of ambition and shortage of flair, the stories of frontman Gavin Rossdale's celebrity career have become increasingly flamboyant, as if to compensate.
And who can blame him. Shunned by the critical consensus in their home country, Bush have always had to do things on their own terms, and despite this, somehow, they've found the perfect fanbase. Submerged in the warm bosom of unconditional approval, it's clear that Bush have the kind of unapologetic support that only a handful of bands can boast.
But often, such support breeds complacency. It's the oldest rock and roll pitfall in the book. Some critics might argue that Bush were pretty complacent to begin with, so the question is, is there anything to justify the kind of acclaim that greets the band this evening?
If nothing else, there's a fine light show worthy of anyone's approval. Translucent beams swoop and sway from every angle, and intermittently, when Gavin Rossdale sings, white light traps the pretty frontman in the midst of two angelic beams, and brings to light the strongest cheekbones in rock. It's vaguely symbolic of Bush's new style, much more celebratory than you might expect. As Gavin literally twirls his way though 'The Chemicals Between Us', like some sort of deranged ballerina, it's clear that this is not exactly the same band that once almost won our hearts and minds.
Which is not to say they've entirely forgotten what it was like to be young and hungry. Drawing the show towards a close with 'Swallowed' and 'Little Things', Dave and Nigel lay heavy distortion over Rossdale's vocals, in what is a clear highpoint of the evening.
Sadly, little else lives up to that. The critical consensus dictates that these days, Bush do little more than pair trite rhyme schemes with tired electronica, and nothing tonight disproves that. New single 'The People That We Love', and album track 'Hurricane' (sample lyric - "Out of control, I'm in a hurricane") display the mark of a spent force.
Yet the fans lap it up, as if idea of quality control has passed them by in a blur. Let's hope, for the sake of rock, that Vex Red were watching closely.
