Volbeat hit Herning, Denmark’s Jyske Bank Boksen Arena tonight with their Greatest of All Tour. First off, I have to say, this was my first time at this venue, and I loved it. Super organized with great staff. I hope to see more gigs at this impressive arena in the future.
Opening act Witch Fever. Gotta admit, I knew very little about this band going into tonight, but the female-fronted Manchester crew instantly drew me in with an energetic performance driven by lead singer Amy. A mixture of haunting moments punctuated by grunge and punk choruses. Count me in. I’m looking forward to exploring more of this band’s catalog.
After a brief break, we then had the mighty Bush take the stage. I must admit, as a teenager in 1994, Sixteen Stone is one of those albums I always go back to. Razorblade Suitcase was also a seminal album for me, though to a lesser extent. Since then, their output has been very hit or miss. With a new album in tow, Gavin Rossdale and the gang performed a 50-minute set featuring a mix of new songs and some very good old hits like Machinehead, Glycerine, and Comedown. Highlights included a walk into the crowd by Gavin and an a cappella version of Swallowed. A very tight set, and I really hope they have a headline gig soon to play for diehard fans, because, as Gavin noted during the interlude, there were a lot of yellow shirts in the crowd — or something to that effect. Most people were here tonight for Volbeat.
Let it be written, let it be done. Volbeat burst onto the stage with Devil’s Bleeding Crown. From there, it was a scattershot of old and new. To be honest, I’ve always thought that Volbeat was a bit cookie-cutter — preferable to the autotuned, AI-generated music that floods the airwaves these days, but still… a bit meh. You might be surprised to hear me say that I had a lot of fun. Super tight playing, catchy riffs, and booming choruses are always good in an arena setting, and the fans got what they wanted. With lead singer Michael Poulsen leading the charge with his distinct lyrics (that weirdly remind me of late ‘90s Cher), the band played songs from the new album, like In The Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satan’s Spawn in a Dying World of Doom, as well as old hits like Lola Montez. Did it blow me away with originality? No. But sometimes that’s okay. Nothing like a good fist-pumping sing-along to send you home with a smile — and on that metric, job done.
