April 30 2014 – Alice in Chains played a sold out show at the Moody Theater at Austin City Limits on Monday April 28th and we were there to witness what is essentially Alice In Chains V2.0.
Before we get into the concert let’s go back to the basics and highlight what a tormentous ride this band has had. In 1987 Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell formed a band. Staley would sing and Cantrell would play guitar. Sean Kinney took the drum throne and Mike Starr became the bassist. The four lads from Seattle had a fairly representative heavy metal sound of the era albeit heavier than the hair metal bands of the time. When the record companies and media decided to relabel heavy metal to grunge, the Seattle scene was fertile breeding ground with Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden and of course Alice In Chains ready to feed the masses.
Alice In Chains released their first LP in 1990 and Facelift was a moderate success. Then the single most important factor of a band’s success at that time struck Alice In Chains and MTV added the song Man In A Box to its heavy rotation and BOOM – hello platinum album. The band released Dirt in 1992 and this time struck multi platinum and racked up even more acclaim. The songs were dark, depressing drug infused statements of social angst that were a reality in the grunge movement.
Fast forward – Layne Staley dies in 2002 at the age of 34 of a heroin and cocaine overdose. Mike Starr dies in 2011 at the age of 44 of a prescription drug overdose. It was as if the band was writing self-fulfilling prophecies of self destruction and doom as only junkies could. This was the real deal and the often told story of rock and roll and its ultimate destruction for its players.
In between these events Mike Starr exited the band and was replaced by Mike Inez in 1993 who has been the band’s bassist since then. William DuVall joined the band after Staley’s death in 2002 to pick up the very difficult task of lead vocals. Alice in Chains have released 2 albums with the Version 2.0 lineup and both have been excellent heavy metal/hard rock/grunge offerings.
Alice In Chains sold out the Moody Theater at Austin City Limits (yes the same venue that the TV show is taped at). This venue has the absolute best sound we have ever heard in a “small” venue but there is not a bad seat in the house in terms of sight line to the stage. The capacity was 2,750 and we are certain that there were exactly 2,750 people there.
Alice In Chains played a roughly 100 minute set that was fairly evenly spread out throughout the band’s discography. Needless to say Dirt was the most represented album with 4 killer songs delivered from the powerhouse album. Them Bones and Dam That River set the mood for the thunderous heavy metal grunge hits. The grungy sound of Cantrell and DuVall was amplified when they harmonized that dark brooding droning trademark singing sound of the band.
Two things stood out on the sparsely decorated stage – the letters LSMS on the bass drum, and the candle buring behind Cantrell all night beside his water table. Clearly a tribute to their deceased bandmates (LS for Layne Staley and MS for Mike Starr) with a candle burning in their memory.
Bassist Mike Inez hammered his bass and spent most the night in place with his head down and headbanging along to the music. He had the most traditional heavy metal appearance of the band with his long rocker hair and his outfit of black t-shirt, black jeans and black wristband. He alternated spots between the drum riser stairs and the front of the left part of the stage (as viewed by the audience).
Drummer Sean Kinney continued to dominate the position he took since day 1 of the band, and his drums were thunderous and monumental. He survived the abuse that took away half his band, and his playing did not seem to be impacted by it. He was seen with a smoke in his mouth a couple of times and was puffing away in between songs and even during songs. His Man In The Box work was memorable and an absolute highlight.
The other survivor of the original group was of course guitarist Jerry Cantrell who seemed like a natural ring leader. The composed veteran now keeps his hair very neat and looks more like an accountant than a rock star. His solos were big highlights of the night and when he walked up center stage with the spotlight on him the audience responded with roars of approval.
Last but not least the new guy William DuVall. Coming from a punk background he had a surprisingly clean and polished look about his on stage persona. Very charismatic to watch his voice was positively one of the BEST we have heard in a long time. Not just a Staley impersonator, he grabbed the old songs as if they were his own and shone very bright on the songs on the newer albums. DuVall was a beacon of energy on stage and it was practically impossible to take your eyes of him. The final test of course was Rooster which was the last song of the night and the band’s biggest hit – ya DuVall nailed it…
Here is what the band played tonight (note the false start – Kinney and Cantrell start playing different songs and look at each other in confusion, but it was evident from their on stage banter that Cantrell got his songs mixed up).
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5 – Alice In Chains served notice that the second incarnation of the band is a heavy hitter in the live circuit and will soon be filling up arenas. The crowd was so loud in their response that even the band looked amazed at how loud Austin got.
We leave you with what words can’t capture, a live video of Rooster from this fantastic Alice In Chains concert in Austin, Texas.
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