Alice In Chains vintage concert review
Alice In Chains rocked the Beacon Theatre for a second consecutive time, completing the first leg of their 2016 U.S. Tour. The rock legends appeared in fine form and in good spirits as they continue to impress with selections that delved deep in their catalog. Though the set was 90 minutes, the usual length for most of the shows on this tour, they still provided ferocious rock with pinpoint control, seemingly inspired by the raucous, appreciative crowd and how easily the extraordinary vitality of the songs display durability and timelessness that feel evident today.
The band ploughed through major classics like “Them Bones” and “Man in the Box”, but also brought a couple of surprises out of their music bank. Both “Love Hate Love” and “Heaven Beside You” made their 2016 debuts, and the rarer Facelift album track “Sunshine” was given a go as well.
Alice In Chains do not disappoint
Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez, Sean Kinney were spot on hitting all the right notes like usual, and on the songs with William Duvall on rhythm guitar, their magical chemistry never dipped. Longtime fans of Alice in Chains can easily remember every note of all the great Jerry Cantrell solos and he didn’t disappoint despite that fact, proving again that he is one of metal’s best guitarists in any setting.
Both William and Jerry acknowledged it was the final AIC show of the tour, and their mighty efforts were met with cheers and headbangs during every ominously dark twist and turn; for every brutal pounding rhythm and bright harmony. At one point, Cantrell leaned down to a disabled man in the front row to offer a personal greeting, while Duvall quipped how cool that fan was to attend.
Mike was in a visibly joyous mood, smiling and posing for certain moments, while Sean came out from behind the drums to greet the crowd for their encore. He brought out the AIC crew and thanked them for all the hard work they provided during the 22 dates. To celebrate, the band broke out the beer, bottles of Corona to be exact, and after a short toast, the band comically yelled at the crew to ‘get back to work!’ As they left the stage, the crowd was hushed as they were enveloped in the dramatic atmospheric intro of “Rooster”. The song continues to be a massive monster.
Alice In Chains close with big hits
After bringing out “No Excuses”, a song that felt a lot airier than the rest of their show, the only thing left to do was to whip out “Would?”, the final song of the night. Thousands of voices could be heard on every word and when it was over, the crowd didn’t feel like leaving.
Alice In Chains came together in front of the stage, waving goodbye and showering all with handfuls of signature guitar picks; fans clamoring everywhere to find them. Cantrell, sported his new gray beard, was the last to walk off and as he did, I looked around noticing the varying age groups, thinking how AIC continue to solidify themselves amongst multiple generations as one of rock’s greatest entities.
