Author: Urban Bolta
Location: Gasometer / Vienna / Austria
Concert date: November 28, 2009
Attendance: 3000
Ticket price: €28
They’ve finally made it to our neck of the woods! Okay, not exactly our neighborhood, but Vienna isn’t exactly the end of the world either. The Sunday trip to Vienna organized by koncerti.net, plus a pre-holiday stroll around the former capital of our country, made for a lovely warm-up to the high point of the day, the month, and for some maybe even the year. The reason was Alice in Chains, who are making their way around the old continent in support of their new record Black Gives Way To Blue (Rockline review here). This was their first headline show since the band was resurrected, though it’s worth noting they already introduced themselves to Austrian audiences with DuWall on vocals at Nova Rock festival in 2006. William brought that up in one of his bits of banter between songs in Vienna, which stoked the fire under an already well-warmed Austrian crowd.
Alice in Chains, also known as one of the big four of grunge (along with Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden), are a Seattle band who helped shape the sound of the early nineties and left a very special mark on that era. They started jamming in the late eighties, and what began as a metal-leaning band was turned by its surroundings into one of grunge’s flagbearers. When grunge faded in the mid-nineties, Alice in Chains got pushed off to the sidelines of media attention too. Activity slowed down, Jerry Cantrell started a solo career, and the first chapter of AiC was closed by the death of frontman Layne Staley in April 2002. But that was far from the end of the story. Three years of silence brought fresh energy and… a new vocalist. William DuWall stepped into Staley’s shoes, and on the new record and on this European tour he’s convincing us that bringing the name Alice In Chains back from the dead was worth it.
The agonizing wait ended a little after half past eight in the evening, when DuWall, Cantrell, Inez and Kinney took the stage of the sold-out Gasometer and kicked off their show. Inez’s powerful bass line announced Rain When I Die, from their most successful album, Dirt (1992). Inez joined the usual duo on the opening vocals, and the sight of the three of them kicking off the gig in tight harmony was truly magnificent! Interestingly, those first few seconds of the signature AiC “aaa-ing” were the only time Inez sang all night. Two more Dirt classics followed before it was time for Again (Alice in Chains, 1995) and finally Your Decision, the first song from the new album Black Gives Way To Blue. It’s really unusual that on a tour promoting a new release the first track from it only turns up at number five. The custom is usually to anchor the new material firmly throughout the whole set, starting right from the opening. For “Your Deicision” DuWall finally picked up a guitar too. Overall, DuWall mostly wielded the guitar only on the newest songs, and on everything from the Staley era he contributed “just” vocally (the acoustic mini-set was the exception). One of the most recognizable songs, Down in a Hole, was the first one played in an “unplugged” version, which put a temporary stop to the craziness and brought a few lighters into the air. A love-and-philosophy song with a gorgeous chorus and that proper grunge spirit, it took plenty of people’s breath away and misted their eyes. Cantrell’s stool was in the middle this time, while DuWall had to settle for a spot on the right side of the stage. Next came the stripped-down “No Excuses” and one of the loveliest moments of the show, the title track of the latest album, “Black Gives Way to Blue”. While the band played this ballad, the gentlest AiC song ever, a candle burned on the screen behind the stage the whole time, and as the song faded out the candle was replaced by a photo of a smiling Layne Staley, his raised fingers sending a message of peace. What a deeply emotional moment that was for all AiC fans! My hunch that the song, and really the whole album, is dedicated to his memory found solid ground. The Elton John piano that fills out the sound on the original recording was replaced by the sound of a xylophone (not exactly a typical rock instrument) under the fingers of drummer Sean Kinney. A very clever move, rewarded with loud cheers. The show got its wings back with Sickman, and after a few more songs and a closing Man in the “Box the main set was over. The return to the stage brought two more grunge anthems, Would? and Rooster, which carried the crowd far away. They’re among the best AiC songs, and as such they hold that magic potion that sends the listener into a euphoric state they don’t wake up from for a long time after the gig. On this tour the encore also includes Lesson Learned, but this time they skipped it and cheated us out of a few more minutes together. I don’t know why, but it certainly wasn’t the crowd, who rode the wave of a great performance and created a fantastic atmosphere.
Alice in Chains have their show rehearsed down to the last detail. Nothing happens by chance, spontaneity is missing, and at every moment they know exactly where they are. Put differently, one show is practically no different from the next, yet you can still feel heart in their playing, not just the smell of money. Lead guitarist and co-vocalist Jerry Cantrell is the leader of the band. He’s been the songwriter since the very beginning, and his charismatic, un-rockstar-like demeanor has helped him get to his current position, where he holds all the reins. Songs start on his command, and a lit cigarette in his hand is the sign for a breather and a moment for DuWall to address the crowd. DuWall’s performance is fascinating to watch. Vocally he delivers every song identically to the studio recording, with no deviation and no interpretation of his own. Some of the older songs, especially the mighty “Love, Hate, Love”, leave room for vocal excursions or departures from the original, but AiC chose to stick to an exact rendition. DuWall was probably told firmly not to go experimenting in the waters of his own interpretation. Good or bad? That’s for you to decide. Alice in Chains built their recognizable sound on synchronized, harmonic singing, and practically no song escapes it. Some tracks are made up of nothing but harmony vocals. How impressive that comes across live! DuWall and Cantrell are in perfect sync, which must have taken miles of rehearsal, because you could hardly hear a mistake. The two singers also tried their hand at alternating vocals a few times (mostly in the choruses). William DuWall did his job with flying colors. That doesn’t mean he convinced and converted all the unbelieving fans who worship the late Staley’s memory, but he put in an enviable performance, one that puts his name high up on the musical map. We can put ourselves in his shoes. It must be very uncomfortable to live in Staley’s shadow at every step and be compared to him all the time. He proved he’s a worthy replacement, and in the future he’ll have to prove he’s got a spine and step out of Staley’s shadow, if he wants to put an end to those side-eyed comparisons.
The Alice in Chains experience in Vienna was more than pleasant. At its core, so-called grunge music is noisy, dirty, totally alternative. The big, polished hall of the Gasometer, the crystal-clear sound, a pile of roadies and even more tech all negate the essence of dead grunge, but we still managed to decipher a little piece of its message at the Sunday show… and the reward was an unforgettable evening.
Setlist
1. Rain When I Die 2. Them Bones 3. Dam That River 4. Again 5. Your Decision 6. Check My Brain 7. Love, Hate, Love 8. A Looking In View 9. It Aint’ Like That 10. Down in a Hole (acoustic) 11. No Excuses (acoustic) 12. Black Gives Way To Blue (acoustic) 13. Sickman 14. Acid Bubble 15. Angry Chair 16. Man in the Box —————- 17. Would? 18. Rooster
Photo gallery
