Words: Rok Klemše
Photos: Nina Grad
Location: Arena Open Air / Vienna / Austria
Concert date: June 30, 2018
Everyone who goes to gigs has a list of acts they simply have to catch live at some point. For me personally, and I’m sure for plenty of others too, one of those is Seattle giants Alice in Chains. We all know the band picked itself up after vocalist Layne Staley’s death in 2002 and started playing live again in 2006, then three years later put out the very well-received comeback album Black Gives Way to Blue. True, Staley is an icon who can’t be replaced, but you could count on one hand the bands that came back as strong as Alice in Chains after such a brutal blow. Layne is sadly gone, but this is Alice in Chains Mk. II, and they’ve got a ton to offer. Five years ago the band proved it again with the record The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, but they barely played it live in Europe, so the reunion with Alice in Chains had to wait until this year. And the wait was worth it, because on a sunny Saturday in Vienna the Americans pulled off one of the finest concert experiences ever.
The big honor of warming up the Austrian crowd before the Seattle legends went to Mother’s Cake. They’re a Tyrolean trio who aren’t total strangers to Slovenian audiences, having played Mostovna two years ago as support for American doom veterans Pentagram. Back then they caught everyone off guard; this time a bit less so, since we knew what to expect. Still, the guys proved once again that with their potent mix of funk, hard rock and progressive rock they rank among the better bands from our neighbors to the north. They showed their potential on the big outdoor stage of Vienna’s Arena too. Loud and heavy, they carved out a solid half-hour set packed with thundering bass slapping, effective guitar acrobatics and cannon-fire drumming that at times came close to blast beats. Musically, Mother’s Cake sound closest to something like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, only a lot more »heavy«. The one thing holding them back is the unconvincing vocals of Yves Krismer, which are weak next to the instrumental side. Regardless, Mother’s Cake were more than just a solid warm-up, and it’s a plus that they weren’t the least bit intimidated by playing in front of a huge name and did their job with confidence and composure.
After a good half hour the stage was finally set for the big stars of the night, and Jerry Cantrell, William DuVall, Mike Inez and Sean Kinney strolled out one after another, no pompous intros. As they picked up their instruments, the crowd, somewhere between three and four thousand strong, erupted in a roar, and the amphitheater-style layout only made it louder. The cobblestones were rattling from the crowd’s bellowing, and every hair on my body stood up with the very first song, Bleed the Freak, a mini peak all by itself. A spirit of rebellion runs through this Cantrell creation, which in the name of unity brought the surging crowd together for two hours, eating out of the band’s hands from the first second. And totally deserved, too, because the show on stage was top-notch, without a single mistake, yet played with a heart and conviction that, I have no doubt, touched everyone under the open sky of Vienna’s Arena. Second up, AiC served one of the two songs they played from the »come-back« album Black Gives Way to Blue, Check My Brain, with a catchy chorus that Cantrell and DuVall sing together, building a unique and rich vocal harmony that even a deaf person could tell belongs only and exclusively to Alice in Chains. DuVall did his job with distinction, of course with plenty of support from the equally strong vocalist Cantrell, who also happens to be responsible for some of the most recognizable and unique riffs in the whole history of rock music. The guys proved it with the classics Again, Them Bones and Dam That River, as well as the sludgy-sounding Hollow, where the deep, crushing sound of Mike’s thick bass lines really comes to the fore, and despite their relative simplicity they play a hugely important role in AiC. During the unforgettable anthem of a lost generation, Down in a Hole, which Cantrell wrote for his girlfriend, the lighters came out for the first time, and the stunning performance once again sent shivers from head to toe, while vocal cords were already completely hoarse after a good third of the show. Same during the classic No Excuses, the “plodding” Stone from The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, and the superb We Die Young.
Without a doubt, the most emotional moment of the show was the gorgeous acoustic ballad Nutshell from the excellent EP Jar of Flies, which Jerry usually dedicates to the late Layne Staley and Mike Starr. This time it carried an extra charge, as he also dedicated it to the memory of Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, who had just died far too young and was a good friend of his. Jerry’s superb guitar lines cut even deeper this time, and so did the message »If I can’t be my own/I’d feel better dead«. The band was visibly in great spirits and happy with the incredible response from the crowd, who swallowed every note from the stage with wide eyes and open mouths. The gorgeous bluesy Heaven Beside You continued in a similar vein, and the effect being set up on Jerry’s mic could mean only one thing: the eternal Staley classic Man in the Box, during which the excellent DuVall especially shone, and which sadly also marked the end of the main set. With the incredibly loud crowd demanding a comeback loud enough to echo across a not-insignificant part of Vienna, the foursome quickly returned to the stage and played the only song from the upcoming album Rainier Fog, due in August. The One You Know has a real Alice in Chains vibe, fronted by a plodding main riff and double vocals. The crowd exploded for the epic Would?, and right at the very end for the anthemic Rooster, which is about Jerry’s father, whose nickname during the Vietnam War was Rooster. The crowd rewarded Alice in Chains for an unforgettable hour and three quarters that flew by in the blink of an eye with several minutes of applause, and the guys even got a bouquet each from the front rows. Alice in Chains put on a wonderful, unforgettable evening and one of the finest concert experiences ever, one that had me wanting to turn right from Vienna toward Budapest, where they played the next day, instead of left toward Ljubljana. Since I started with lists, let me end with one too. The Alice in Chains show was without question among the very best concerts I’ve ever seen, and it will keep ringing in my ears for a long, long time.
Setlist
ALICE IN CHAINS:
1. Bleed the Freak
2. Check My Brain
3. Again
4. Them Bones
5. Dam That River
6. Hollow
7. Last of My Kind
8. Down in a Hole
9. No Excuses
10. Stone
11. We Die Young
12. Nutshell
13. Man in the Box
14. Heaven Beside You
15. It Ain’t Like That
— encore —
16. The One You Know
17. Got Me Wrong
18. Would?
19. Rooster
Photo Gallery
