Alice In Chains - 03/21/2010 - Roy Wilkins Auditorium- St Paul, MN

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For the second time in 6 months I'm convinced that the
current line-up of Alice In Chains is more than 'for real'.
They are in fact, "very real" and perhaps, churning out
the most powerful music of their careers, despite the
tragic, and premature loss of one Layne Staley almost
eight years ago. This time around it was the last stop
of their current US leg in support of their 'Black Gives
Way To Blue' record. Previously in Sept 2009 they
played the legendary First Avenue in downtown
Minneapolis, melting the faces off a jammed-packed
house.
(NOTE:
w/regards to the Sept 09 performance: I have NEVER
been at a show before where those in attendance sang
back to the band like they did at this particular performance.
Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't think so.)

Frontman William DuVall has not tried to replace Staley,
for nobody could do that. What he does bring is a huge
stage presence, killer voice, and guitar skills to the mix
in a very convincing way. He may not be as meteoric
a star as Staley, but he doesn't need to be. He's a nice
fit, and Alice In Chains is better off because of it. Dark
and compelling harmonies along with big riffs have
always been their calling card; it still is based on what
I heard last night.

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I was once again blown away by Jerry Cantrell's
fretwork in this 2 hour show. Jerry is still the band's
current day *star*, however, the whole unit was
road-tested and tight on this nite,as you would expect.
Mike Inez on bass and Sean Kinney on drums may not
have done any stage diving into the pit on this night,
but there was no need to do so. Rock-solid perform-
ances in all regards!

The crowd was not subdued by any means, but maybe
not quite as crazy as the Sept 09 performance at First
Avenue. Maybe it was the larger hall that took the edge
off the crowd a bit on a late Sunday nite. That's the
perception I was struck with anyway. At times Cantrell
seemed like he had to coax reaction from the crowd.
Perhaps it was the newness of the songs, because they
did play a lot from the new record.


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I thought the show was a nice mix of current material
and past hits. It kicked off with 'All Secrets Known'
from the current effort, until the encore finale' of 'Rooster'.
(3-song encore set)
'Check My Brain', 'Last Of My Kind', and their current
radio-track 'Your Decision' all included in the main set,
and rightly so! ('Last Of My Kind' my official new-fav)
Usual high points for me were 'Again', 'Them Bones',
'Would?', 'Angry Chair', the set-ending 'Man In The Box',
and the aforementioned 'Rooster' during the encore.


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They're taking a short break and then jumping back
to the road in mid-April thru the end of May stateside,
onto Europe, and even Istanbul, Turkey during June
& July.
(see tour schedule )
The concert go'ers to RockFest in Cadott, WI
July 18th 2010 should be 'thrilled' to be rounding
out their 4-day annual fest with Alice In Chains.
Who knows, but maybe that's the act to get me
back to that hillside in the cow pasture!

Steve Richards (aka:madman)
Rochester, MN

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