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FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

(the new Alice in Chains)

So, I could have seen Pearl Jam, but since I’d seen them (and they put on a freakin’ great live show) and I had never seen Alice in Chains.  So, AiC won out in the battle of who to see tonight.  Regardless of the lack of Layne Staley, I really dig guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell and the new lead singer (William DuVall) sounds pretty good.  So, I’ll have to hold off on seeing Pearl Jam for a 2010 tour (?).  This Alice in Chains show was billed as “An Evening With,” which makes me happy.  Openers at rock/metal shows are usually for sucks.

Due to crappy Duck Football traffic, it took forever to get to Portland.  I got to the Roseland Theater around 8pm, and the band hit the stage just after 8:30.  It was a packed crowd, but I was able to move around a bit.  No cameras again.  Blerg.  I’ll have to contact some people before Regina Spektor & Puscifer in this same venue to see if I can get photo access.  We shall see.  I took some iPhone photos, as that wasn’t expressly disallowed (like it was announced as prohibited for the Porcupine Tree show last week).

Jerry Cantrell was always a big part of their sound, on both guitar and vocals.  He did quite a bit of vocals, and William really pulled off “the Layne sound.”  It’s difficult coming into a band with a solid career and trying to replace a very distinct vocalist.  While I wouldn’t say that William “has his own voice” with regards to the band, he’s definitely helping them carry on and make great music in the wake of losing Layne.  Hopefully William’s own voice shines through on the upcoming record (out 9/29).

Here’s what they played…

Setlist:

• Rain When I Die
• Again
• Check My Brain *a new one – it was OK*
• Them Bones
• Dam That River
• A Looking In View *a new one – pretty good*
• We Die Young
• Nutshell *a fave of the night*
• Love, Hate, Love
• God Am
• Acid Bubble *new one – I’m kinda “meh” on this one for now*
• Angry Chair
• Man in the Box *a fave of the night*
• Would? *a fave of the night*
• Encore: Sludge Factory
• No Excuses *a fave of the night*
• Rooster

A great show… again, William does a great job filling Layne’s shoes.  Jerry and the rest of the band were as tight as ever.  Their setlist covered their career nicely.  I’m looking forward to their new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, showing up on my doorstep (I ordered it with the new Megadeth & Nellie McKay).  You can pre-order it below (it comes out on Tuesday):

Since my photos are only (subpar) iPhone photos… here are some professional photos from the Seattle show by Savoia Digital Concert Photography:

TONS MORE at Savoia’s Facebook photo album

The Appropriate Linkage:

• Alice in Chains dot com
• Alice in Chains on MySpace
• Roseland Theater

~Dan – np: Fantômas – Fantômas (aka Amenaza al Mundo)

ALICE IN CHAINS iPhone PHOTOS
(sorry in advance for the lower quality)
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

(click for larger)