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REVIEW: Alice in Chains @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 9/26/09)
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:
~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)
Swell Season, Alice in Chains, Extreme
The two singer-songwriters behind the movie ONCE, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (aka The Swell Season), are out and about promoting their new record, Strict Joy. It’s available for pre-order on Amazon. It is set to be released on September 29th.
They just did a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR. Its available over here or as a podcast (do a search for “NPR Live Concerts” in iTunes). They do some new songs in the NPR studio as well as some faves.
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Alice in Chains‘ new one, Black Gives Way to Blue, is also available for pre-order…
It’s out September 29th as well…
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And rounding things out… Blabbermouth reports that Extreme recently recorded their August 8th show at the House of Blues in Boston for a DVD release later this year.
~Dan – np: Dream Theater – Master of Puppets
Opeth “Burden” single
Opeth released an internet-only single today for “Burden” (from the Watershed album). Sigh… where has the metal gone? Anyway, this single is definitely more in the non-metal / Damnation-era style – – which is fine, I suppose. I only bought the b-sides: “Mellotron Heart” and a cover of Alice in Chains‘ “Would?”
“Mellotron Heart” is a reworking of their first single, “Porcelain Heart,” but on mellotron and mini-moog. It’s pleasant, but mellower than the original – – which was mellow to start.
The cover of “Would?” is a surprisingly true to the original version of the Alice in Chains hit. From Opeth, I think I expected more re-working for a cover version. No offense, Mikael, but if I wanted to listen to a straight-up version of “Would?,” I’d put on Alice in Chains’ Dirt.
They should have made this the cover art…
Anyway, the “Burden” single can be obtained from the iTunes or (I’m sure) other music retailers on the Intertubes.
Also out on iTunes today (which I haven’t vouched for yet)… a new one from Kevin Max, a many artist collaboration called “Price of Silence” with Jurassic 5’s Chali 2Na (I’m sure other big names, too – – I just heard of it from his MySpace bulletin), and the new DM Stith album (he’s done some great work with My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan Stevens, and other Asthmatic Kitty artists).
~Dan – np: Beck – Odelay (deluxe edition)
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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