alice in chains at the wiltern
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Posted on Nov 28, 2006 04:07 pm
fortymile
Member Since: Jan 18, 2003
just saw chains last night with the new guest singer. this was the best show i have ever seen.
the band played for two and a half hours. i have never seen anything remotely like that. there was a full electric set, then a set change--they turned it into a living room--and a full acoustic set, the band sitting on stools with soft lamps all around them--then another full electric set, then a three song encore.
they played nearly every song i ever cared about with the exception of one or two. (i love the song 'dirt' but it wasn't in there) and of course the acoustic set had to drop some old favorites, but to their credit, they intuited perfectly which songs people would 'need' to hear, and played 'em all.
the singer was great. he sang like layne, which i was not expecting. he mimicked all of layne's vocal flourishes perfectly, and yet you did not perceive him as being an imitator or caricature.
one of the biggest surprises for me was that angry chair, a song i loved at first but which became too familiar to me after a while, was incredible live. much 'bigger' than i would have imagined.
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 28, 2006 11:19 pm forty, William DuVall kicks *** as the vocalist for Chains. And I couldn't agree more, is has it down pat but you would never consider him an imitator. I think what most people don't realize is the Jerry Cantrell's voice really made the songs what they were. I'm not taking anything away from Layne but if it were not for Cantrell writing that stuff and creating the melodies we hear it wouldn't have happened.
I was lucky enough to have seen them live several times with Layne before he was a total and complete mess. They were indeed some great shows.
I do want to see them with DuVall live though, as I've only seen him playing with them on the tele and I'm sure that jsut wont do him justice.
I know Tuna has Cantrell's stuff Anger Rising and loves it and I believe DuVall is singing on that as well.
Nov 29, 2006 12:19 am where did you see duvall on tv? i wouldn't mind getting ahold of some videos.
i hear what you are saying about jerry being important: he was the main songwriter, and the vox harmonies are a huge part of AIC for sure. but i think that layne's voice made the songs what they were. his voice was just so unique. get a guy like that singing jerry cantrell songs and you end up with AIC. remove the unique voice and you get the cantrell solo stuff, which is good--at times--but (besides some of the weird turns he makes in terms of just songwriting) his voice is ... well, it's good, but it's just kind of a voice.
i saw layne once in '92 at lollapalooza. right before dirt came out
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 29, 2006 07:12 pm It was from the Big Sturgis party they throw in an old farm filed. I forget what its called but it is an annual thing. I've been there several times and am just having brain fade at the moment. Buffalo Chip, thats it. Ted Nugent was there and a good deal of others. Nugent plays it every year and has for a long time.
I agree on the voice thing though for sure. They make each other sound good. But indeed, DuVall filled the spot nicely. I don't think having heard some of the others that sang that anyone else could do it really.
I kind of liked when Pat Lachman of Damage plan sang as well as Phil Anselmo of Pantera but it wasn't even really close with those two.
I saw a piece from the Tsunami relief thing with Maynard James Keenan and Ann Wilson from Heart singing as well. Maynard was very good as was Ann but it was a completely different feel to the music. I think DuVall is really the best fit if there is one.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Nov 30, 2006 10:48 am I saw Alice in Chains back in high school...like '92 or so. The singer had just broken his leg, and came out on stage in a wheelchair. They had a couch on stage, and he just kind of reclined for most of the show.
I think back on that show, and it was a pretty historic thing. Blind Melon was the first act, and this was right before they broke with the single "No Rain". Then AIC came out, and the headline act was Ozzy. That show was a whole lot of fun. I was a huge Rhoads desciple at the time and my friends and I were totally phyched to see Ozzy. Its funny that both of the opening acts were kind of unknowns at the time, but just a couple of months later they were superstars.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 30, 2006 10:24 pm Ya, its funny how all those bands just simply popped up all at once from nowhere.
