Concert Review: Alice in Chains

As Alice in Chains tore into a deafening, raging rendition of “Man In A Box” on Sunday night, Kansas City’s sweaty crowd jumped, screamed and writhed with joy (and, in the case of the kid in front of me, vomited into a beer cup). Judging from the grungy, beaming faces radiating toward the stage, it’s clear that Alice in Chains’ current world tour isn’t just peddling nostalgia—it promises, if only for a few hours, the resurrection of an era.

For yours truly, ’90s grunge rock band Alice In

Chains isn’t the sound of heroin and tequila—it’s the background of my

childhood. Hell, Nirvana’s Nevermind baby is (nearly) my peer; Eddie Vedder was the rock star of choice of my childhood

heroes (Clarissa Explains It All, thank you very much). So, as much as AIC is

ingrained in my past, I took with me a true fan to provide the expansive

insight that only a dedicated listener of 19 years can provide.

“I can already tell you that as a fan, I have apprehension,” my friend confessed to me as we rushed down the highway toward our grunge-soaked destination, the Midland. “Any time you go see a group that’s half of what it was before—because obviously Layne Staley isn’t around. His voice was half of what made Alice in Chains cool. I’m not gonna worry about it, I’m just gonna try to get into it.” Based on the show’s sold-out status, it looked like a slew of other Kansas City fans were just trying to get into it, too.

Since 1987,

Alice in Chains’ original line-up – Layne Staley on vocals, Jerry Cantrell on guitar, Mike Inez on bass and Sean Kinney on drums – had been churning out

aggressive hard rock songs with firey guitar solos and resentment-ridden

vocals; that is, until the death of their lead singer in 2002. Following Staley’s tragic drug overdose, it seemed

as though Alice in Chains had truly been laid to rest, finally debunking the

’90s Seattle grunge movement. But lo and behold: in 2006, the band re-formed as

a regular touring act, with Comes With The Fall‘s William DuVall stepping in to

cover Staley’s angst-ridden wails.