Alice in Chains - March 3 - DAR Constitution Hall, Washington DC
Alice in Chains was one of my favorite bands in high school. i loved facelift, and dirt came out right when i was learning to play guitar. i thought that it was sweet that they were cast in the movie singles (didn't totally get the movie at the time, but it has one of my favorite soundtracks--hidden gems by pearl jam and soundgarden include 'state of love and trust,' 'breathe' and 'birth ritual'). i listened to dirt over and over. 'angry chair' was one of the first songs i learned (6th string tuned down to D, open D note against B and C on the 5th string)--so easy, so ominous-sounding. it was a cool moment to be able to play along with a CD.
in our band, we covered man in the box and them bones. the latter was really difficult (if i remember correctly, the verse is in 7/8 and the chorus is in 4/4; the vocal harmonies are insane), and we never got it to the level where we could play it in shows, but it gave me a whole new level of appreciation for chains. we also covered a song or two from mad season (staley's other band with mike mcready). when sap came out i sat down with the cd and my acoustic and taught myself almost every song from beginning to end. jerry cantrell was my reason for buying a wah-wah peddle. wayne, my neighbor who gave me rides to school freshman year, was a huge chains fan, and we listened to dirt and facelift in his integra.
so i was bummed when layne staley died, and had to accept that i plain missed out on seeing them in concert. i comforted myself that at least i got to see soundgarden in their heyday.
like most fans, i was skeptical of their new album and singer. it felt a bit out of the movie 'rock star' (with mark wahlberg), which i actually love because it's every kid's dream. but how could anyone sing like layne? harmonize with jerry?
william is the real thing. he doesn't try to be layne or replace him. he does sound a lot like him, but not exactly, which is fine. he also plays guitar, which is cool. he has a totally different vibe. layne was intense and shaky (heroin will do that to you). williams is more chill, he struts around the stage and seems very friendly and accessible. it helps that jerry cantrell IS alice in chains--he sings lead on a lot of songs, sings harmony or unison on most of the others, and his riffs define chains' sound.
a great show at dar (daughters of the american revolution) constitution hall. a great venue (we saw the pixies there last fall). very intimate, great acoustics. good seats, courtesy my brother (the tix were a christmas gift).
totally stripped down stage. the amps were actually covered with some kind of reflective cloth on to which they projected different films stills and animation. jerry was clearly the mc, doing most of the hosting. he apparently was really sick, and announced that dc's toilet system was working well. at the end, he thanked the crowd and said that they carried him him through the show.
they opened with the heavy crunchy riff of all secrets known from the new album. i'm glad that they are functioning as a real group, i.e., writing and recording new material, and not just playing as a tribute band to themselves.
my favorite songs were 'rain when i die', 'it ain't like that,' and 'again. their rendition of rooster gave me new appreciation for the song.
no pics of my own, as the band did not allow cameras. i grabbed a couple on flickr--the first one is from last night, the other is from a previous show at the 930 club in dc.
in our band, we covered man in the box and them bones. the latter was really difficult (if i remember correctly, the verse is in 7/8 and the chorus is in 4/4; the vocal harmonies are insane), and we never got it to the level where we could play it in shows, but it gave me a whole new level of appreciation for chains. we also covered a song or two from mad season (staley's other band with mike mcready). when sap came out i sat down with the cd and my acoustic and taught myself almost every song from beginning to end. jerry cantrell was my reason for buying a wah-wah peddle. wayne, my neighbor who gave me rides to school freshman year, was a huge chains fan, and we listened to dirt and facelift in his integra.
so i was bummed when layne staley died, and had to accept that i plain missed out on seeing them in concert. i comforted myself that at least i got to see soundgarden in their heyday.
like most fans, i was skeptical of their new album and singer. it felt a bit out of the movie 'rock star' (with mark wahlberg), which i actually love because it's every kid's dream. but how could anyone sing like layne? harmonize with jerry?
william is the real thing. he doesn't try to be layne or replace him. he does sound a lot like him, but not exactly, which is fine. he also plays guitar, which is cool. he has a totally different vibe. layne was intense and shaky (heroin will do that to you). williams is more chill, he struts around the stage and seems very friendly and accessible. it helps that jerry cantrell IS alice in chains--he sings lead on a lot of songs, sings harmony or unison on most of the others, and his riffs define chains' sound.
a great show at dar (daughters of the american revolution) constitution hall. a great venue (we saw the pixies there last fall). very intimate, great acoustics. good seats, courtesy my brother (the tix were a christmas gift).
totally stripped down stage. the amps were actually covered with some kind of reflective cloth on to which they projected different films stills and animation. jerry was clearly the mc, doing most of the hosting. he apparently was really sick, and announced that dc's toilet system was working well. at the end, he thanked the crowd and said that they carried him him through the show.
they opened with the heavy crunchy riff of all secrets known from the new album. i'm glad that they are functioning as a real group, i.e., writing and recording new material, and not just playing as a tribute band to themselves.
my favorite songs were 'rain when i die', 'it ain't like that,' and 'again. their rendition of rooster gave me new appreciation for the song.
no pics of my own, as the band did not allow cameras. i grabbed a couple on flickr--the first one is from last night, the other is from a previous show at the 930 club in dc.
posted by Wintermute at 9:17 AM
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