PHOTOS: Alice in Chains Concert Balances Now with Nostalgia

It’s hard to believe the current lineup of Alice in Chains with singer William DuVall has been together two years longer than the lineup featuring original singer Layne Stayley. That being said, the band’s focus remained on those early years during Tuesday night’s show at PNC Music Pavilion.

 

Tuesday’s setlist included songs like “Dam That River,” “Them Bones,” “Would?” and “Rooster.” In fact, only three songs on the 15-track setlist were more recent — one from each of the band’s three latest albums. 

 

 

That’s not to say the band doesn’t drive forth with the same energy that it used to. DuVall is a much more energetic frontman than the normally stoic Stayley ever was, judging from the set I caught at Lollapalooza in the early ’90s. 

 

 

Alice in Chains provided a solid punch to a night that featured co-headliners Breaking Benjamin stoking the modern metal fires (of course, modern only in the sense that they’ve been around about 10 years less than their counterparts, but still 20+ years). 

 

 

Believe it or not, Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale is now 56 years old, but he held his own as well on Tuesday — both vocally and in terms of stage presence, pacing the stage and showing an enthusiasm not often seen during his band’s performances. 

 

 

The night opened with a set by up-and-coming hard-rock outfit Plush, who proved their mettle (see what I did there?) with a cover of Heart’s “Barracuda.” The female quartet is definitely one to keep an eye on; they opened for Sevendust at Neighborhood Theatre earlier this year and are headed out on the Kiss Kruise later this month. 

 

 

All-in-all the night provided a good balance of new vs. nostalgia. 

 

Again

Check My Brain

Grind

Them Bones

Dam That River

Hollow

Down In a Hole

Angry Chair

Man in the Box

Nutshell

The One You Know

Got Me Wrong

No Excuses

Would?

Rooster

 

 

Blow Me Away

Sooner or Later

Firefly

Follow

So Cold

Angels Fall

Breath

Failure

Who Wants to Live Forever

Polyamorous

Give Me a Sign

Red Cold River

Until the End

Torn in Two

I Will Not Bow

The Diary of Jane

 

 

The Kingdom

Machinehead

Quicksand

Bullet Holes

Everything Zen

Blood River

Flowers on a Grave

More Than Machines

Glycerine

Comedown