It was front row for ALICE IN CHAINS at The Landmark Theater in Syracuse, NY last night as the iconic rockers played a set list of hits spanning their career. Opening act MONSTER TRUCK put on a solid set and definitely gained some new fans. Overheard were some comparisons to SOUNDGARDEN. They did have that vibe. The night saw a packed house of 20-somethings and up in a good mood as the crowd waited for ALICE IN CHAINS. A lot of milling around the lobby and packed beer lines made walking in interesting if you were not partaking of the brews, but people were polite and made way with no complaints. Once the house lights went down, the full house enthusiastically greeted the band as they opened with the classic "Them Bones" from the bands second album, 1992's "Dirt". Loud roars greeted guitarist Jerry Cantrell as he put on a flawless performance and his superb guitar prowess was in full display. Cantrell along with bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney pounded out the hits with power and talent as vocalist William DuVall strutted, posed, and encouraged the crowd to get louder throughout the set.
 

DuVall and Cantrell do a masterful job at the dual vocal work that became part of the ALICE IN CHAINS brand with Cantrell and the iconic Layne Staley. Every chainhead out there keeps him in memory but ALICE IN CHAINS goes on strong with DuVall. He plays some guitar too, although the main axe is wielded masterfully by Cantrell. I get people having issues with band changes, but in this case, there is no going back to the original so people making that comparison need to get a grip and enjoy. End of story.

"Man In The Box" and the one tune I had to hear "We Die Young" had the building shaking and fans abusing their vocal chords. The band threw in newer songs "Check My Brain" and "Choke" that blended perfectly with the classics. The volume was cranked, but not deafening unless you usually go to folk-acoustic shows, then I can understand the complaints. ALICE IN CHAINS continues to rock on loud and proud; true Rock fans and writers alike loved every second of the show. The band had some fun with the crowd with an impromptu 30-seconds of "The Doors" that ended mercifully as the band and fans all laughed. Cantrell introduced the band and pushed for more noise between songs. He is not the long-haired jump around guy of earlier days, but he owns the stage with very subtle work on the guitar that I hadn't noticed before and a way of gazing at the crowd as a whole then suddenly locking eyes with someone and giving them a nod.
 

If you missed the bands hour and fifteen minute set then you missed out on a great show with an energetic crowd. If you are an ALICE IN CHAINS fan, then get the bands newer albums into your library as they belong right next to the classics. ALICE IN CHAINS rocked the house.

Setlist:
1. Them Bones
2. Dam That River
3. Again
4. Check My Brain
5. Hollow
6. Rain When I Die
7. Choke
8. Man in the Box
9. Grind
10. Nutshell
11. It Ain't Like That
12. Stone
13. We Die Young
14. Rooster
15. No Excuses
16. Got Me Wrong
17. Would