Alice In Chains – The Olympia – Live Review – 20/05/19 by Killian Laher

A rare opportunity to catch one of the original grunge bands presented itself on a Monday night in Dublin. Tickets for this were in serious short supply, showing that the appeal of Alice In Chains hasn’t dimmed over the years. Support came from Irish band Wynona Bleach who played an energetic set of heavy tunes like Bridge and Sugar which owed a little to Queens of the Stone Age. One to keep an eye on.

These days, newish member of Alice In Chains, William DuVall has migrated to centre stage and for the first few songs it seemed like he was losing the run of himself, seemingly desperate to be heard. He oversang the likes of Check My Brain and Again, playing fast and loose with the melody over Jerry Cantrell’s grim, sludgy riffs. Something kicked into gear by the time the band got to Them Bones, and any embarrassment felt for DuVall was replaced by admiration. This song kicked several shades of ass, the first in a sequence of three slamming tunes with Dam That River and Hollow, with drummer Sean Kinney at the heart of it keeping everything in check. Imperious versions of Down In A Hole and Nutshell (dedicated to Layne Staley and Mike Starr) raised goosebumps amongst many, and there was no let up as the band unleashed early favourites We Die Young and Man In The Box, which haven’t lost any of their power over the years.

The encore contained Got Me Wrong (which the band struggled with), Would? and Rooster (which they didn’t). By the end it was hard not to be won over by the power of the band’s music. Although many of their strongest songs belong to the past, they just about get away with replacing Layne Staley, and sheer brute force carries them through.

Setlist

1. Bleed The Freak
2. Check My Brain
3. Again
4. Never Fade
5. Them Bones
6. Dam That River
7. Hollow
8. Your Decision
9. Rainier Fog
10. Down In A Hole
11. No Excuses
12. Stone
13. Red Giant
14. We Die Young
15. Nutshell
16. Angry Chair
17. Man In The Box

Encore

18. The One You Know
19. Got Me Wrong
20. Would?
21. Rooster