Alice In Chains Blow The Lights Out

Kool Haus

Toronto, ON

on Nov 5 2006

Andre Mihsin (CHARTattack)

11/06/2006 3:30pm

It's tough to see one of your favourite bands continue to play music after the loss of a member that you, in your heart, feel is irreplaceable. But sometimes you have to accept that these bands move on. People will tell you changing bassists is fine. If the band loses their singer, though, most will argue they should call it quits or change their name. Yet, there are a number of bands who've changed singers and continued to enjoy equal or greater success — Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Pantera, AC/DC, Van Halen and Sepultura, to name a few. At the end of the day, there will still be skeptics, but more than a few of them still bought tickets to the sold-out Kool Haus show where Alice In Chains made their return without the late Layne Staley fronting the band.

Judging by the explosion of cheers that greeted AIC as they came on stage, the majority of people were happy to see drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez, guitarist Jerry Cantrell and Staley's replacement, Comes With The Fall singer William DuVall. While Staley can never really be replaced, it's safe to say that DuVall did an outstanding job filling in.

The show itself can best be described as a hurricane. The mere presence of the band was enough to whip the crowd into a frenzy, allowing AIC to open with "Again," "Grind" and "Junkhead" and save the bigger hits for later. In fact, they didn't play a true fan favourite until six songs in when "Nutshell" set off the first singalong of the evening. From there, they brought out the heavy artillery with "Them Bones," "Dam That River" and "Rain When I Die," the first three tracks from their seminal album, Dirt.

Then just as the hurricane was at its strongest, it stopped. A highlight reel of footage featuring Staley was shown, welcomed at first by cheers, but then a solemn silence. It was obvious everyone in the room really missed him.

As the video ended, AIC did a short unplugged set. Dimly lit lamps were set up at centre stage and Kinney's main drum kit was covered to create a more intimate atmosphere. It was kind of a poor move to switch gears just as the set was getting really hot, and the restless beer guzzlers by the bar grumbled as much. However, the audience participation during "No Excuses," "Got Me Wrong" and "Down In A Hole" was welcome, and the guys in the band seemed to be having a great time, laughing and drinking beer in the relaxed acoustic setting.

Another short video of AIC clips was shown before the storm returned with the band delivering a best-of package, alternating between some of their softer hits and heavier monsters. The brooding "Dirt" was followed by the straight-up metal of "We Die Young." Radio hit "Heaven Beside You" set up the crowd for the one-two combination of "Angry Chair" and "Man In The Box." The set reached category five proportions during the encore, which featured the deafening singalongs "Rooster" and "Would?" before screeching to a halt.

As the crowd pushed out of the Kool Haus, even the most stubborn skeptics had to be happy that, even though it wasn't Lollapalooza '93, they still had a chance to see and hear one of the greatest alternative rock bands ever. By the way, for those who refuse to accept DuVall into the lineup, remember that Inez replaced original bassist Mike Starr in 1993. So, technically, you shouldn't have been a fan since then.