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Live Reviews : Alice In Chains, Down and Walking Papers @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney 26/02/2014

By on February 27, 2014

Yes! The Enmore, how I excited I was to see that this show was at the iconic venue that always delivers with its crystal clear sound and generous vibe. We were in for a treat of varying moody rock and sludgy tones and I was quite excited in particular for Alice in Chains following their absolute cracker at Soundwave Sydney on the past weekend.

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First up were Walking Papers and I have to admit I didn’t know much of them apart from the fact that Duff McKagan was the bass player, completely conspicuous at all times with his skeletal frame that could be seen a mile away. Duff has some of the tastiest and most memorable bass lines ever so I was sure that the band wouldn’t disappoint. I was pleased to hear lovely organ playing and the drove the music forth with a Hensleyan gusto that provide monolithic support to the bluesy lead playing of Jeff Angell. Why don’t more bands bring back the Hammond instead of tiresome and repetitive downtuned riffs that you can’t grab onto. There was energy on the stage and it was a tight performance but I did find the vocals a bit repetitive after a while and there was nothing particularly original about the sound for me. Duff’s bass tone was an absolute cracker that pumped along with Barrett Martin’s solid percussion foundations. I’d be keen to listen to them on a recording to see if I could appreciate it further.

Next up were down and hit the stage to the screams and shouts of Sydney’s metal enthusiasts and meatheads alike. The sound was obnoxious, curmudgeonly and fat like one would expect. Now I have to point out that I am a Pantera fan almost as long as I have been a fan of metal itself and I am a big fan of Phil Anselmo’s voice, but Sunday’s Soundwave appearance left me with absolutely no expectations. He was annoying, outspoken and a downright appalling in his performance; opting for me microphone smashes to the head over singing words and calling the audience “cocksuckers” the whole time. This kind of over-the-top bravado is perhaps expected from younger bands but not a seasoned veteran who has graced many of the world’s finest stages. Anyway, that aside – it was a different Anselmo that met with fans tonight with an appearance and mood harkening back to the ‘Far Beyond Driven’ days for me. Phil and his band of stoner sludgers absolutely tore the place down with riff-after-riff of nasty neck-throttling. I had a bad case of Zackley’s after pitting it up to a reasonably concise set that covered the whole back catalogue. The dedication of Lifer to the fallen brothers of metal was a particular hit with the audience as well as Bury Me in Smoke’s outro being handed over to a group of other musicians to play like they did at the Soundwave show. All-in-all, my faith was restored in the band with newcomer Bobby Landgraf filling the shoes of Kirk Windstein in a fashion which I take my non-existent hat off to.

2012, the year I discovered Alice in Chains and what a discovery! I have always found myself drawn to music with a dark edge mulling over life’s foul paths yet generating an uplifting feeling of resolution and beauty. Alice would have to personify that concept for me along with a few other treasured musical treats. At first I felt as though it would be absolutely impossible to see these songs performed by someone other than the brilliant and characteristic voice of the late Layne Staley. William DuVall took the stage like an absolute badass with his Alice brothers and despite the initial impression of seeing him each time and having to fight off mental associations of Jeff Goldblum and Lenny Kravitz’s love child, I was ready to be floored by the band for the second time in almost as many days.

With a brilliant setlist differing in small ways from the Soundwave performance, I was blessed with hearing all of my favourite songs as well as extremely groovy and girthy unison riffs from the newest record ‘The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here’. This is a band that you cannot simply ignore in any way. The musicianship, the tightness and the sheer joy that comes from being in a mass of bodies all singing at their top of their lungs to some of rock’s most amazing and energising anthems. This show was a spiritual rock experience and that is to not undervalue that Alice in Chains really do bring a lot of metal to the table as opposed to many of their early 90’s Seattle counterparts in a way that is not contrived or conceited.

I understand there are people that still carry the concern that this band shouldn’t have continued without Layne but I am of the opinion when there is still so much chemistry and passion for writing and performing , this cannot be halted on principle. In addition, William is a perfectly capable singer (and guitarist) and performs the material with the conviction of being its songwriter. The range, power and showmanship is supreme. I simply cannot fault him except for the fact that he is probably a bit softer on the grit if you are looking for a Layne clone; which one would hope Jerry, Mike and Sean would not be. Every song was played with precision of timing, power and tone and it really made me appreciate the evocative vibrato and phrasing of Mr Cantrell even more so. Between every track, I said aloud “this is so good!” If you were not at this show, you missed out – severely!