Alice in Chains Goes the Distance

PROVIDENCE - Alice in Chains put on a show destined for DVD Tuesday night at Lupo's, and as a result fans were treated to an extra-long performance that brought back the dark, moody music that made the band famous during the grunge era of the '90s.

The band is touring in support of their latest compilation album released earlier in the year.

When you hear the newly re-formed Alice in Chains play, you can tell immediately how much they love the songs and want the audience to be a part of the performance and become energized by it.

Alice in Chains demonstrated they are one of the best live bands touring today. The whole concert seemed planned to get as much from the crowd by giving them what they wanted. The whole act had the feel of four parts that included their opening, higher energy songs, a two-part middle that included an acoustic set and a mix of high energy and slower songs, and the final closing portion of the set.

Opening with "Again," the crowd went wild with the heavy guitars and truncated lyrics that made the song a hit and radio friendly for rock airwaves. This melodic assualt continued until four songs into the act when they slowed the crowd down with "Dirt" and "What the Hell Have I."

From there the band took a break and played a video segment that started with the premise of a person flipping through late night television until they came to footage of the band's late lead singer Layne Staley. From there the video, composed of home video, concert footage, and segments from the band's "MTV Unplugged" performance, played as a tribute to the singer.

The band has a new lead singer, William Duvall, on this tour. Fan reaction at shows has been extremely favorable considering the talent that he had to replace. Staley was the main source of the band's dark lyrics as much as he was a figurehead and showman for it also.

Duvall seems to take his place in the band in stride. There is no doubt that he can sing, but he also sounds a lot like Staley. While on tour he has quickly grown into the front man position. He seems more comfortable in the role than he did peroforming earlier in the year at Locobazooka.

He comes across more as a singer that is interested in creating a mood with the crowd and oozing a certain amount of charisma rather than commanding the stage demanding all attention be on him.

In the acoustic set, all the members came out to play hits like, "Down in a Hole," and "Got Me Wrong." After another break they came back with more hard and heavy songs like "Them Bones," and "Man in a Box."

In the last section of their show, they played the perrenial fan favorites, "Would?" and "Rooster," as well as another three songs.

The performance was being filmed for an upcoming DVD release. So what could have been a typical 45-minute to hour-long set became a 2 1/2-hour spectacle that left Lupo's packed with happy, satisfied fans.