Alice in Chians/Creature with the Atom Brain

In the month of December club owners on the Sunset Strip bemoaned the fact that rock audiences were just not flocking to the strip anymore to check out bands. It just maybe that places like the Whiskey and the Key Club have to up the ante on the level of acts they bring in. This past Saturday the Hollywood Palladium hosted a sold out night of heavy rock that brought together the best of the 90's with a bit of modern appeal.

Alice In Chains are on the second leg of their US tour supporting their latest disc "Black Gives Way to Blue". The band reunited with new lead vocalist/frontman William DuVall who replaced original lead singer, the late Layne Staley. On tour with Alice for thirteen of the dates are Belgian psychedelic rockers Creature with the Atom Brain. "Creature" got the party started with a tight set of their laid back psychedelic meets world beat, brand of rock. Although the band may bristle at the idea of being labeled "stoner rock" the tag may not be that out of line. The group undercuts a heavy rock sound with a laid back feel and some spirited jamming. The band seemed to be just hitting their stride towards the end of their set. Hopefully this tour (their first in the states) will garner the band a new audience.

After a short break Alice In Chains hit the stage and the sold out crowd gave the band a heroes welcome. The music of AIC has always been steeped in a dark, morose place. The lyrical themes have dealt with paranoia and alienation but at this stage of their career, even the most intense songs come off as celebratory. This is in part due to the band being able to stage a comeback with a new album after fourteen years and weather the storm of losing a frontman to drugs and gaining a new, vibrant lead singer. William DuVall complimented the bands unique, twin vocal harmonies, played guitar and had the crowd in the palm of his hand along with bandmates guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney.

The band worked the stage like a cohesive unit and songs like "Would", "Rooster" and "Man in the Box" seemed to be played with a bit more passion and fire than in years past. The band seemed to be a bit looser on stage than at their show at the Avalon last fall and for a group that has been steeped in the more somber aspects of life, there seemed to be ear to ear grins on stage after every song played.

For now it seems that Alice In Chains have gotten used to the second phase of their career and they have also gotten comfortable with the idea of being able to deal with life's tragedies while embracing all of life's triumphs.