Alice In Chains Deliver The Hits As U.S. Tour With Bush And Breaking Benjamin Gets Underway

Three unique periods of alternative rock music were on display Wednesday night just outside Chicago as Alice In Chains took to the stage with English rockers Bush and Pennsylvania quintet Breaking Benjamin.

“Well, well, well, Chicago…” mused Alice In Chains singer William DuVall on stage at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. “You look pretty good! How ya feelin’? We wanna see how far we can go – how loud you can go…” he said, revving up the crowd at the top of the set.

Since 2006, DuVall has fronted Alice In Chains, sharing vocals and guitar with co-founding member Jerry Cantrell on three albums following the death of original lead singer Layne Staley in 2002. Wednesday night’s show featured a track from each, with the group focusing the majority of the set on their back catalog during the first Alice In Chains tour in nearly three years.

Whether alongside Staley or DuVall, or singer Greg Puciato on his most recent solo record Brighten, harmony has always defined Cantrell’s music, an element front and center on stage Wednesday night.

“I’ve just always been a fan of harmony,” explained Cantrell during a March conversation. “The bands that I grew up listening to, they had multiple singers – multiple lead singers, harmonies. You can start with The Beatles and move forward. And I always liked that. I always loved that part of being in a band and writing. And I think it’s a powerful thing,” he said. “It’s also become a language which is kind of the language of our music and my music. And I love playing around with that.”

Wednesday night, DuVall carried the main lead vocal as “Again” opened the set in brooding fashion, those harmonies on full display next as the group moved into “Check My Brain,” the bass of Mike Inez rumbling on the group’s 2009 comeback single (the first and only Alice In Chains song to crack the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart).

Lights dimmed but came back up in a yellowish green hue that matched the cover of the group’s self-titled 1995 album, DuVall picking up a guitar for “Grind.”

One of DuVall’s most impressive vocal moments of the evening came early, the singer racing to his left as Cantrell ripped an early solo during “Dam That River,” a deep cut from the group’s 1992 classic Dirt.

“So, Chicago, it’s good seeing you all,” said Cantrell. “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” came the chant in reply from the lawn section, moving across the seated pavilion and toward the stage. “Gracias,” said the guitarist, pausing in acknowledgement before taking lead vocal on “Heaven Beside You,” turning right to face DuVall during dueling opening guitar leads.

The hits kept coming, “Angry Chair” giving way to “Man in the Box,” a small part of a catalog responsible for global sales of more than 30 million records.

But the evening’s unquestionable high spot came about two thirds of the way through the Alice In Chains set as the group put forth a showstopping rendition of “Nutshell,” a highlight on the quadruple platinum 1994 EP Jar Of Flies (in music’s history, the first extended play to launch at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart).

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The band has been shaking up the set a bit, working in new songs occasionally as the tour proceeds, with “Nutshell” making its debut about a week before the Chicago concert, night ten of the tour (an outing scheduled to run into early October).

“Light ‘em up for Layne Staley and Mike Starr,” said Cantrell, referencing both the singer as well as Alice In Chains’ original bassist, who passed away in 2011.

Swapping out guitars on a humid night in the suburbs of Chicago, Cantrell and company restarted the song. “F–k that guitar,” joked Cantrell of the out of tune instrument, DuVall adding acoustic guitar as the group made its way through a poignant performance of the song.

Every phone light in the house appeared lit as Cantrell played from atop the drum riser behind co-founding Alice In Chains drummer Sean Kinney (whose kit featured the visage of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins), huddling with DuVall at the right side of the stage before moving back to the center for his solo.

“To me, there’s been a consistent thread from the beginning,” Cantrell said during our March conversation. “[Even] the most heavy and brutal aspects of our music are also very beautiful and also sprinkled with light – even the darkest sh-t.”

The band ultimately broke out of the moment with the driving rock of “Bleed The Freak” from their 1990 debut Facelift, a terrific example of the light that can be found even in Alice In Chains’ darkest corners.

“Cheers to you people after a couple of years of being insane,” said Bush singer and guitarist Gavin Rossdale to the crowd, referencing a two year layoff from live performance amidst pandemic before raising a toast. “Now we’re all here together. Music is the best,” he continued, hopping and dancing during “Blood River.”

Bush kicked things off in the late afternoon, the sun still up in Chicago, with Rossdale proving to be the evening’s most energetic and engaging frontman.

“We’re gonna roll it back now to where it all began a long, long time ago,” said the singer with a chuckle, setting up one of the group’s biggest hits in “Everything Zen,” from Bush’s six times platinum 1994 debut Sixteen Stone.

Rossdale left the stage, singing to a handicapped fan in the seated area during “Flowers on a Grave,” before taking a full lap through the outdoor amphitheatre’s expansive lawn section, his vocal never skipping a beat.

From the group’s forthcoming ninth studio album The Art of Survival, set for release in October, came “More Than Machines.”

Rossdale brought his son out on stage for a belated happy birthday, leading the crowd in an impromptu singing of “Happy Birthday,” before heading back to Sixteen Stone for a heartfelt solo take on “Glycerine.”

“Illinois! Tinley Park!” screamed Breaking Benjamin singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley, playing to the suburban audience. “We’ve got a lot of Chicagoans in here, right?”

Breaking Benjamin kicked off their set amidst flame fountains and pyro, fans seated on both sides of the stage as the group tore into “Blow Me Away,” the crowd taking over the lead vocal on “Sooner or Later” next.

“Alice In Chains is the first f—ing band I ever saw in my life,” explained Burnley on stage Wednesday night. “You know what the second was? Bush! My teen self just cannot…” he mused. “My friends never text me about shows. But they were here with me – they saw those shows. ‘How cool is this?’ they ask? As cool as you f—ing think it is,” Burnley said proudly. “Those two bands are a part of my life – not just my music, my life. I am up here on stage living this dream with my heroes because of you. I can’t thank you enough,” he said to the packed crowd. “Thank you for this dream coming true.”