Lets not talk about the fact that Layne Stayley cant be replaced because thats just stating the obvious. Lets talk about William Duvall and how every time I see him live he gets better and better.
I first saw Duvall sing while supporting Jerry Cantrell on a solo tour in the UK circa 2002. It was in Bradford Rios and 'Comes With the Fall' came out and blew everyone away. Duvall and the rest of the guys were spot on. They even threw in a Black Sabbath cover 'Symptom of the Universe'.
Anyways, Cantrell came out and Duvalls band were his backing band. They nailed every song, all the AIC stuff and Cantrells original material. As far as first impressions go.... very impressed.
Fast forward about 4 years and by now Duvall is confirmed as the new AIC singer. They are in the middle of a European tour and I see them in Granada (Spain). The night is plagued by technical issues and Cantrell got clearly frustrated and kicked a monitor or two but Duvall once again nailed all the classics and most importantly hit the hard notes, winning over the crowd and he was nice enough to hang out after and sign a load of merch for fans.
16th November 2009, Alice in Chains have recently released their first effort with Duvall to mixed reviews. Some major mags saying its brilliant and others... well.. lets just say, they were'nt in agreement. HMV Forum, Kentish Town, we arrive bang on cue just as the venue is opening. The place is buzzing, everyone is smiling and looking really excited.
Enter the venue and the place fills up rapidly, all the best spots are gone in the blink of an eye and the support band 'Little Fish' do their best to get the crowd warmed up. In all fairness to 'Little Fish' they did play well, but a few decent songs on the PA wouldve done the trick.
By the time AIC came out and begun with 'It Aint Like That' the place was like a storm. Them Bones, Dam That River, Again, Sickman, Check My Brain, Rain When I Die... all followed. A short acoustic interval with Your Decision, No Excuses, Got Me Wrong, Down in a hole, Black Gives Way to Blue gave everyone a breather and then it was back onto the heavier tracks.. Man in the Box, Would, A Looking in View, Rooster and Acid Bubble.
To cut a potentially long story short, they were virtually flawless. A few small things here and there that I reckon the bulk of the crowd didnt notice but so what. Cantrell looked at ease, Inez looked like a smiling cheshire cat, Kinney was calm as you get on the drums although he was still ferocious when needed and Duvall nailed the songs. He changed some melodies to suit his own voice and they still sounded AICish.
All in all a great experience and I cant wait for the next album...
Heres some footage I found on Youtube of the gig:
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