Alice In Chains - Live 10.25.06 - Washington DC

NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR TICKETS !

Out of all the concerts I’ve been to, I have never forgotten the tickets. Such a rookie mistake! I was halfway to the venue when I realized. Panic took over, and I won’t disclose how fast I was speeding down the interstate. But here’s an idea – Mapquest said my ill-fated trip should take 3 hours, 10 minutes. I turned around at 7:10pm, and was inside the 9:30 Club at 9:55pm…

Sadly, because of my carelessness, I missed the first 2 songs. But, we walked in during “Grind,” and it didn’t take long for the music to erase the whole ordeal from my memory. Everything went along pretty much as I expected from reading past reviews. After “Rain When I Die,” the lights went down and they showed footage of Layne while they set up for the acoustic set. I was so glad they did that. The special surprise of the evening was Scott Olson showed up for the acoustic set!!! I couldn’t believe it. The sound was great. I have watched the Unplugged DVD so many times; it was surreal. “Don’t Follow” was the highlight of the night for me. There was another video montage after the acoustic set, with various images/videos of the band from the road. Then the guys came back to rock it out some more. There was a lot of interaction between the band and the crowd, the music was insanely on-point – a 5 star evening.

There will never be a replacement for Layne, but Duvall really does a good job and has a tight fit with the rest of the band. Whether or not they should continue with the Alice in Chains moniker seems to be a touchy subject for fans. I just hope they continue.