Comments on: How To Play A Rock Show After Your Lead Singer Dies, by Paul Shirley

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:22:50 +0000

The more I think about this, and talk about it with others, it kind of dawns on me that we may see what we want to see in DuVall, and our assessment about him may say more about us than him. He’s not objectively bad enough that people can critique harshly him on his singing, so he’s a total blank canvass and unknown onto which we can project something about ourselves.

Or something.

By: Raindrop

Raindrop — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:50:41 +0000

i don’t know, worth tossing in there. for the record, saw STP about a year and a half ago coming through town. man, i’ll take scott weiland on drugs any day of the week. he looked like a mess and the band sounded great…. :)

Goodness gracious! If you think how many of them we’ve lost, I can’t help but think all these years we’re having the crazy Scott on borrowed time.

This topic is making me feel all melancholic. With infinite sadness. Speaking of which, at least MY Billy doesn’t even drink alco, much less does any drugs. But then again, he’s screwing Jessica Simpson.
Hmmm…

By: Raindrop

Raindrop — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:40:43 +0000

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
Those were the days
Oh, yes, those were the days
La la la la la la
La la la la la la

Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me?

I still vividly remember when I saw ”Man in the Box” for the first time on MTV (when MTV was actually MTV).
And I still vividly remember when I read that Layne died. That was the day Alice in Chains finally died. I tried not to plan his funeral before he died, but as long as he were around, somehow, Alice in Chains – were. Now they are no more.
I know of many people who long for the 90s (me included!). How it was the best decade. With the best music. But, as painful as it is, there will never again be ”the first time” of playing Smells like Teen Spirit. There will never again be the first time of playing Siva. And there will never again be the first time of playing Would.
Just as there’s no Nirvana without Kurt, there’s no Mother Love Bone without Andy, there’s no Blind Melon without Shannon, there’s no The Doors without Jim and there’s no Alice in Chains without Layne. Even if Jerry was writing the majority of the music, Layne was the heart and soul of Alice in Chains. All this recycling of what no longer is… It’s hard to admit it no longer is, but I will always have Dirt in my Jar of Flies, even when I’ll need a Facelift.

Alice had been dying for years, and finally died in April 2002.

By: pshirley

pshirley — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:10:15 +0000

adelsig – I’m hoping to see STP in KC in 3 weeks. They’re one of the few “Never saw but always wanted to” bands.

Josh – Overall, I can’t complain about DuVall at all. I was just being nit-picky, I suppose.

Everyone else – Thanks for reading this.

By: christopher

christopher — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:04:08 +0000

Totally agree. After I saw them live last year, I compared Duvall to a high school student in a room of college grads. He fits in pretty well for the most part but every now and then, he’ll say something or carry himself in a way that shows him to be the outsider that he is.

But yeah the band is great live and it’s always surprising to see just how much Cantrell sings on all the songs you know and love. Oh and Duvall can pull off a really good Layne impersonation too.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:51:24 +0000

I was at the Epicenter show also. They did a great job with an early set time. I think expectations were still unknown back then, because the first single had just dropped a few weeks earlier, and the new album was not even out yet. We probably expected less than Paul did, and as people who heard the new album did.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:48:49 +0000

I’ve seen the new AIC, and I saw Jerry Cantrell at an Axis of Justice benefit put on by Tom Morello. I was stunned at who I saw both times. Cantrell has emerged from the cauldron of whatever he went through in fine, fine form. He was absolutely sober both times.

And, for what it’s worth, I rather liked Duvall. Not trying to replace Layne, but sing the songs the best he can like him. He’s trying extra hard to own the stage and have a big giant personality so that he’s not obscured by the ghost of Layne. That’s got to be one hell of a job to try to pull off, and I think he did a decent job with it. His voice works, does it not?

By: adelsig

adelsig — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:49:27 +0000

anyone ever listened to cantrell’s solo work? “boggy depot” or “degradation trip”, the second one devoted to staley.

boggy had a much more bluesy feel to it with the odd time signatures. degradation was more classically rocking, AIC style songs, but i really liked boggy.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:16:16 +0000

Several things kept running through my mind while at the AIC concert in Atlanta last week. I kept thinking about Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (one of the addicts is former AIC bassist, Mike Starr) and how much emotion and passion could the lead singer bring to a performance where he was not a contributor to the early music of AIC. I was pleasantly surprised at how the band sounded, but much like Paul I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching a movie about AIC, especially when playing the older songs. The actor/singer playing Layne Staley did a great job, but something was lacking. All in all I had a good time and I am glad I went, but I don’t think I will see them again.

By: Matthew G.

Matthew G. — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:21:45 +0000

I saw AIC in August at Epicenter in Pomona. I was blown away how good they sounded. The crowd loved them and it was obvious JC is not only the engine but the energy behind the machine. And yes, the guy can sing quite well.