Alice in Chains - Palladium Hollywood Feb 13, 2010

It is so disappointing that I am considering what I have been thinking about for a while, and not for political reasons, cancelling my subscription to the LA Times. In clearly what is one of the most significant revivals of the last decade. Alice in Chains is making rock music relevant again for the arena. Although Pearl Jam does a great job as the new "grateful dead", AIC is bringing back straight forward ROCK to its devoted fans and by all accounts a whole new generation of kids that have been hung out to dry with corporate, focused group music. Come on Ann Powers, has it got that bad that you cannot cover what will most likely be the best Album and contribution to the rock world this year.
I have been associated with the band since nearly day one as a fan, producer, manager and promoter. At this point I am in the fan portion while Susan Silver and Velvet Hammer, with a very dedicated Jon Pleeter from CAA and the team at Virgin/EMI wield the reigns a career that was thought to have passed on with Layne Staley’s departure from the earth. While Layne will forever be a part of the fabric and soul of Alice in Chains, they have clearly emerged as an undeniable force leading the world of rock. One only has to listen to the “Rock” bands of the last fifteen years to see AIC’s influence. There is not a current rock band out there today that does not carry the ALICE DNA.
As I watched them perform Saturday night at the Palladium in Hollywood, Jerry has never shredded better, Sean was a rock delivering the pulse, as Mike laid the foundation, with William delivering the vocals with Jerry bought on to what looked like the biggest crowd the Palladium has ever seen. In a city of complacency and industry types too cool to show emotion, every ear, eye, and body was focused and in tune with Alice as if the Prophets of Grunge Rock had come back to deliver them from the years of wandering through a desert mediocrity. There was nothing ambiguous or light with the show. They were there to bring it Hard, Loud, and with raw emotion and conviction, and for two solid hours they did with a show that was as entertaining visually as it was aurally. This band is growing with a fever and passion that has long been missing from the scene. As The Who said “Long Live Rock, be it Dead or Alive.” Well with Alice in Chains it is definitely Alive.