Alice in Chains
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
http://www.aliceinchains.net/
Saturday June10, 2006
Download Festival (Donington Park, UK)
Alice in Chains Tour Schedule
Excitement was mounting! The on-stage changeover between Arch Enemy and Alice In Chains seemed to take forever. We waited with bated breath for the second time that day. The World Cup and England's first game in the tournament against Paraguay was about to kick off, at literally the same time as AIC. We hoped desperately that this wouldn't scare the band off in any way. It couldn't, we'd all waited for so long for this precious moment.
With only a 40-minute set, they knew they'd have to blow our minds, keep us distracted from the footie on the screens. I felt like a teenager again, never mind the other 70-odd thousand people there. I pushed myself as far forward to the front of stage as was humanly possible. Camera in one hand in hope of a glimpse of one of my heroes - Jerry Cantrell - and in the other my sister's hand, dragging her happily through the sweaty lager spilt crowd. Boiling hot sun on our heads and dust billowing around the field, did it matter? Nah mate, even my allergies wouldn't hold me back for this one.
And on they walked, the cheer was deafening. The first note was hit and I knew immediately it was “Man in a box.� I squinted around me quickly on my tiptoes, there were excited smiling faces all around. AIC had done it, they'd caught our attention and we weren't ever going to look away. They played their way through eight hit singles and our gaze never broke away from theirs. “We Die Young� came next and I knew everyone was thinking about Layne, RIP brother.
I felt like I'd written the set list, this is what I wanted to hear. During “Them Bones,� I caught my mate's eyes for a moment, Marek, he looked mesmerized, he threw me back a knowing look. Yes, this is what he'd asked for too.
Jerry and Mike Inez were all over the stage like a cheap suit, and William found himself in the midst of the crowd, singing to them with his beautiful voice. I tried desperately to grab some shots of the band, difficult when there are thousands of heads in the way and metal hands in the air. I could hear Naz, my sister's voice, at least she was in tune unlike the couple behind me. “Down in a hole� I heard her chorus. This is just too good to be true, “What amazing musicians,� I kept repeating to anyone who cared to listen.
I could have cried when they finished with “Would?�. Those metallers’ voices must have carried for miles, free for all karaoke. Wonderful! My heart belongs to AIC once again. Come back to the UK soon boys, we'll miss ya.
Set list:
Man In The Box
We Die Young
Them Bones
Down In A Hole
Again
No Excuses
Rooster
Would?