Alice In Chains @ UPROAR Festival / Klipsch Music Center — Indianapolis on August 23rd, 2013
Of all the bands that played at Rockstar Uproar Festival, headlining band Alice In Chains by far brought the biggest crowd. The already large crowd nearly doubled in size when William DuVall and the rest of the band made their entrance and immediately began playing “Hollow,” a song from their most recent album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. Though the new track was well-received by the growing audience, it wasn’t until the band played their second, more familiar song “Them Bones” that all of Klipsch began singing along with every word, dancing to the beat, and head-bobbing with each hit of Sean Kinney’s drums.
Beneath the blue lights that flooded the entire pavilion during the set, DuVall rocked his leg back and forth to the tempo of each song as the band played hit after hit; to say Alice In Chains had a great setlist would be an understatement. DuVall’s booming, residual howls during “Man In The Box” crawled down the spines of every man, woman, and child that flooded the lawn of the Noblesville-based venue. Jerry Cantrell also reminded the audience of his talents with the wah-filtered riffs and talk-box guitar solos that so many fans came to see.
Like Jane’s Addiction before them, Alice In Chains played in front of a few massive screens that played random moving images as the band performed. This time, the screens took up the entire back of the stage, and kept the band lit when the bright red lights rose to the crowd. After playing another new song, DuVall strapped on an acoustic guitar and the band played the soft-spoken “Nutshell,” a song very well-received by an audience nearly brought to tears. Finally, to close off a night of sweat, pounding heat, and quality music, the band played some of its most popular songs, “No Excuses,” “Would?,” and “Rooster.” The level of connection between Alice In Chains and their fans through the entire night showed in how carefully the band planned out their setlist, and how well they performed from start to finish. There wasn’t a soul who left Klipsch dissatisfied that night, and the four bands who took to the main stage set a high bar for next year’s show.