REVIEW BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT A CHADWICK | Go Venue Magazine
On Saturday, September 13, the Astro in La Vista, Nebraska, welcomed Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains to grace their stage. It was a great night for live music.
Sparta, a power trio from El Paso, Texas, opened the show. Not the act that was originally booked to support this tour, they performed like they belonged on that bill in the first place. Led by Jim Ward of At the Drive-In fame, they were rhythmically tight and melodic. And the crowd seemed to dig what they were playing.
The people were ready for Jerry Cantrell. Putting out two studio albums in the last five years, it made sense that he was prepared to go out on the road to play these songs. Backing him were some talented musicians with whom I was familiar. Behind the kit was Stone Sour and Ministry drummer Roy Mayorga. That guy can pound the skins, unlike most people. On rhythm guitar and bass, Zach Throne, who had a huge task of singing Layne Staley’s vocal melodies, but made it his own, and Eliot Lorango, respectively. It was a perfect mix of his solo material and Alice in Chains tunes. The highlight of the night was when they performed the Alice in Chains tune, “Rain When I Die”. The whole band sounded incredible the whole set, but they sounded next level when they played that song. And the audience was stoked to hear it. I love Jerry Cantrell’s guitar playing. He is such a student of Tony Iommi, while also doing his own thing with the wah pedal and the talk box. It is a bummer that Alice in Chains couldn’t fully tour this year, but I’m glad Jerry Cantrell got out there on the road to play to the masses himself. I am enjoying this solo era of his, but I am looking forward to the next time the guys in Alice in Chains go into the studio to crank out the next album and do some more touring. Be sure to check out his latest album, I Want Blood.
Jerry Cantrell
Sparta
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