ALICE IN CHAINS LAUNCH FULL SCALE U.S. TOUR; DATES FOLLOW SUCCESSFUL U.S. CLUB SWING AND FESTIVAL DATES IN EUROPE AND JAPAN

ALICE IN CHAINS
LAUNCH FULL SCALE U.S. TOUR;

DATES FOLLOW SUCCESSFUL U.S. CLUB SWING AND
FESTIVAL DATES IN
EUROPE AND JAPAN

Look for ALICE IN CHAINS to launch a full-scale cross-country headlining tour on September 22 in Las Vegas, NV.   Rounded out with performances in New York, Chicago and the band’s Seattle hometown, the “Rockstar Energy Drink Presents Alice In Chains in Association with VH1 Classic” trek will keep the band on the road much of the fall before ending in December.  

These performances follow ALICE IN CHAINS’ successful six-city club tour (all of which were instant sell-outs) and overseas festival dates and mark the return–after a long hiatus–of one of the few surviving bands from the much-beloved Seattle music scene.  ALICE IN CHAINS–JERRY CANTRELL, MIKE INEZ and SEAN KINNEY–will again be joined by WILLIAM DUVALL on lead vocals.  

Tickets for these shows will be available via a special fan club pre-sale through the ALICE IN CHAINS’ website (www.aliceinchains.com) beginning Monday, August 14 with tickets available to the general public on Saturday, August 19.  Capitol Records artist Hurt will join ALICE IN CHAINS for this trek.

Additionally, music fans can hear some of the songs the band will be performing this summer on THE ESSENTIAL ALICE IN CHAINS.  Set for a September 5 release on Columbia/Legacy, a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, it’s the first comprehensive two-CD collection ever issued on ALICE IN CHAINS. The 28 tracks are from all four original albums the band recorded–Facelift (1990), Dirt (1992), the self-titled Alice In Chains (1995), and the live ‘acoustic’ MTV Unplugged (1996)–as well as their two EPs, SAP (1992) and Jar Of Flies (1994).  Also included are remixes of their two songs from the Last Action Hero original motion picture soundtrack album.

Judging by the reception of the club shows from the media and fans alike, these live performances will again serve as a historic reminder of ALICE IN CHAINS’ instantly recognizable brand of dark, moody rock that has become a signature sound and a major influence on later rock bands.  Beyond the feedback in the U.S., fans and the media alike in Europe–many times in countries where ALICE IN CHAINS had never played before–were overwhelmingly supportive of the band’s performances.  In London, the show at The Astoria merited a five-star review from Kerrang, which raved:  “…the whole of the sold out venue singing along, and judging by the explosive adulation punctuating every entry on the set-list…It’s a joy at hearing these masterworks of musical restraint and heart-felt allure live–of witnessing this glorious resurrection–that makes tonight so poignant.”

Here’s some initial critical feedback on ALICE IN CHAINS’ U.S. shows:

Steve Appleford, LOS ANGELES TIMES (5/20):  “Alice in Chains proved it could still deliver on its original sound and purpose…”

Erik Pedersen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER (5/20):   “Alice in Chains looks and sounds ready to reclaim its place in hard rock lore.”

Steve Mirkin, DAILY VARIETY (5/22):  “The pleasure one draws from their hourlong show is hearing Cantrell and his expert rhythm section slug their way through time-tested, molten riffs…built from the same elements that make up the music of Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath–electric blues slowed down to a crawl and played with a sledgehammer backbeat.”

Dean Goodman, REUTERS (5/19):  “…kept things just as heavy as they did in their heyday.”

Chris Harris, MTV.COM (5/24):  “Cantrell's expert guitar-shredding was executed effortlessly and anchored by Inez and Kinney's meticulous rhythm section…DuVall proved himself an able Staley understudy not by merely replicating the late singer's signature wounded style, but by leaving his own mark on Alice's bleak tunes.”

Jed Gottlieb, BOSTON HERALD (5/24):  “…the band sounded as it should: loud, fierce and sludgy…the band’s sound was euphoric…”

Joshua Sindell, LA CITYBEAT (5/25):  “Alice in Chains hadn’t forgotten how to play some great rock ’n’ roll.”

Sarah Rodman, BOSTON GLOBE (5/25):  “One thing made abundantly clear is that time away hasn't diminished the band's rhythmic brawn. Cantrell remains an economical and thoughtful soloist, keeping his mid-song breaks teasingly short and acute. He's also an indispensable harmony vocalist, grounding DuVall's steely wailing with a husky low end.”

The initial tour dates are as follows (with more to be announced in the coming months):

DATE				CITY			VENUE
Fri	9/22		Las Vegas, NV				The Joint
Mon	9/25		Phoenix, AZ				Marquee Theatre
Tue	9/26		Tucson, AZ				Rialto Theatre
Wed	9/27		El Paso, TX				County Coliseum
Fri	9/29		Lubbock, TX				Lonestar Amphitheatre
Sat	9/30		Tulsa, OK				Cain's Ballroom
Sun	10/1		Dallas, TX				Nokia Theatre
Tue	10/3		Austin, TX				Stubbs
Wed	10/4		Corpus Christi, TX				Concrete St. Amph.
Thu	10/5		Hidalgo, TX				Dodge Arena
Tue	10/10		Atlanta, GA				Tabernacle
Wed	10/11		Orlando, FL				Hard Rock
Thu	10/12		Ft. Lauderdale, FL				Revolution
Fri	10/20		Myrtle Beach, SC				House Of Blues
Sat	10/21		Winston Salem, NC				Millennium Center
Sun	10/22		Norfolk, VA				Norva
Tue	10/24		Baltimore, MD				Ram's Head Live
Wed	10/25		Washington DC				930 Club
Thu	10/26		Philadelphia, PA				Electric Factory
Sat	10/28		Atlantic City, NJ				Borgata
Sun	10/29		Albany, NY				Washington Ave. Armory
Tue	10/31		Providence, RI				Lupos
Wed	11/1		New York, NY				Nokia Theatre
Thu	11/2		New York, NY				Nokia Theatre
Sat	11/4		Niagara Falls, NY				The Dome
Sun	11/5		Toronto, ONT				Kool Haus
Tue	11/7		Detroit, MI				Emerald Theatre
Wed	11/8		Chicago, IL				Riviera Theatre
Thu	11/9		Cleveland, OH				House Of Blues
Sat	11/11		Milwaukee, WI				Eagles Ballroom
Mon	11/13		Minneapolis, MN				First Avenue
Tue	11/14		Omaha, NE				Sokol Aud.
Thu	11/16		Wichita, KS				Cotillion Ballroom
Fri	11/17		Oklahoma City, OK				Bricktown Events Center
Sat	11/18		Kansas City, MO				Uptown Theatre
Mon	11/20		Denver, CO				Fillmore Auditorium
Tue	11/21		Aspen, CO				Belly Up
Wed	11/22		Salt Lake City, UT				Saltair
Fri	11/24		Seattle, WA				Paramount Theatre
Sun	11/26		San Francisco, CA				Warfield

 

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ALICE IN CHAINS LAUNCH FULL SCALE U.S. TOUR; DATES FOLLOW SUCCESSFUL U.S. CLUB SWING AND
FESTIVAL DATES IN EUROPE AND JAPAN