I would like to start the Live Reviews with one of the recordings of the Dirt Tour I like the most. This show took place at 13.13 Club in Charlotte and is actually the sixth show of the beginning of the tour that had started in Tampa , Florida. The truth is that Dirt songs had begun to be performed the band on the Ozzy Tour, but on this tour is where Alice in Chains starts to play as the headliner with 2 special guests : Screaming Trees and Gruntruck . This show was not recorded from the soundboard , It is an audience recording , made by " tapers ", called at that time, to exchange or sell pirate shows.
Alice In Chains
13.13 Club, Charlotte , North Carolina , United States
Special guests: Screaming Trees and Gruntruck
November 20, 1992
It was recorded on a Sony WMD3 equipment , however it sounds really good. Regarding the show, the band performs one of their best, totally complemented as a band , and where Layne stands with a really astonishing voice , shouting at the climax of every song making goosebumps, Sean attacks his drum kit with a truly amazing power. The set list consists of 14 songs in the classical order of those years. The band caughts you from the beginning, even from the Intro "Iron Gland " where Sean is starts to hit drums to warm the crowd.
Highlights of this show: The discharge the first 3 songs (Dam That River , We Die Young, Them Bones ) , doesn´t allow you to breath and make you feel like you are listening to one of the most powerful bands of planet at that specific moment . Other highlight is Junkhead where Layne introduces the song by saying it is about a hopeless junkie and that it is a fictional character, but we all know that it is a song about him and it´s totally autobiographical. The version of this song is really wild and Layne shows his voice at its highest point , with an unusual rage and savagery. There are many references to drugs between songs, such as between Godsmack and Bleed The Freak where Layne mockingly alludes to the venue saying it is a " drug-free environment ." Unfortunately you could tell they were also in the highest point of their substance abuse.
There is a small change in the setlist where Sickman goes out and Dirt goes in, and the truth is that this version of Dirt is really magnificent ! Jerry 's guitar riffs are really powerful , complementes in a superlative way by Mike Starr´s bass and Sean drums Layne is brilliant making perhaps one of his best vocal versions of this song. 10 stars for this one. " Between Dirt and Angry Chair, an open allusion by Layne to the crowd ocurrs, Layne says :"Hey, uh, Jerry fucked his hands up so if any of you have painkillers, you do?, OK, I know you, you come see me, and, uh, if any, and I didn't fuck up anything but ... I'd like some too." " Wow . Jerry rehearses some Sweat Leaf and For Whom the bell tolls , Black Sabbath and Metallica respectively before deliver an excellent version of "Angry Chair" . The show ends as usual at that time with the groovy and brutal "Man in the Box" . A wild show that shows the band at their best in that 1992. Make yourselves a favor and try to get it in FLAC to truly appreciate how the band sounded at the time.
Article and translation by: Schulz
Set List
1. Dam That River
2. We Die Young
3. Them Bones
4. Would?
5. Love Hate Love
6. Junkhead
7. God Smack
8. Bleed The Freak
9. Put You Down
10. It Ain't Like That
11. Hate To Feel
12. Dirt
13. Angry Chair
14. Man In The Box
