Today marks 31 years since Alice in Chains performed their first concert ever at Kane Hall in their hometown of Seattle, Washington. Former frontman Layne Staley had met vocalist and guitarist Jerry Cantrell a year before at a party in Seattle, and many bands later finally found the perfect formation that ended up being the Alice in Chains we know and loved from the '90s.
They started their career out by playing gigs around the Pacific Northwest under different monikers. The first gig they performed under Diamond Lie, which was one of Cantrell's previous bands. The gig came less than a year since they formed the band, and two years before they would find worldwide fame.
The seven-song set saw them performing a handful of new material, including live debuts of early singles like "I Can't Have You Blues," "Killing Yourself," and "King of the Kats." All these songs are now available on comps and demo tapes.
Next they performed a song called "Some Girls," which is probably Alice N' Chains' "Fat Girls," and during the performance, Cantrell split his pants, like a true rocker.
They also performed a couple of covers, "Taxi Driver" by Hanoi Rocks and "Suffragette City" by David Bowie, both of which they covered often during those early gigs. See the setlist below:
Most of those songs never made it past 1989. "Queen of the Rodeo" has been performed the most, with 33 performances, but the last time was in 1991 and it's never been performed with current singer William Duvall, who replaced Staley when the group reformed after his tragic passing.
Today, Alice in Chains still tour and put out new music. They perform plenty of cuts off their first commercially success albums, which followed after their bout of DIY gigs. "Man in the Box," "Would?" and "We Die Young" are their top three most performed songs to date, with "Rooster" clocking at number five.
They recently released their sixth studio album, Rainer Fog, in 2018, and have upcoming tour dates in Australia, the UK, and Europe. Head to their website for the dates!
