It was shortly after Alice in Chains completed their MTV Unplugged set that the group’s
future seemed uncertain.
While the performance was powerful and incredible and probably my favourite and many other people's
favourite unplugged set , frontman Layne Staley was in the throes of drug addiction and it
showed.
Alice in Chains would get an offer to open 4 shows for Kiss in the summer of 1996 after
Stone Temple Pilots turned down the tour.
Ironically STP had to bow out after frontman Scott Weiland’s addiction problems halted
any tour plans.
Initially guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean kinney agreed with the proposal, but
Layne kept turning it down until he finally changed his mind.
Kinney for his part was a member of the kiss army growing up.
Since Layne was still dealing with his addiction, rehearsals for the tour, proved to be challenging
and problematic The band spent three weeks at the Moore theater in seattle in rehearsals,
with the band members coming in at different times.
Ken deans who helped susan silver co-mange Alice in Chains during the late 90's recalled
that tour saying to author david de sola in the book alice in chains the untold story
“it was really challenging.
Mike inez would show up around 3 or 4 o’lock in the afternoon.
He and i would hang out and then sean would show up and then jerry would show up and then
layne would show up around nine ‘clock, maybe they’d go through a couple of songs
and then take off.
Deans in the same book would reveal he sometimes waited eight hours a day for the members to
show up.
Adding ‘by this time it was becoming pretty evident that both layne and jerry were having
some problems, not Jerry so much at that time, but Layne was definitely starting to.
You could see that his years of drug use were starting to affect him.
I hadn’t seen [Layne] for a while until i saw him at rehearsals.
There was a part of him that was gone at that point" he'd recall.
The opening night of the tour took place at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium on June 28th, 1996.
It would be Alice in Chains first proper concert since 1993, Alice In Chains would get a good
response from their 10-song set which included a bit of Kiss’ with drummer Sean Kinney
singing Beth acapella and Jerry playing some riffs including Detroit Rock City as both
Sean and Jerry told Eddie Trunk here.
You know you guys mentioned Kiss I was just thinking i saw you guys at tiger stadium on
the first kiss reunion show open for them.
Sorry about that.
Well jerry i remember, now correct me if i'm wrong that's coming up on 25 years did you
not play or did the band not play like a couple kiss riffs during the breaks in your own songs
and people got heated about it.
I remember you guys playing.
Do you recall that?
what do you remember about that.
This is what i recall, there may have been a riff or two but i think the real thing was
when sean decided to come out front and sing beth acapella.
now sean is a fantastic drummer he's got a great eye and business sense very artistic,
but he's not a great singer, he's not a great singer.
So yeah I kind of roseanne barrd a national anthem of beth man they weren't digging the
humor of it.
Apparently the whole stadium, they didn't get it 60,000 people really boo'd.
I remember, really loud and yeah and you know who else didn't like it even more than that
was peter criss had a little problem with it i don't know.i had a little conversation
with peter about that he was really bummed.
Stole his thunder.
They also had these inflattables of each dude two on each side of the stage and it was the
very first show so there was some technical stuff you know it was really magical and show
you know like anything that's that big of an undertaking there was some technical stuff
stuff wasn't really working right but like one of the inflattable's just must have had
a hole in it and they kept trying to blow it up and wilt down and i can't remember which
guy it was.
There was some amazing stuff that went on those shows that were pretty fun.
The one guy's inflattable not blowing up could've derailed the entire reunion tour at the first
show because that guy could've thrown a fit that his inflattable wasn't up and that could've
blown up the whole reunion right there.
Yeah, the reason we took the gig, i remember walking on stage after us doing our thing
right and i remember layne also said because people are also painted like kiss characters
they wear the makeup and everything and layne between songs is like what the f is wrong
with you people how come no one in painted to look like me and they're all like boo you
know then i added a little more fuel to the fire by hacking beth
The band would play four shows opening for Kiss including,
The Detroit concert was also notable because The Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan was in
attendance and years later he would recall ‘i saw alice in chains at one of their final
performances, opening for kiss at tiger stadium.
They played outside in the sunshine and thehy were awesome’ going on to call layne and
i quote ‘a truly beautiful man.
Gifted almost beyond compare.
My fave singer of the 90’s.
The band played three more shows including on in Lousville, Kentucky in which future
frontman William Duvall was in attendance.
The band’s final show at the Kempera Arena in Kansas City Missouri would prove to bbe
the final concert the band played with Layne fronting the band.
By this point the band’s camp knew this was the final bow with Layne fronting the
band.
The tour would end on a low note when Layne overdosed after the final show in kansas city.
Kinney would tell author greg prato “They went great (referring to the shows) - they
were fun, it was nice being out there…and by the end it was cops, ambulances and ‘get
on the plane!
Hide the drugs!
The same shit was going on.
It became more apparent that unless things seriously change, we can’t go out and play
to our potential - at this level.
We can’t even get through a week and a half without drama and scary shit going on.
That’s about right when i mentally started preparing like ‘it’s done.
It was after the tour the members started to focus on their own lives and whaat would
come after the band.
With inez adding in the same book “we will be brothers for life.
I don’t think it was ever about saying ‘we’re going to break up’ or ‘jerry’s going
to do a solo record.’
it just wasn’t healthy for us at that time.
It wasn’t ike alice in chains was one of those bands that had a big blow up…We just
realized it wasn’t healthy.
Eddie Trunk would interview Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney about how the band angered
some Kiss fans during their opening set as he stated here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ws6xlCXyk
Years later Gene Simmons would recall to Detroit Radio Station WRIF 101.1 “I met Weiland
at a club and I said to him, 'Look, you've gotta be straight, cut it out with all the
heroin and the crap, respect the fans, get up un stage, do a great show, it's all yours.
We'll support you, but I want you clean on stage.'
"[He told me] 'Gene, I promise!'
It's like what anybody who's a drug addict and alcoholic says.
'I've been clean for a million years,' and stuff.
And then he died.
"And I had the same conversation with Layne.
Right before they went up on stage [in Detroit, where they supported KISS], I said, 'Layne,
here they are, they're fans, they're lined up, it's all yours.
Just go out there and do great.'
'Gene, I have been straight, I straightened up,' and all that.
And then he died.