Alice in Chains rock Toronto’s Massey Hall

Alice in Chains rocked Massey Hall in Toronto on Monday night along with Seattle based rockers the Walking Papers.

Walking Papers May 1, 2018
Massey Hall, Toronto
Photo: Matthew Perry

On one of the nicest evenings in Toronto to date this spring, the fans were out in abundance earlier than usual with the body tattoos exposed and the hair that brings us back to “Hairband” days, excitement in the air & discussions from the early years of Alice in Chains being heard loud and clear around the sidewalk out front of the infamous Massey Hall.

Walking Papers May 1, 2018
Massey Hall, Toronto
Photo: Matthew Perry

The doors opened and the nearly fans flocked to their seats, when the lights dimmed, it was time for the Seattle rock band Walking Papers to hit the stage. The band features singer/songwriter Jefferson Angell, keyboardist/backing vocalist Benjamin Anderson (both from The Missionary Position), bassist Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver), and drummer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Mad Season) but because of previous commitments Duff McKagan and Barrett Martin were unable to join the band for their dates with Alice In Chains.

Alice in Chains May 1, 2018
Massey Hall, Toronto
Photo: Matthew Perry

Then it was time for Alice in Chains to hit the stage, as they were led onto stage by Jerry Cantrell under a dark room with dim dull dark blue lighting to start the opening of “Bleed the Freak”, a hit song from their debut album “Facelift”, definitely one that got the crowd on their feet and showed where the night was headed, straight to a loud throwback of years of grunge hits they had produced such as “Down in a Hole”, “No Excuses” “We Die Young” and “Man in the Box” to name a few.

Alice in Chains May 1, 2018
Massey Hall, Toronto
Photo: Matthew Perry

As they ran through the night, hit after hit, riff after riff with deep dark lighting to go with the genre, they ended the evening with the inevitable encore, some of their best work including “Would?” and “Rooster” to ensure no one went home in question, everyone made it known with the karaoke type singalong that ensued, they got even more than what they expected and will remember the evening for years to come.

Remaining Tour Dates

May 7 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
May 8 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
May 10 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
May 12 – St. Louis, MO @ Pointfest
May 13 – Somerset, WI @ Northern Invasion
May 15 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
May 16 – South Bend, IN @ Morris Performing Arts Center
May 18 – Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range
May 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ WMMR BBQ / BB&T Pavilion
June 16 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
June 17 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
June 20 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Grona Lund
June 21 – Halden, Norway @ Tons of Rock Festival
June 22 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhell
June 24 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
June 25 – Zagreb, Croatia @ INmusic Festival
June 28 – Padua, Italy @ Sherwood
June 30 – Bezirk-Landstrasse, Austria @ Arena Open Air Wien
July 1 – Budapest, Hungary @ Budapest Park
July 3 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxley’s Neue Welt
July 4 – Cologne, Germany @ Live Music Hall
July 8 – Belford, France @ Les Eurockeennes 30
July 10 – Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo Snai San Siro
July 13 – Madrid, Spain @ Mad Cool Festival
July 14 – Lisboa, Portugal @ NOS Alive
July 17 – Tel Aviv, Israel @ Caesarea
July 18 – Tel Aviv, Israel @ Caesarea
Aug 22 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Aug 28 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vino Robles Amp
Aug 29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Aug 31 – Riverside, CA @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Sept 1 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pearl
Sept 3 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Music Hall
Sept 4 – El Paso, TX @ Abraham Chavez Theatre
Sept 6 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live
Sept 7 – Houston, TX @ Revention Music Center
Sept 8 – Dallas, TX @ Pavilion @ Toyota Music Factory
Sept 10 – Tulsa, OK @ Brady Theatre
Sept 11 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre
Sept 13 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore
Sept 15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre

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