Alice in Chains conjure the ghosts of grunge at Minnesota State Fair Grandstand opener

The grunge period got here roaring again to life Thursday as Alice in Chains headlined opening evening on the Minnesota State Honest Grandstand on a invoice with Bush and Breaking Benjamin.

Alice in Chains stood with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden as the most important acts to emerge from the early-’90s style, which upended the music enterprise, (quickly) disrupted hairspray steel and awarded a complete lot of main label offers to off-kilter rock bands around the globe.

British band Bush is finest identified for lead singer Gavin Rossdale’s longtime relationship with Gwen Stefani, which resulted in divorce in 2016. They’re additionally infamous for his or her 1994 debut album “Sixteen Stone,” which plucked all probably the most industrial elements of grunge and gave them a sonic polish. They scored a string of Prime 10 hits for a number of years there earlier than breaking apart in 2002.

Rossdale introduced the band again with a wholly new lineup in 2010 and has continued to document and tour for the previous dozen years. Now 56, he’s nonetheless bought a strong, if deeper, voice. He’s additionally impressively match and labored up an sincere sweat after sprinting his approach by way of the gang.

The newer materials didn’t get a lot of a response, however the previous hits certain did, together with a powerful solo flip from Rossdale on “Glycerine,” the place he was backed solely by his personal electrical guitar.

Breaking Benjamin emerged within the early ’00s with a sequence of indignant, angst-ridden anthems that drew from each grunge and grievance rockers like Korn, Disturbed and three Doorways Down who had been doing huge enterprise on the time.

The group really performed the Grandstand with the latter again in 2005, however Thursday’s lineup was totally totally different save for lead singer Benjamin Burnley, who I assume broke his personal band after a dispute over a biggest hits album. His new model of BB actually advantages from the presence of two sturdy vocalists — guitarist Keith Wallen and bassist Aaron Bruch — whose vocal harmonies deliver an actual richness to the group’s sound.

The music, although, is essentially an acquired style filled with lapses into Cookie Monster-style growling and “I hate my dad” lyrical sentiment. The strongest variety of the present turned out to be a canopy of Queen’s “Who Desires to Stay Perpetually.”

Close to the top of BB’s set, Burnley advised the cheering crowd he was 15 when he noticed his first live performance, which was Alice in Chains. Cool, proper? Then he stated his second-ever present was Bush. Large, if true, however maybe only a handy embellishment.

Whereas they rose to fame throughout grunge, Alice in Chain at all times appeared extra like a ’70s-era laborious rock band with unusually bleak lyrics. They scored a gradual stream of huge hits within the ’90s, regardless of lead singer Layne Staley’s ongoing struggles with heroin habit. Alice in Chain’s first period got here to a halt when Staley was discovered lifeless from an overdose in his Seattle rental in April 2002.

Guitarist, major songwriter and occasional lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell began performing once more with surviving members in 2005 and ultimately employed William DuVall to entrance the group. They’ve since launched three albums and returned to radio with a string of hits, together with “Hole” and “Your Choice,” which made Thursday’s set record.

Nonetheless, the gang of 11,049 was there for the Staley songs and Alice in Chains greater than pulled them off. It helps that DuVall’s voice is harking back to Staley’s distinctive croon with out falling into mimicry. “Them Bones,” “Would?” and “Rooster” stood out in a efficiency filled with memorable moments.