Past INmusic Festival lineups & sets (Archive)

vividmoose18 said:Honestly, Alice in Chains sounded like they were back in their absolute prime—huge respect to them for that. Duval is such a likable guy, and Inez is basically a god with a hat on. As for the setlist? It was perfection. I’m still buzzing from hearing "Damn That River," "Rain When I Die," and "Again!" plus "Nutshell" and all those other essentials... man, what a rush. My only real gripe is that they were just one part of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival lineup. Being stuck in a festival setting definitely messed with the vibe a bit—it skewed the crowd demographic and forced the set to be way shorter than it should've been. Still, they'll be back. 🙂

I caught them three times in a single week—nearly hitting double digits if you count the rehearsals—and honestly, it was quite the ride. When they played at the Madison Square Garden show, they were definitely at their most relaxed, putting together a killer set. It’s funny, because I’ve never actually seen them go full throttle with stuff like "Nutshell" or "Down in a Hole" at any of the big festivals. That said, the sound quality there was pretty pathetic—just total garbage. The vocal layering was spot on, though, and Dave is just a genuine, salt-of-the-earth guy, even when he's rocking that punk-rock energy. They were at their absolute most aggressive during the two days in Chicago right before that, but by the time they hit Lollapalooza, it felt like they were just going through the motions because the crowd was so damn mindless. Still, ironically, the sound at Lollapalooza was easily the best of the bunch.

fadedhound7 said:Honestly, Alice in Chains was the biggest letdown for me yesterday—and they were the only reason I even bothered showing up. Don't get me wrong, they played well, they really did; the musicianship was solid, but there just wasn't any soul in the room. There was zero atmosphere. The crowd was basically a bunch of zombies, just offering some polite, perfunctory applause after each song before drifting back into silence. It felt like most people out there hadn't even heard of Alice in Chains until they saw them on the festival lineup.

Trust me, compared to the crowds you'd see in places like Austria or the Czech Republic, yesterday was a total washout.

Matthew Newman2 said:Someone in charge of organizing events at Central Park really dropped the ball this year—it was an absolute disaster. For some reason that nobody can quite wrap their head around, the speakers and the entire stage setup aren't aimed toward the open areas where they should be. Instead, they’re pointed directly southeast, straight toward the residential neighborhood near Lanište. It means people sitting in their own living rooms are stuck listening to nothing but distorted, unintelligible noise and bone-rattling bass every single time there’s an outdoor concert or festival going on. Just a total lack of common sense.
Honestly, someone really needs to step up and do something about this—I’m at my wit's end. I can't get a decent night's sleep, let alone focus on studying, with this constant noise blaring in the background. It’s reached a point where it's actually unbearable, especially since it wasn't nearly this bad in previous years.
That's all I've got for you.
Hey there.

The main stage is set up exactly the same way they had it back in 2008 and 2009—it’s like they just hit rewind on the blueprints and called it a day.

copperjackal89 said:And hey, the singer actually had a decent shirt on!

He definitely had a better one back in Austria. 😉

quietcobra said:Simple enough.
Skip the Bill Gates stuff and just go see Pendulum. I mean, what's the point of following some star who's basically just coasting on glory from the 80s? 😉 😁

When you lay it out like that... 😁
I just want to see Bill Gates and hear two songs, then maybe head over to the Pendulum set and party. 😁

amberranger said:I caught them three times in a single week—nearly double digits if you count them all. They were easily the most relaxed during their Guns N' Roses show and played an incredible set; I don't think I've ever seen them go full force on "Nutshell" or "Down in a Hole" at festivals before. Though, I guess the sound was pretty hit-or-miss. The vocal layering was great, and Dave is just a legend. They seemed the most intense back in Prague two days prior, and while they looked like they were just going through the motions at Lollapalooza because of the crowd, they actually had the best sound there.

wow, three times in one week? 😲😍
I suppose I agree, they were excellent last night. The crowd—at least where I was, right up in the front row—was fantastic 👍
The sound could have been better, but compared to some other shows I've been to lately, this was actually pretty great.
Their setlist is solid; I liked that they leaned heavily into the older tracks 👍 and played more songs than they usually bother with at festivals.
And most importantly, they really connected with the audience 😍 I felt like William was just... radiating energy, somehow.

amberranger said:I caught them three times in a single week—nearly double digits if you count them all up. They were definitely at their most relaxed during the Guns N' Roses show, playing an awesome set (I’ve never seen them go that hard on "Nutshell" or "Down in a Hole" at festivals before). Though, the sound quality was pretty rough. The vocal doubles sounded great, and Dave is just such a legend. They played with the most intensity two days ago in Prague, whereas at Lollapalooza they seemed to be just going through the motions because of the crowd, even though the sound there was actually the best.

Trust me, compared to the crowds in Austria or the Czech Republic, yesterday was incredible.

The main stage setup is positioned exactly the same way it was back in 2008 and 2009.

They had a better show in Austria 😉

Or maybe in Germany, so it’s no surprise they aren't hitting it as hard when touring Europe. That said, the shows in Italy were absolutely insane (Rome, Turin, Padua).

The older, worn-out Chain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxMqkJv-2Kw 🙄🙄 just isn't it.

I honestly don't get why everyone is whining; they were solid, maybe even great, and that’s really all there is to it. 🙏 😬

Man, forget what people were saying, it didn't even rain! We ended up running late for Kawasaki, so we only caught about 3 or 4 songs, but honestly? They were killer. And they've got that crazy styling going on with those loops around their necks... totally wild. Plus, the vuvuzelas had me cracking up. TBF, the set was solid, though if I'm being real, I would've loved more stuff from the debut album—Lollapalooza was hands down the peak of their performance for me. But man, AC/DC? Absolutely blew my mind. Seriously, these guys play like they're plugged directly into a high-voltage socket, not like a band that—let’s be honest—hit their absolute prime like fifteen years ago. The setlist was perfection; I felt like I wrote it myself. I mean, okay, there was definitely room for "Don't Stop Believin'", "Over Now", "Godsmack", and so on, but whatever. I went in expecting a short set, so I wasn't really disappointed there. My only gripe is they could've talked to the crowd a bit more. DuVall did try his best to shout out some American slang to the fans, which I really appreciate—you can tell the guy actually gives a damn. Oh, and get this—at the end, I almost caught a drumstick! Or whatever the hell you call those things they hit with. It flew straight toward my hand, but since my reflexes aren't quite what they used to be after a few beers, it just bounced off my palm and landed on someone else. So, if you're reading this, whoever you are... I hate you!!!

Scott Hill70 said:Oh, come on, quit complaining! They sounded—and I mean really *sang*—absolutely incredible, just like back in their prime. My only real gripe is how short the set was (maybe 80 minutes?), but honestly, given it was a festival set, the crappy weather, and a pretty lukewarm crowd, you can't really blame them.

The fact that you aren't a huge fan or that grunge isn't "in" right now is a totally different story altogether.

I wrote earlier that it probably wasn't really my vibe... but hey, I might not have much more to say since I was feeling a little tipsy last night! 😁 I didn't think they had aged poorly, rather it was the music itself that felt a bit dated.
They sang well, though. For sure.
The ground was a total muddy mess, which made jumping around pretty difficult, but then again, I was expecting a few thousand high-energy fans to be losing it out there too! :/

Today it's LCD and Luks Luks Luks 👋👋👋

To be fair, their bio is actually pretty solid, but I’ve seen them at least ten times now—and I’ll probably see them ten more—so they weren't exactly a revelation for me.

Alice in Chains is just, well, incredibly good. The sound was very solid—it could have been better, sure, but it was perfectly decent. As for the crowd, it was just okay, though I realized after seeing them live for the first time yesterday that I don't quite know how to react to them. Their music doesn't exactly trigger this wild, chaotic energy. Most of it is mid-tempo or even slower. The absolute peak for me had to be Man in the Box. 🙂 The setlist was great. Overall, I’m satisfied. If anyone was worried about who would step up after Layne Staley, then William DuVall is definitely the right choice. He fits in seamlessly; you can tell he has massive respect for Layne, yet he stays relaxed about it all. A genuinely cool guy. I watched some performances on YouTube from a few years back, and back then, it didn't seem to mesh nearly as well.

Regarding those people who don't listen to AIC—I completely get why they might not have been interested. To truly appreciate what they do, you actually have to know the material. 😉

Moving on, the act I'm most hyped for today is LCD Soundsystem, and I'm going to try to catch Pendulum, Rise Against, and Billy Idol.

Alice in Chains is a legitimate band and they have my full respect... William DuVall is a solid frontman, and as Wild Horses says, he really puts in the work. They play with incredible energy, and any sense that they're "washed up" or that people have outgrown them just because they were big when you were in middle school—and now you're fifteen years older—has absolutely nothing to do with how they actually kill it on stage.

Excuses 🙂

Forget what anyone said about the weather; it didn't actually rain, though there was enough mud to drown in.
I honestly came home even filthier than I did after the Metallica show. Everything felt perfect yesterday, though. Even Alice in Chains caught me off guard by playing some tracks I really wasn't expecting.
Today starts with Rise Against warming things up, followed by a showdown between Billy Idol and Pendulum.
I haven't quite figured out my game plan yet. If the vibe isn't right during Billy Idol, I might just head straight over to the Pendulum set to lose myself in the crowd. 😬

Question

What are your thoughts: nobody has stepped foot in that mud pit from yesterday for about 12 hours now—the weather is actually nice and there isn't a drop of rain... what are the odds that the sludge has actually hardened into the ground?
And since those other two stages were closed off... is the situation looking any better over there?
I'm asking because I really don't feel like lugging around those heavy fishing boots like I did yesterday (even though they totally saved my life) :P

If you want this mud to actually dry out, you need a few days of solid sunshine... and we just don't have that. Once the jumping and partying starts, the ground is going to turn back into a mess again.

I’d love to throw those on too, but I have a feeling that once the crowd thins out, we’ll be right back where we started yesterday.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind if we were wading through knee-deep mud—as long as the rain stays away and we don't have to deal with that pathetic, biting wind blowing through everything.

👋 👋 👋 Billy 😍😍

For me, Alice in Chains was always just... intense. I used to find myself constantly jumping toward anything with a bit more edge—just chasing that sound—but when they finally hit the encore and played "Nutshell" and "Down in a Hole"? That was the absolute peak for me.

I honestly don't get why people keep insisting they're washed up or "old school"—I mean, haven't they been nominated for a Grammy for Best Live Performance this year?

Jerry Howard said:I don't get why everyone keeps harping on about them being old, especially since they were actually nominated for a Grammy this year for their live performance.

To hell with the Grammys.🙂
Personally, I couldn't care less about Alice in Chains, but I have to admit their musicianship was remarkably sharp... and as for them being "old," please; it's not like we're planning on repopulating the planet using their DNA.😬

Yo, anyone actually selling their ticket?

hmm... I seem to recall back about two years ago they were handing out those little rain ponchos—do you think I can count on that happening again this year, or has the economic crisis finally caught up with them too? 😬

Well, at some point during Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, two guys from the crew wandered over to us and handed out two ponchos—there were three of us, though, so clearly they aren't just handing them out to anyone and everyone. I have no idea what the vibe will be like today...

Honestly, the mud isn't even that much of a disaster; once it dries up, you can just brush it right off your pants and sneakers without any real trouble. 🤷