Uproar tour 2013 Featuring Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Coheed & Cambria, and Circa Survive
Uproar has always been one of the last national tours to end the summer. After the last several years of bringing harder rock acts to the stage, this year they went in a different direction, bringing more alternative, Prog rock to the stages.
After days of oppressive heat, the day started out with rain showers and eased by the time the main stage acts started.
Uproar is an all day festival that features two side stages - on the first stage, acts like Charming Liars, Beware of Darkness and The Dead Daisies played and on the second stage, New Politics, Middle Class Rut, Danko Jones and Walking Papers.
As fans made their way to the main stage, the first thing that was noticed was the lack of a crowd. This may be caused by the weather, as well as shows following the next day and weekend, but for fans of these bands, it would have been nice to see a larger gate.
Opening the main stage was Circa Survive who reminded me of the next two acts to follow. Opening with Oh, Hello, off their first album, Juturna, Circa Survive is the type of band that as the set goes on, they get stronger. With just 30 minutes to constrict them, they still put on a great show and fans should show up early to catch them.
Coheed and Cambria took the stage next; known for their concept albums based on The Amory Wars comics. Singer, Claudio Sanchez with his big hair opened the set with Keeping the Blade, Key Entity Extraction V, and A Favor House Atlantic. Known for their storytelling lyrics and intricate guitar work, it was on full display tonight. They ended the night with a great version of Welcome Home.
Perry Farrel and Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction
Jane’s Addiction came on and blew the crowd away. Opening with one of their best songs in a while - Underground - off their last album, The Great Escape Artist and flowed right into Mountain Song. Singer, Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro still create magic on the stage as they got the crowd into it from the moment, playing most of their hits like Been Caught Stealing, Ocean Size, Stop!, and Just Because.
Navarro stalked his side of a stage like a caged tiger as he unleashed guitar licks. Capping off the night with Jane Says, this left the fans fully satisfied. If you’ve never seen Jane’s Addiction live, it’s one to put on your bucket list of shows to see.
Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains
The Headliners, Alice in Chains, have reinvented the Seattle sound of rock and steered it away from the grunge to close out the show. Opening with Them Bones, Hollow, Again allowed fans to get soaked into the vibe right away. AIC is one of those bands in which once you hear the opening riffs and Layne Staley’s voice, you knew right away who was playing. Since Staley’s untimely passing, William DuVall has taken over vocals and done an admirable job. What holds it altogether is Jerry Cantrell’s guitar playing that is still as fresh-sounding today as it was before. Mike Inez on Bass and Sean Kinney on Drums provide the pounding bass that define the AIC sound.
Having seen AIC a few times this year, it’s nice to see them not take any nights off and sounds as clear and tight as ever. They ended the night with No Excuses, Would?, and gut wrenching heartfelt song, Rooster.
While this year’s Uproar did not have the heavy sound of Metal, they did give fans a chance to explore different music in rock and a history lesson with the headliners.
Review and Photos by Peter Lizano
