JERRY CANTRELL / FILTER – LIVE AT IRVING PLAZA – NYC
(Image credit: Future)
By Kat Gullage
JERRY CANTRELL BRINGS “I WANT BLOOD” TOUR TO IRVING PLAZA WITHSUPPORTING ACT FILTER
Irving Plaza has been a New York City musical landmark since 1978. The 150 year old building, located in the Union Square neighborhood, offers a 1200 capacity ballroom style venue that mixes its original 19th century elements with modern amenities. There is a strict security policy here. I don’t bring bags to shows anymore which means my pockets are crammed with crap. I had to empty em and the contents were thoroughly inspected before I went through the metal detectors. If you’re planning a visit here, pack light.
Our buddy Rebecca hooked us up with “Fast Lane Access” so we had early entry. We checked our coats and flew up the stairs to the ballroom/general admission area. I was so pumped knowing I was about to see Jerry Cantrell that I soared into the empty room and did a sound-of-music twirl.
Then a security guard informed me they weren’t letting people in yet and I had to get into a line that had formed. I positioned myself at the front of said line, readied my best Saquon Barkley impersonation, and successfully grabbed front row center on the rail. There was also a balcony that offered limited seating and standing room only spots.
The band Filter is founder and singer, Richard Patrick, and whoever he’s currently jamming with as the group has had a revolving door of members over the past three decades. On this night he was joined by Jonathan Radtke on guitar, Bobby Miller on bass and new addition Tosh Peterson, a 24 year old whiz kid drummer. We first learned of Richard when he was the touring guitarist for Nine Inch Nails from 1989-1993. He broke off from Trent Reznor’s group to form Filter.
Their first LP, 1995’s Short Bus, went platinum and spawned their biggest hit, “Hey Man Nice Shot”. They have released seven (yes, seven!) more albums since. Their nine song setlist would dip into five of em plus a cut from a movie soundtrack. They opened with “You Walk Away” off The Amalgamut. The vocals were muddy, the music completely overpowered them. Photographers filled in the area between the rail and the stage for the first few Filter songs and Richard Patrick threw them money shots left and right.
A cut from 2023’s The Algorithm, “The Drowning” was up next. Richard addressed the crowd, “It’s good to be here at Irving Plaza in New York City! Everybody trippin’ tonight?” I could hear him clearly when the music stopped. This was the intro to “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do” off the soundtrack for the 1997 film “Spawn”. The song tasted like Jane’s Addiction. They followed it up with “Obliteration”. Richard asked the fans “You guys feeling good tonight?” He got a decent response considering people were still filing in. “Thank you Jerry Cantrell! You know who Jerry Cantrell is right?” That made us all lose our shit.
“This next song is called Jurassitol”, a cut from Title Of Record. Filter’s other well known hit, “Take A Picture” was next and sounded good, I could actually hear Patrick sing and he extended the ending with just his vocals which was a nice touch. Back to sound blowing out the vocals with a tune from 2010’s The Trouble With Angels, “Drug Boy”.
“Who’s seen Filter before?” Looked like fifty percent of our area shot their hands up. “Who’s a first timer?” The rest of us responded. “Well, as we like to say….”Welcome To The Fold”. Filter wrapped their set with their renowned hit “Hey Man Nice Shot”. I could barely hear the speaking parts of the song, but was able to hear Patrick hitting the more powerful highs.
I cannot form an opinion of Filter’s live show until I see them again, in a different venue, hopefully with these sound issues resolved. Richard Patrick was also the frontman for the supergroup Army of Anyone from 2002-2007. The DeLeo brothers, Robert and Dean (Stone Temple Pilots) and one of my favorite all time drummers, Ray Luzier (Korn), made up the band. Richard’s older brother is actor Robert Patrick, who portrayed the shape shifting T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist and main songwriter for the band Alice In Chains. His pure yet unapologetic creativity and drive has made him one of the most influential musicians of our time. All 6’2” of him. The artist has released six studio albums with Alice in Chains, three with vocalist Layne Staley and thee with William DuVall, as well as four solo albums. He played for nearly two hours as he fed us a robust seventeen song set that included a coupla surprise treats. Yummy!
I caught a glimpse of him backstage and tried to get a “Jerry! Jerry!” chant going but it didn’t quite catch on even though the place was packed to the rafters at that point. After a too long intro, his band of touring brothers took their respective positions first – Zach Throne on guitar, singer Greg Puciato, Eliot Lorango on bass and Roy Mayorga on drums. Jerry took the stage with a modest wave to the crowd and they got right to business with “Psychotic Break” from Degradation Trip Volume 1.
I was immediately deflated when, once again, the music completely overpowered the vocals. Couldn’t hear Jerry at all, could barely decipher Greg. I chalked it up to being up front, surrounded by the stacks. The first of four tunes was off of Alice In Chains‘ Dirt, “Them Bones”, had the fans’ voices filling the entire room. Jerry thanked the NYC crowd for comin out. A couple of tracks from his latest LP, I Want Blood, were on deck with “Vilified” and “Afterglow”. My notes literally read “vocals lost but idgaf”.
I knew the setlist word for word (or so I thought!) and there was nothing between me and Jerry Cantrell. There were no photographers in the photo pit. Not one. Next up was a track from Brighten with “Atone”. Jerry asked “Are you havin a good time?” We emitted screams of joy. He then singled out a young kid to my left and said “You. You doin okay? You havin a good time?” The kid managed to nod her head yes. The band had just begun “Off The Rails” when Eliot went off the rails with some sort of glitch and they had to stop.
The issue was quickly resolved and Jerry handled it like a pro, his calm cool demeanor putting the bassist at ease as they started from the top. A quote from Jerry in AIC’s Unplugged came to mind, “You guys just get to hear more that’s all”. We got two from Boggy Depot with “Cut You In” and “My Song”, I could finally make out the vocals during that track!. The loud drunk guy that’s at every show started yelling something about “doing the hits”. I rolled my eyes loudly and then the crowd booed him.
Jerry, who can add impeccable timing to his dossier of talents, announced “Got a new record out called I Want Blood. Here’s the title track.” Aaaaannnnnd it was back to words drowned out by sound. One of my favorite songs on Brighten was up next with “Had To Know”. It was such a flawless rendition that my nipples got hard. Did I mention Jerry was literally five feet in front of me! I awaited “Down in A Hole”, like he had done every night so far on the tour, but he grabbed my attention and made me check my brain. Was that a talkbox?
I was jarred from my revelry when Jerry shared a very recent story with us. Ten minutes before they took the stage someone freaking puked on Greg, the singer. I think they said like from the balcony and it landed on him? A sickly moan reverberated like a wave from the crowd. Greg said something to the effect of “If you see me later and there’s a spaghetti-o on me or sumthin, let me know.”
They broke into “Man In The Box” while our mouths were still agape. We lost our minds and sang that song at the top of our lungs. I could see Jerry’s face, he appreciated the love and let’s hope he never
tires of sharing that feeling with us.
He got as close to the crowd as he could while he performed impeccably on his iconic G&L Rampage axe and gave us a sexy as hell hair flip with those distinctive long golden locks. That was the first time they performed “MITB” on the tour and I was there for it! He had yet another surprise in store for us, we also got the tour debut of “Siren Song”.
Just, wow. I knew that “Hate To Feel” off Dirt was up next, but it was still magical for me to be able to see it performed live. Prior to this tour, it hadn’t been performed since 1993. The fans took over the vocals again as the set wrapped with the AIC hit “Would”.
Once the band exited stage left, we did get a halfway decent “Jerry! Jerry!” chant going. It earned us the encore of I Want Blood’s “Held Your Tongue” and title track “Brighten” before we blew the roof off the place with AIC’s fan favorite, “Rooster”. Jerry filled up a solo cup with picks and threw em out to the crowd and I watched in awe as every one of em flew over my head. I did score a Zach Throne pick though!
Also, I appreciated that an artist, Simon Bertrand, created custom art posters for stops on the tour. I snagged one of those from merch and chatted with some fans. A couple of them told me they were in the free standing part of the balcony and could barely see because it was so packed. They claimed they loved the show! Even. Though. They. Couldn’t. Hear. The. Vocals. So, it wasn’t my location, it was a venue wide issue. Guess, I’ll have to hit the tour at another venue to get to the bottom of this sound issue mystery!
The legendary Jerry Cantrell is on tour in support of his new LP, I Want Blood. He has dates in the US through early March before he heads overseas. Pick up the new album and catch him live when you can. No matter what factors arise, you are guaranteed to be moved by the music.
To learn more about Jerry Cantrell, check out his Website
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