Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Bush @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre: Concert/Photo Review

Does a couple hours of live music leave you wanting? Try a lineup of three worthy headliners: Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin and Bush. And why not throw in an opener, right? So insert Plush to entertain the folks who left work early to catch the start of what would become a five and half hour musical feast.

Ameris Amphitheatre, the most accessible outdoor venue in metro Atlanta, greeted a strong early crowd for the 5:30 introduction to Plush. Sure, all-girl bands aren’t new, and Plush doesn’t play down that they’re young and female. But their songs are quite good, and singer/guitarist Moriah Formica has the perfect voice to take them where they aim to go. Covering Heart’s “Barricuda” was maybe a proving ground, but they their own material sounded better, particularly “Better Off Alone” and the driving “Will Not Win.”

Note: Additional photos of each band follow the setlists.

A quick stage change and Bush burst onto the stage. Should grunge and daylight even be a thing? Thirty years on, lead singer and songwriter Gavin Rossdale is the only remaining original member from the band that unleashed Sixteen Stone, generally regarded a grunge masterpiece that defined their career.

That said, guitarist Chris Traynor has been part of the journey for twenty years, and just get over the personnel if it’s an issue. This was a Bush concert. The set featured four songs from Stone, five from their 2020 release The Kingdom, and a new song from their next release, “More Than Machines.”

This is a fun band to watch. Rossdale owns the stage, literally all of it, roaming left, right and forward, engaging and inviting the audience to participate. Their new material blends seamlessly with their older hits, aggressive and buzzing with heaviness, featuring some great solos by guitarist Chris Traynor and Rossdale. “The Bullets” may catch the ear of John Wick fans, but “Glycerine” was a great finale for their all-too short one hour set.

The stage change may have taken 30 minutes, but Bush left the stage set Breaking Benjamin who entered to roaring applause. Appropriately, “Blow Me Away” led the assault, a song crafted for the Halo 2 videogame. And, in that spirit, pyrotechnics! Why not?

Whether you consider Breaking Benjamin post-grunge or heavy metal, it’s aggressive stuff. Whereas some bands opt for a ballad, the band gathered closer for a nice acoustic rendition of Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever.” Singer/guitarist also took a spot to express his appreciation to the crowd for supporting the band, the result of which was playing a tour with the first (AiC) and second (Bush) bands he’d ever seen live, a serendipitous reflection that could be interpreted to persevering in what you love do.

Breaking Benjamin had the longest set of the evening, touching on points throughout their career. Like the other bands, there was no indication of rust from the pandemic layoff. The show was full of their trademark angst and edgy guitars. Great set altogether, with “The Diary of Jane,” their biggest hit, coming last and based on raised fists and singing out, the most likely takeaway memory.

Hello William DuVall, the lead singer for Alice in Chains who had the unenviable task of replacing original singer Layne Staley, who passed in 2002. Take a voice that lies close to Staley’s, add confidence and swagger gained over 16 years with the band, and you’ve got a lead singer who commands the attention of the audience.

Guitarist and band principle Jerry Cantrell still got his due, the riff master hard at work taking his solo shots and vocal harmonizing. “Grind,” “Them Bones” and, of course, the wildly popular “Man in the Box” were feature spots. “Sea of Sorrow” would have been a nice add, but you can’t have everything.

Note Betty White rocking on with co-founder and drummer Sean Kinney.

“”Man in the Box” was a surprise mid-set, and, similarly to Breaking Benjamin’s insertion of Queen, AiC backed the testosterone down a few measures with a great rendition of “Nutshell.” After that, though, it was full on grunge with a closing set of songs from Dirt, finishing with fan favorite and sing-a-long, “Rooster.”

Overall, it was a great celebration of rock/grunge/post-modern grunge/alternative rock/heavy metal to to blow some mid-week steam.