Labor Day has come and gone, the weather is getting cooler, and the kids are back in school. This signals the coming end of the summer concert season, but there are still a few opportunities left to catch a great show. Ghost Cult Magazine was fortunate enough to see Jerry Cantrell play a sold-out show at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT.  

Located in the heart of New Haven, Toad’s Place has reached iconic status with a very long list of notable performers who have graced its stage. With names like U2, Slayer, Snoop Dogg, The Rolling Stones, and Billy Joel, the list looks like a who’s who of music. There are eleven guys named Joe, including Strummer, Walsh, and Cocker. Since its opening in 1975 to revive the local music scene, Toad’s Place has become one of the preeminent venues in the Northeast. 

Friendly staff usher the long line quickly through the doors, and once inside, there are a couple of bars and a merch booth selling snacks as well as house-branded t-shirts. Bathrooms are downstairs, but the really important factor is the large stage, good lighting, and a great sound system. On-street parking is available as well as a few garages within easy walking distance. Plenty of great restaurants are in the area, and a particular favorite of some Ghost Cult staff members is Yorkside Pizza & Restaurant right next door. 

Jerry Cantrell doesn’t travel alone, and this time he brought along a band from the West Texas town of El Paso, Sparta. They have been around in various incarnations since 2001, and this version is a three-piece with founding members Jim Ward and Matt Miller being joined by new drummer Neil Hennessy. 

Punctual is an understatement as these guys started at 8:00 sharp with a few harmonic tones that morphed into the first song “While Oceana Sleeps”. There is no question from their style that they are part of the late nineties, early 2000s punk movement. They sound like Gin Blossoms, Green Day, Blink 182, The Cure, Chris Isaak, and U2 all got together to write music. Somehow, the sum of the parts creates a new whole that is uniquely Sparta. 

The 45-minute set relied heavily on music from the debut album Wiretap Scars (Dreamworks Records), with the rest of the discography being represented as well. It consisted of ten songs and evoked the image of a tortured artist playing in a coffee shop. Towards the end, we are informed by Ward that they are a blue-collar band that works for a living. The somewhat restrained set was effective for getting the crowd ready for Jerry Cantrell, and with practiced precision, the stagehands switched over. This is definitely not the first night of the tour.

Almost to the second, thirty minutes after Sparta left the stage, the lights went down again. Roy Mayorga (Ministry) on drums set a beat, and the rest of the band made their way on stage. Jerry Cantrell is wearing dark sunglasses and a Mickey Mouse shirt with his long blond hair. He looks like a healthier, tanner version of Edgar Winter, or is it Johnny?   Either way, he looks good. 

The set begins with “Psychotic Break”, one of his older solo pieces, but quickly moves into “Them Bones” from the Alice In Chains catalogue. This sets the tone for the evening as it switches between solo and Alice In Chains. The audience is definitely there for both and sings along for the entire night.  There are points during several songs where Jerry Cantrell just stands back and smiles while everyone else sings for him. There is no doubt that he is enjoying himself. The audience feeds off of him, and he feeds off of the audience. The result is a stellar performance and an hour and a half sing-along. 

This is the I Want Blood tour to support the album of the same name, released last year, with the deluxe edition featuring spoken word versions, is out now (Double J). That album is well represented in the set list with five songs. There are a few dates left in the middle of the country, and then a November festival date in Mexico. Any of these would be well worth the price of admission.

Setlist (via setlist.fm)
Psychotic Break
Them Bones (Alice In Chains song)
Vilified
Afterglow
Atone
Man In The Box (Alice In Chains song)
Cut You In
Dickeye
Off The Rails
I Want Blood
Rain When I Die (Alice In Chains song)
Angel Eyes
Brighten
Had To Know
Would? (Alice In Chains song)

Encore:
It Ain’t Like That (Alice In Chains song)
Echoes Of Laughter
Rooster (Alice In Chains song)

Buy Jerry Cantrell music and merch here:
https://amzn.to/3K5iQ8B

WRITTEN BY MATTHEW KOCHEK
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PHOTOS BY KIM HANSEN @PHARMADIVER
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