The KISS Alive Worldwide Reunion tour kicked off at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, for a crowd of over 43,000 people back in 1996. Alice In Chains opened for them during the first show. But the audience got pretty heated after Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell played a couple of KISS riffs during the breaks.
During an appearance on The Eddie Trunk Podcast in 2020, Jerry and drummer Sean Kinney recalled what happened that day during the first KISS reunion show. Jerry began sharing what he remembered about that day. He explained:
“Here’s what I recall; there may have been a riff or two, but I think the real thing was when Sean [Kinney] decided to come out front and sing ‘Beth’ acapella. Sean’s a fantastic drummer, he’s got a great eye and business sense, he’s very artistic… but he’s not a great singer.”
Sean added that the audience wasn’t on board with his joke so they showed their distaste. He recalled:
“Man, they just, they [the crowd] weren’t digging the humor of it. The whole stadium, 60,000 people, really booed – really loud.”
Jerry shared that besides the crowd, the KISS drummer also wasn’t a fan of Sean’s humor. The guitarist continued:
“You know, he didn’t really like it – Peter Chris, he had a little problem with it.”
Kinney went on to share singer Layne Staley’s reaction to the crowd that had their faces painted. He expressed:
“I remember Layne also said – because people were painted like KISS characters, they were wearing makeup and everything – and Layne in between songs looks at the audience, he’s like, ‘What the f*ck’s wrong with you people? How come no one’s painted to look like me?'”
As Sean tried to sing ‘Beth’ and Layne called out to the audience for not painting their faces as him, the drummer admitted that the fans weren’t having it. He added:
“And they’re all like, ‘Boo!’ I put a little more gas on the fire by hacking ‘Beth,’ and yeah, there were some riffs of their songs in between, Jerry knows a bunch of KISS tunes…”
In a 2018 interview with Meltdown of Detroit, Gene Simmons recalled that day when Alice In Chains had opened for them and his conversation with Layne. Simmons shared that he had discussions with Staley about his drug use prior to his death by sharing:
“And I had the same conversation with Layne. Right before they went up on stage [in Detroit] I said, ‘Layne, here they are, they’re fans, they’re lined up, it’s all yours. Just go out there and do great.’ ‘Gene, I have been straight, I straightened up,’ and all that. And then he died.”
You can listen to Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney’s interview on The Eddie Trunk Podcast here and listen to ‘Beth’ below.
