In 1991, Alice In Chains got the opportunity of a lifetime. They got to go on tour as the opening act for one of their favorite bands. By 1991, Van Halen had already dominated the 1980s with two lead singers. Well into their Sammy Hagar “Van Hagar” era, the band released their third album with Hagar on June 17, 1991. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge had a bit of a rougher edge than their previous albums, 5150 (1986) and OU812 (1988).
By this point, a grunge band out of Seattle had released a defining album in 1990. It’s one of the main tracks that helped push grunge into the mainstream. Grunge officially broke with Nirvana in September 1991, but many forget Alice In Chains’ “Man In The Box” went to No. 18 on the Mainstream Rock Chart in January 1991.
Sammy Hagar saw the music video on MTV and decided to bring the young band along as the opener for their North American tour. Alice In Chains, their guitarist Jerry Cantrell in particular, were huge fans of the band, so they gladly accepted.
An ON-STAGE Prank War Unfolds
In one single night, Van Halen pulled multiple pranks on Alice In Chains. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell spoke about these pranks in a 2013 interview with Jim Dunlop, later reported by Loudwire. “A lot of pranks get pulled on stage; it’s kind of a tradition to f*** with each other at the end of the tour, especially the opening bands.”
Cantrell went on to tell, “I remember the Van Halen guys got us like four times in one set, back in 91, at the end of that tour. When we came out on stage, they had taken a bunch of three-foot strips of duct tape and put them all over the stage, face-up. So we walked out, and within a couple of seconds we were all dragging around huge wads of duct tape on stage. They sent out some strippers, not very attractive ones, who stayed out there for a whole song. Then they sent out one of their techs. I think he was a guy named Zeke. He was in a Little Bo Peep outfit with some live sheep.”
“And at the very end of our set, we were playing “Man In The Box,” Cantrell explained. “Their crew came out and started dismantling our entire set around us. They left Sean with a kick and snare, left me with one cab, and they just unplugged Mike Starr. And that was all in one set! I don’t think anyone has ever topped that commitment to f***ing with the opening act.”
Alice In Chains Retaliates
Jerry Cantrell then explained that they did get Van Halen back. “On the flip side of that, there’s a photo, which I think some people have seen, but I don’t think it’s necessarily public knowledge… So Van Halen used to do this signature walk across the stage, and at the time they had these skimpy panties that they would sell to the chicks in the audience.” Cantrell then explained that they wore these to do the signature Van Halen walk across the stage, though it didn’t fully cover their private parts. It was enough to throw Eddie Van Halen off with laughter, missing a few notes on guitar in the process. This was a rarity for the legendary guitarist, and it made Cantrell feel their retaliation prank was a success.
Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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