On a cloudy Tuesday, the AiC guitarist performed for an audience of about 3,000 people, in his first solo show in Brazil. Some fans had been waiting in line since 5 a.m., and their sacrifice was worth it. The set started with Psycotich Break, and the audience sang so loudly that Jerry and Zach's microphones could barely be heard. With almost no rest and only changing guitars, the night continued with Them Bones (which drove the crowd crazy), Vilified, and Off the Rails, both from his most recent solo work, which had only been released a few weeks ago and even so, the audience knew the lyrics by heart and sang along the whole time.
The band supporting band was composed by Zach Throne on vocals and guitar, Eliot Lorango on bass, Lola Colette on keyboards and acoustic guitar, and Roy Mayorga on drums, it was excellent and performed their duties with excellence both on Cantrell's solo career songs and on AiC's classics. Without much interaction with the audience, only with an occasional thank you, the show continued with Atone, Angel Eyes, Siren Song, and Had to Know, and the audience received them enthusiastically, especially Angel Eyes, from the sublime album Degradation Trip. Soon after came Afterglow and I Want Blood, both very well received by the audience. From the very first chords of Man in The Box, the audience went crazy, jumping and shouting every bit of the lyrics, surprising Zach who couldn't hear himself because the audience was singing so loudly. The whole band had smiles on their faces and were impressed by the audience's enthusiasm.
Soon after came the Boggy Depot duo, Cut You In and My Song... and lo and behold, something completely unexpected happened in this song: when Jerry switched guitars to start My Song, the guitar was out of tune. Tension and another guitar switch... and again, the other guitar was also out of tune. Silence and total aprehension from the audience who feared that Jerry would be pissed off (he is known for being a perfectionist and not very warm with his Latin American fans), but to everyone's surprise and relief he laughed, made fun of his guitar tech and said that the episode would make a good joke from the road. After the scare and confusion, the show continued with My Song, Held Your Tongue and Would, and in the latter, the audience sang the chorus so loudly that Throne and Cantrell gave up singing and just enjoyed the moment. It Comes closed the main set and Jerry thanked the audience for the warm welcome that the band received, saying that he was very happy and "didn't want to go home". A short break with the audience chanting "Jerry, Jerry" non-stop and they returned for the encore that opened with Brighten. However, at the first notes of Sea of Sorrow the audience went crazy and the surprise on Cantrell's face manifested itself in a smile that lit up the entire stage. During the chorus everyone jumped, the floor shook and the band's vocals could not be heard, a true collective catharsis. The show ended with Rooster with Lola leaving the keyboards and taking up an acoustic guitar and with the beautiful chorus of the audience singing along. After a brief thank you, the band threw picks and drumsticks and left the stage smiling. A magical night, with an inspired and good-humored Cantrell (something rare in his visits to Brazil) and that will forever be remembered by the almost 3000 people who came on a melancholic Tuesday to witness a fantastic show.