10 Greatest Hard Rock Moments On Live TV
6. Alice in Chains Unplugged
Not every great moment in rock history is meant to be for the faint of heart. Whereas most bands seem to signal the beginning of a new regime in rock and roll, there are often those bands that are on their last legs that know how to keep things rolling until the bitter end. Still, that doesn't mean that their final moments are any less painful to watch.
Being holdouts for the traditional MTV Unplugged for so long, Alice in Chains finally decided to accept the offer despite Layne Staley's growing dependence on heroin. Even though the band's chops were still intact, you can tell from his posture that Layne is not doing well, giving almost everything he can to get through every single song. It gets especially heartbreaking during the song Nutshell, where it feels like he's projecting outside of his body and not leaving anything to the imagination.
This is a man who is going down a downward spiral and is probably not going to make it to the other side, but he's still determined to give the best show he can for what may be the final time. After this one show, AOC went on hiatus, only for Layne to be discovered dead in 2002, having overdosed on drugs a few days prior. Even though this wasn't the note that we wanted things to close on, MTV Unplugged is still one of the highlights of Alice in Chains' catalog.