Blackdiamondskye
# Blackdiamondskye

Blackdiamondskye was a 2010 North American concert tour headlined by American rock band Alice in Chains featuring special guests Deftones and Mastodon. Blackdiamondskye is a portmanteau of the three band's then-most recent albums: Alice in Chains' Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), Deftones' Diamond Eyes (2010), and Mastodon's Crack the Skye (2009). The tour began on September 16, 2010 in Chicago and concluded on October 16, 2010 in Las Vegas.

## History

The tour was officially announced on April 29, 2010, after a series of cryptic videos were posted on YouTube and a countdown was posted on the recently launched blackdiamondskye.com site a week prior to the announcement. Manager David Benveniste from Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group said about the strategy, "Rather than launch with a traditional tour announcement, we wanted to engage the fans first. We gave them a cryptic clip featuring video snippets of each band and they lit up the internet. Now there's an entire online community talking about the tour and speculating about the bands involved. It's thrilling to see them communicate and respond so positively to this exciting tour." More dates were announced on June 14, 2010.

On August 31, 2010, MTV launched a contest asking the fans of Alice in Chains to create a custom trailer for the tour. The winning submissions were chosen by the band and the grand prize winner received a personalized Black Gives Way To Blue gold record, VIP tickets to any date on the tour, a meet-and-greet with the band and an autographed poster.

The tour kicked off on September 16 in Chicago and wrapped up on October 16 in Paradise, Nevada. The tour lasted for 19 shows over the course of one month and featured shows at both outdoor arena and amphitheatres and indoor venues.

Alice in Chains' concert at the KeyArena in Seattle on October 8, 2010 was filmed in 3D for a future release. The concert was helmed by director Tim Cronenweth and director of photography Jeff Cronenweth.

The basic riff for the Alice in Chains' song "Hollow" came to Jerry Cantrell while he was in his dressing room in Las Vegas warming up for the last concert of the tour. He started playing the riff and recorded it to use it later. Producer Nick Raskulinecz and Cantrell's managers were at that show and praised the riff when they heard Cantrell playing it. The song was featured on the band's fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, released in May 2013.

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| - | - | - | - |
| September 16, 2010 | Chicago | United States | Charter One Pavilion |
| September 17, 2010 | Clarkston | United States | DTE Energy Music Theatre |
| September 18, 2010 | Toronto | Canada | Molson Amphitheatre |
| September 20, 2010 | Uncasville | United States | Mohegan Sun Arena |
| September 22, 2010 | Boston | United States | Agganis Arena |
| September 24, 2010 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| September 25, 2010 | Camden | United States | Susquehanna Bank Center |
| September 26, 2010 | Fairfax | United States | Patriot Center |
| September 28, 2010 | Atlanta | United States | Lakewood Amphitheatre |
| October 1, 2010 | St. Louis | United States | Scottrade Center |
| October 2, 2010 | Bonner Springs | United States | Sandstone Amphitheater |
| October 4, 2010 | Morrison | United States | Red Rocks Amphitheatre |
| October 7, 2010 | Vancouver | Canada | Rogers Arena |
| October 8, 2010 | Seattle | United States | KeyArena |
| October 9, 2010 | Portland | United States | Memorial Coliseum |
| October 11, 2010 | San Jose | United States | SJSU Events Center |
| October 12, 2010 | Los Angeles | United States | Gibson Amphitheatre |
| October 15, 2010 | San Diego | United States | Viejas Arena |
| October 16, 2010 | Paradise | United States | The Joint |

## Setlist

Alice in Chains Setlist

* "Again"
* "Check My Brain"
* "Dam That River"
* "Lesson Learned"
* "Man in the Box"
* "No Excuses"
* "Rain When I Die"
* "Rooster"
* "Them Bones"
* "We Die Young"
* "Would?"
* "Your Decision"
* "Grind"
* "Acid Bubble"
* "It Ain't Like That"
* "Junkhead"
* "Nutshell"
* "Last of My Kind"
* "Love, Hate, Love"
* "A Looking in View"
* "Angry Chair"
* "Down in a Hole"
* "God Am"
* "Got Me Wrong"
* "Black Gives Way to Blue"
* "Rotten Apple"
* "Sludge Factory"
* "Sickman"

Deftones Setlist

* "Around the Fur"
* "Change (In the House of Flies)"
* "Diamond Eyes"
* "My Own Summer (Shove It)"
* "Rocket Skates"
* "Sextape"
* "You've Seen the Butcher"
* "7 Words"
* "Engine No. 9"
* "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)"
* "Passenger"
* "Nosebleed"
* "Birthmark"
* "Prince"
* "Risk"
* "Beauty School"
* "Headup"

Mastodon Setlist

* "Colony of Birchmen"
* "Crystal Skull"
* "Divinations"
* "Megalodon"
* "Naked Burn"
* "Blood and Thunder"
* "The Czar"
* "Oblivion"
* "Capillarian Crest"
* "Aqua Dementia"
* "Circle of Cysquatch"
* "Iron Tusk"
* "March of the Fire Ants"
* "Sleeping Giant"
* "I Am Ahab"
* "Seabeast"

## Personnel

Alice in Chains

* Jerry Cantrell – vocals, lead guitar
* William DuVall – vocals, rhythm guitar
* Mike Inez – bass
* Sean Kinney – drums

Deftones

* Chino Moreno – vocals, rhythm guitar
* Stephen Carpenter – lead guitar
* Sergio Vega – bass
* Frank Delgado – keyboards, samplers, turntables
* Abe Cunningham – drums

Mastodon

* Brent Hinds – vocals, lead guitar
* Bill Kelliher – rhythm guitar
* Troy Sanders – bass
* Brann Dailor – vocals, drums
