W.A.S.P. – ’30 Years of Thunder’, Manchester HMV Ritz, 27.09.12

W.A.S.P. return to the UK on a 30th anniversary tour ’30 Years of Thunder’.

It was just over three decades ago, on 21st September 1982, that W.A.S.P. played their first show in Los Angeles.  Tonight – with the theatrical Blackie Lawless teaming up with Doug Blair on lead guitar, Mike Duda on bass and drummer Mike Dupke – is a special night for me and to all the fans here tonight, considering I have worshipped W.A.S.P. for as long asI can remember.

After performing at some of the best festivals this year, including Wacken and Bloodstock, Crimes of Passion set out supporting W.A.S.P. on the UK tour. They are true classic metal band and, after touring with Saxon on a full European tour, it is safe to say they are definitely influenced by them (not to mentionthe fact that Biff Byford makes a guest appearance on their latest album, ‘To Die For’). They played to an amazing crowd tonight, the venue was full and still filling, as people took warmly to Dale’s impressive multi-octave vocals backed with a harmonic framework from guitar players Charles and Harry. Drummer Kev is known for having a striking rhythmic pattern which was lost as kick drum was not to be heard. However the energy and the feel gave the audience a massive buzz, Dale knows how to win over the people he performs to, making him a fantastic frontman. They only played a thirty minute set but it was worth the cheer they received.

Anticipation grew stronger in the atmosphere of the venue, as people were waiting patiently for W.A.S.P. to appear. The crew were setting up the gear and revealing the back drops of what was soon expected to be one hell of a show. There were a few young people here tonight, so tonight may be was the first time they are witnessing the dramatic Blackie Lawless.

The back drops lights up with their music videos, live footage and a medleyof all the greatest hits as the cry bellowed from the pit below. Blackie takes to his microphone and comes straight in with ‘On Your Knees’, ‘The Torture Never Stops’ and The Who cover ‘The Real Me’. The fans cry out every word. Blackie still has the magnificent energy, that is just addictive to watch. Doug Blair was an excellent guitar player, not quite Randy Piper, but who could really replace the legend? Blair definitely gave just as good in substance as Piper, making the audience keel over during the solos. There were forever changes of epic guitars that lit up, spun around or just featured complete custom made W.A.S.P. designs… I got to get me one of those.

Blackie took full control over his audience as they yelled the tracks they wanted to hear. He drew them in and exploded with ‘L.O.V.E Machine’ and then ‘Wild Child’ which was a surprise seeing as you would have thought this would be in the encore.  However it turned into a mental state of wild child crazies. The music video was playing behind and Lawless gave all his signature moves.

Tonight flowed with pure entertainment as it touched upon all the years through W.A.S.P.’s career: ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’ lead into the 20th anniversary ‘The Crimson Idol’ set. We had ‘The Crimson Idol Melody’, followed by ‘The Idol’ and ‘The Great Misconceptions Of Me’ to finish.

They all exited the stage and the crew brought upon the stage what could only be Lawless’ mic stand, a skeleton bigger than him wrapped around his mic, worth a whopping £10k. Mike Dupke built upon rhythmic transitions to call upon everyone back onto stage with a beast of a drum solo: an influence of original member Tony Richards maybe? The solo leads in to what could be my favorite song of all time ‘Chainsaw Charlie’, which is followed by ‘Heaven’s Hung in Black’ and the finale of ‘Blind In Texas’.

Even though W.A.S.P. are Eighties heroes and forever will be, and there’s a little disappointment in the lack of props on stage and all those added extras, but performance-wise it’s top notch as Lawless finishes stood upon his mic stand embracing every cheer, as his fans worshipped him.

Set List

On Your Knees
The Torture Never Stops
The Real Me (The Who cover)
L.O.V.E Machine
Hellion/ I Don’t Need No Doctor/ Scream Until You Like It
Sleeping In The Fire/ Forever Free
The Headless Children
I Wanna Be Somebody
The Titanic Overture
The Crimson Idol Melody
The Idol
The Great Misconceptions of Me

Encore
Intermission –  Spinal Tap memoirs
Drum Solo
Chainsaw Charlie
Heaven’s Hung in Black
Blind in Texas

About Del Preston

So there I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M&Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn't go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head 'round the door, and mentions there's a little sweet shop on the edge of town. So - we go. And - it's closed. So there's me and Keith Moon and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweet shop, eh. Well, instead of a guard dog, they've got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shop owner and his son, that's a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business really. But sure enough, I got the M&Ms and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show.