PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
The night kicked off with The Treatment. Having last seen the band at their secret show in Milton Keynes which featured their new lineup although the new members hadn’t been announced at that stage. I’d been impressed then so was looking forward to seeing how singer Mitchell Emms and Tao Grey (brother of guitarist Tagore Grey) had settled in. Well, the simple answer is that the new lineup is definitely firing on all cylinders and the band looked and sounded great. Mitchel Emms is a great frontman with plenty of energy and that really helps get the crowd involved. The half hour set flew past – a great start to the night.
Next up was WASP. Their intro tape consisted of a greatest hits selection condensed down to a couple of minutes and was complemented by the LED screens showing footage of WASP in their heyday. It’s a slightly strange way to start a show – play your biggest hits and show how you used to look 25 years ago, but it seems to serve the desired purpose of getting the large crowd hyped up.
The band walking on stage generated huge cheers and they then kicked things off with “On your knees” before transitioning without a pause into the classic “Inside the electric circus”. There’s a slightly rushed feel to things as during the night they often go straight from one song into the next, but on the other hand it does keep the energy levels high.
Tonight’s set consists of a mix of old and new songs – obviously the classics went down best, and with the new album, Golgotha, not yet released then those songs didn’t get quite the same rapturous reception – they went down very well and I’m sure they’ll get a far better reception on future tours when fans have had chance to hear the album before the gigs.
The main set ended with the title track of the new album – Golgotha, and based on how good it sounded I definitely want to check out the new album. After a short break it was time for the obligatory encores, and here’s where Blackie showed he knows how to end a night on a high note – between the two encores we got “Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)”, “Wild child” and “I wanna be somebody”.
Tonight’s set was great – lots of energy and great songs. Blackie is a great frontman and really knows how to put on a show. Ok he does rely on the backing vocals more than he used to, but thats fine – the overall sound is still great. There was only one real problem with the show – it’s just too short. At barely an hour long plus 3 songs in the encores it really is a very short set for a headline act, and especially one with such a strong back catalogue as WASP have.
A great night from two great bands.
WASP setlist:
On Your Knees
Inside the Electric Circus
The Real Me
L.O.V.E. Machine
Last Runaway
Crazy
The Titanic Overture
Arena of Pleasure
Miss You
Thunderhead
Hellion
I Don’t Need No Doctor
Golgotha
Encore:
Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)
Wild Child
I Wanna Be Somebody
