W.A.S.P. / Rock City / Nottingham

Jul 30

Jul 30 W.A.S.P. / Rock City / Nottingham

A warm summer Sunday night and a trip to the icon that is Rock City in the heart of Nottingham. Whilst most are glued to the tv to watch England take on Spain in the Euro Final, we’re here to witness the return of W.A.S.P. on their Album One Alive World Tour.

W.A.S.P. were formed in LA in 1982, emerging from the ashes of Circus Circus. They became known for their shock rock-themed image, lyrics, and live performances. Indeed W.A.S.P. were a prominent target of the mid-1980s Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), an organization that pushed for warning labels on recorded music. Led by charismatic singer/guitarist Blackie Lawless they dropped their self-titled debut album in 1984 and their 16th and most recent album “Reidolized: The Soundtrack to The Crimson Idol” was released in 2018.

And here we are tonight, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that incendiary debut album, playing it through in full for the first time. Arriving at Rock City, the queue is right up the street and the sold out signs are up, demonstrating the enduring love there is for W.A.S.P. It was great to see a really healthy mix of old school fans and newer fans too.

There’s no support tonight, this is all about W.A.S.P. and as the lights dimmed and the familiar tones of The Doors’ “The End” rang out from the sound system, the noise level went off the scale as Blackie Lawless strutted out onto the stage like lord and master of all before him. And indeed he was, as he took his position behind his magnificent steel skeleton mic stand, like a priest at the alter before his beloved congregation.

They dive right into the classic hit I Wanna Be Somebody and Rock City feels alive. There’s a buzz round the room that’s just infectious, its an iconic teen anthem and feels just as good now as 40 years ago. Although erupted from the stage, and the venue transformed into a bubbling cauldron of pure energy. Frontman Blackie Lawless, at 68 still has boundless energy as he switches places on the stage, interacting with the crowd. And that icon snarling voice…… is just as solid as ever !

Next up is L.O.V.E. Machine packing a sleezy punch, written by Circus Circus the riffs and packed with power and energy.

The classic hits just keep on rollin’ with The Flame full of melodic power and packed with drama. Great on the album, live it rises up and was one of my highlghts of the night. Then it’s B.A.D. full of a sense of groove and with some of Blackie’s wonderful snarling defiance. The riffs are wild and pack a punch.

School Daze hits us next with its sense of theatrical high school rebellion. Its one of those tracks that the crowd just have to scream back the lyrics.

Perhaps my favourites though were a stunning performance of On Your Knees the closing number of the main setThe Torture Never Stops.

But having finished the run through of their classic debut, there was more to come. At about 40mins, it allowed W.A.S.P. to deliver a mammoth encore the likes of which you rarely see. It starts with a crazy and wild medley of tracks taking us through Inside the Electric Circus / I Don’t Need No Doctor / Scream Until You Like It, then The Real Me / Forever Free / The Headless Children.

Amazing through and through, and yet, there’s still more to come.

First we get Wild Child, taken from “The Last Command” (1985), which is a pure blast of rock power and emotion. It has a defiant energy and has the crowd jumping. Rock City is packed to the rafters. There’s hardly room to move, and its as hot as hell…. And the riffs send out electric shocks round the room building the atmosphere further.

And then its time to draw things to a close, and we see the night out with Blind in Texas, another track from “The Last Command”. It brings the night to a riotous finale, the crowd shouting out the lyrics back to Blackie from every versus and chorus.

W.A.S.P. have returned to the boards at Rock City and turned the clock back 40 years. Blackie and the band delivered a stunning performance, packed with raw emotion, love and power. As they stood there waving to the crowd and throwing picks and sticks to the fans, the grins run from ear to ear.

Maybe it was a nostalgic thing to do, to perfrom “W.A.S.P.” in full. Whatever the reasons, it was a masterstroke. For the long time fans, it was a chance to re-liv e those wonderful heady days one more time, and for the new fans ? A chance to experience something they otherwise couldn’t.

A brilliant night in great company, and top it off….. England won the Euros

Setlist

Intro - The End (The Doors song)

I Wanna Be Somebody

L.O.V.E. Machine

The Flame

B.A.D.

School Daze

Hellion

Sleeping (in the Fire)

On Your Knees

Tormentor