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Events and Reports - W.A.S.P. - Live at Kulturbolaget, Malmö, Sweden - November 3rd, 2009.
Back in the day, I used to be a huge W.A.S.P .-fan. I followed the band intensely for years, when I first got into Metal and Hard Rock back in the start-90's, listening obsessively to the best of First Blood...Last Cuts. Later, the band somehow drifted a bit into the back of my mind, as other acts were discovered, and after Still Not Black Enough I kind of forgot about them. Kill Fuck Die didn't really strike a chord with me and I completely gave up hope, and didn't really follow the band for years. I would still listen to the old classics from time to time, but didn't buy all of the new albums.
A few days before this show, I had a lot of catching up to do in other words. I just managed to get hold on the new release, Babylon, a solid album with a peculiar mix of feel-good Rock and a slightly melancholic atmosphere, a mix only W.A.S.P. can do, as evident on albums like The Crimson Idol and The Headless Children.
With my childhood heroes not visiting Denmark, I decided to pop over the sea and witness the show in Sweden. The Swedes have a cool Metalscene, and visiting the neighboring country tonight, I could only marvel at the huge crowd, the hall was packed with crazy fans!
No support band had been booked, so about half an hour late of schedule, the Americans took the stage.
Right after the intro of Mephisto Waltz, the band went into a convincing version of On Your Knees, which transformed the hall into a sea of fists pumping in the air and hair flying wildly. Fans and band alike were clearly there to rock!
On a huge screen in the background, filling the place of a traditional backdrop, the old (and new) videos were showing. I have a hard time making up my mind about that, on one hand it was cool to see the old videos again, and it added a dimension to the songs to get the visual representation of the vision behind each song. Especially, I've always loved the way The Idol is portrayed in the video clip for that song, a young man, strong and talented enough to rise above the masses, but fragile and hurting inside, and thus unable to deal with the consequences of stardom.
On the other hand, the videos distracted a little bit from the raw live experience, I like to get at a show. I found myself carried away in the visual world several times, almost casting a surprised glance at Blackie Lawless, thinking, oh, that's right, you're here as well.!
The setlist was a good mix of oldies and new songs. Babylon is a very good album, and I was surprised that band only played two songs off that one. I was thrilled when W.A.S.P performed a convincing version of Crazy, what a fantastic song! Wild Child is one of my old favorites, a song I can never tire off, and the band delivered it with nerve and attitude.
Because of Mr. Lawless' newfound joy in religion, certain words had been cut out of some of the old songs, just like I know Blackie have said, that he will not perform Animal (F**k Like A Beast) live anymore. In Chainsaw Charlie he omits the words "cocksucking asshole", among others. What people believe is a private matter, but it's a shame, when one's new values seem so incompatible with older ones. I do respect people's right to evolve and find new values in life, but it seems a little strange, even a tad funny, when thinking about his former shock-rock image. We're talking about a guy who lived to shock as much as possible, practically leading the crusade against censor-group PMRC, and later had girls in nun-outfits being "raped" on stage, so self censoring seems a little funny. Actually, maybe that was the only thing left he could do to shock his fans.
The band performed well, Blackie Lawless' characteristic, rasp voice held up well, and he was backed up by a tight and hungry band. As with the naughty lyrics, the visual shock rock characteristics are now completely absent from the show, no blood, skulls or half-naked girls, except for in the video clips. To me, that is okay, as long as all the gimmicks and glitter is replaced with an honest performance.
Among all the brilliant but predictable songs, like L.O.V.E Machine and Chainsaw Charlie, W.A.S.P. threw in a few surprises. The band played a highly enjoyable medley, consisting of Hellion, I don't Need No Doctor and Scream Until You Like It. Never heard that last one live, so that was a real treat. Another surprise was Arena Of Pleasures, an often overlooked gem from the Crimson Idol album.
A round of crowd pleasers were of course saved for last: I Wanna Be Somebody, Heaven's Hung In Black and Blind In Texas was a predictable but nevertheless very enjoyable ending of the show. All in all, a very nice evening in the company of some of my childhood heroes!
Setlist:
01 - Mephisto Waltz
02 - On Your Knees
03 - The Real Me
04 - L.O.V.E. Machine
05 - Crazy
06 - Babylon's Burning
07 - Wild Child
08 - Hellion / I Don't Need No Doctor/ Scream Until You Like It
09 - Arena Of Pleasures
10 - Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)
11 - The Idol
12 - Take Me Up
13 - I Wanna Be Somebody
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14 - Heaven's Hung In Black
15 - Blind In Texas
PS: Another thing: The concert wasn't cheap, and I just don't get the no support act thing. If no support band is booked for the tour, why not get some local band to warm up the crowd? I'm sure lots of young hopefuls would be more than thrilled to open for WASP, even for a very small payment (or maybe none at all, even though I think that is wrong).
| | Written by Nina
Sunday, January 10, 2010 |
This article has been shown 1923 times. Go to the complete list.
RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by Craig (Member) - Sunday, January 10, 2010 | 
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Comments: 134
Ratings: 29 | | You'd probably be better off with no support band than who we got! The Gliteratti, eww. WASP have always had really poor (or no) support bands over the last few years though, not really sure what that's all about.
Good review, Nina! Looks like they played the exact same set as they did over here. Heaven's Hung in Black was just amazing, first time I'd ever seen in live.
Posted by Craig
Sunday, January 10, 2010 |
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| Comment by Stuart (Staff) - Tuesday, January 12, 2010 | 
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Comments: 116 | | Indeed and I'm glad we wisely decided to get stuck into cheap beer in the pub across the road from the venue instead of going to see The Gliteratti :)
Posted by Stuart (Staff)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010 |
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| Comment by Dennis the Menace (Member) - Sunday, February 14, 2010 | 
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Comments: 12
Ratings: 0 | | Hey Nina, fine review. As I visited all the tours except this one I now could kill myself for not buying a ticket. So many surprises in the setlist: The Real Me (not played for 4 years), Arena Of Pleasure (I only thought it would appear in the Crimson Idol set and then vanish again) and what a Medley. Never heard Scream Until You Like It live. Hope to see Mr. Gesetzlos play some of these tunes in Wacken this year. Is anybody going to be there with me?
Gruezze Dennis.
Posted by Dennis the Menace
Sunday, February 14, 2010 |
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| Comment by Nina (Staff) - Tuesday, February 16, 2010 | 
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Comments: 40 | | Hey Dennis! Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your kind words! I certainly hope to visit Wacken this year. That is the plan. I have yet to apply for a press pass, so I haven't bought a ticket yet, but I surely plan to be there! Wouldn't want to miss Maiden and the rest of the billing looks really strong as well! I hope to see you there, it would be nice to camp together! Will you be joining us at the Sweden Rock Festival this year?
Posted by Nina (Staff)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 |
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