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| W.A.S.P. @ the Regency Ballroom (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Blackie Lawless, the founder and still lead singer of W.A.S.P., has never been one to back down from a fight. Back in the 80’s, he and his band found themselves directly in the crosshairs of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) – a group hell-bent on censoring free speech in music under the guise of protecting children from what they deemed dangerous influences. Musicians like Lawless, Dee Snider and John Denver (yes, I said John Denver, who was forced to defend “Rocky Mountain High”) were victorious over the PMRC and made their influence in music very short-lived. Friday night, 40 years after he formed W.A.S.P. in 1982, he took to the microphone at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom to announce his latest opponent. “We went through years of promoters saying W.A.S.P. couldn’t sell tickets in America…Well, tonight’s show sold out. Our last show sold out and tomorrow is sold out too! To all the promoters who didn’t believe in this band, I say “Suck on that baby!”” With that intro, Lawless and the band culminated a triumphant concert return with perhaps their biggest hit “I Wanna Be Somebody.”
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| Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. @ the Regency Ballroom (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Lawless is the lone original member of the band, but this version of W.A.S.P. is far from one of the many sourdough starter virtual tribute bands that seem to be touring these days with only one link to the original lineup. Bassist Mike Duda has logged 26 years on the road with Lawless and guitarist Doug Blair has spent the past 18 years in W.A.S.P.. Drummer Aquiles Priester is the band “newbie”, having joined 5 years ago.
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| Doug Blair of W.A.S.P. @ the Regency Ballroom (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Friday night’s show was far from a band just going through the hits. W.A.S.P. hit the stage with high intensity – immediately launching into a rapid-fire four song medley of “On Your Knees” / “The Flame” / “The Torture Never Stops” / “Inside The Electric Circus.” Lawless, mounted a microphone installation that looked a blend of a Terminator-influence skeleton with a motorcycle. Already 6’4” (a height that allegedly led to Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminating Lawless from a major role in Terminator 2), the installation led to him towering over the rest of the stage, though also somewhat hiding the visibility of the band’s true frontman. Duda and Blair did their best to make up for any visibility issues with their unending energy throughout the night – crossing back and forth across the stage frequently with Blair unloading several memorable solos.
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| Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. @ the Regency Ballroom (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The band played an incredibly tight hour and half set that never lost intensity and drive – 40 years in, they played like they had something to prove and they proved it to the adoring crowd that filled the floor, balcony and even the hallways of the Regency! Most of the night in the first two albums. “L.O.V.E. Machine” off 1984’s self-titled debut led into a version of 1985’s “Wild Child” before the band took a three song tour into 1994’s The Crimson Idol concept album with a triplet of “The Idol” (featuring an incredible spotlight solo from Blair), “The Great Misconceptions of Me” and “Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In the New Morgue)” that drove the crowd into a frenzy and saw a wide mosh pit in full tornado force on the center of the floor.
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| Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. @ the Regency Ballroom (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Blind in Texas” concluded the initial set with the San Francisco crowd singing along with a passion as though they had been transported back to an arena in Houston in the mid-80’s. After an extended gap, the band reemerged to a video documenting the PMRC situation that led into the song that started all the trouble for them: “Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)” that morphed into their cover of The Who’s “Real Me,” before concluding with the earlier-mentioned hit of “I Wanna Be Somebody” to cap off an impressive night for a band that will likely be back in a larger venue with a bigger show next time through town.
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| Armored Saint @ the Regency Ballroom (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Armored Saint, a kindred-spirit LA band from the 80’s - also celebrating their 40th anniversary - opened the show with an adrenaline-pumping succession of their unique metal sound that splits the difference between the two competing tones of 80’s metal – “hair metal” and “thrash”. The band features four of its original members from its founding in 1982 with lead singer John Bush still belting out memorable songs like “Can U Deliver”, “March of The Saint” and “Mad House” off their 1984 debut album. Bush who left Armored Saint in 1992 to take over as lead singer of Anthrax but has been back with his original band for more than two decades, retains his stunning vocal range. Bush, Bassist Joey Vera, Drummer Gonzo Sandoval, Lead Guitarist Phil Sandoval and Rhythm Guitarist Jeff Duncan provided a solid and enthusiastic 50 minute set that got the crowd more than energized for the headliners.
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