wasp_2007_04

» W.A.S.P. 2007 04 29

Reviewed by David
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Special guest: Sister Sin
City: Lund, Sweden
Venue: Mejeriet
Date: 29 April 2007
Sister Sin: 40 minutes
W.A.S.P.: 70 minutes

Sister Sin

I have seldom seen a warm up act as perfectly fitted musically. Sister Sin does 80s smelling sleaze rock/metal in the same style as Mötley Crüe and LA Guns, with a touch of… W.A.S.P.! Songs like Hostile/Violent and White Thrash show great potential. Singer Liv tames the crowd with confidence, charisma and a strong, cool voice. If the temperature in the hall wasn't on top before, it sure got hot when Sister Sin did Live Wire better than Mötley Crüe themselves. When it comes to hunger and happiness, they bet the main act tonight. Unfortunately the other special guest, Susperia - of which I also was a bit curious - had cancelled their performance.

7 chalices of 10

(sorry, no setlist)

W.A.S.P.

Why so short? Counting the first three songs as a medley, only nine songs are on the setlist. Normally a headline act play 13-17 songs in a night. I my interview with Blackie he stated that it is better to play one hour and a half really intense, than to stretch it out on two hours filled with dead time. But W.A.S.P. do neither. They stretch out nine songs in 70 minutes. Doug Blair turns The Idol into an eternal guitar solo. The band leaves the stage two times for five and three minutes respectively, to be 'called in' again. That leaves us with less than an hour of 'effective concert time'.

Except for the medley in the beginning of the concert, the songs start with intensity but too often they end up in too long versions. Also, the set is pretty much the same as on the tour last year, just adding the two tracks from the new album Dominator.

On the positive side. The old hits are still surprisingly fresh, and delivered with energy and honesty. The new songs are great and add an injection to the show. Blackie sings as good as ever. Not at least proven in the first part of Take Me Up. The show might not be as theatrical and visual as in the 80s, but it is still a forceful rock show with a band vital enough to make you move. Blackie climbs and swings in his skeleton stand - which is a quite impressive construction, counting that Blackie is not exactly a tiny man.

The set was exactly as expected. Some venues on this tour have had the opportunity to hear the additional song Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue), but we were not that lucky in Lund. On the other hand we got Heaven's Hung In Black, unlike the night before in Karlskrona. One phenomenon I cannot really understand is bands who always end their shows with the same song, a scheduled last encore, night after night, year after year. Motörhead have Overkill, W.A.S.P. have Blind In Texas. Of course, it's great to know when you should go back to the wardrobe and get your jacket, but it is so predictable and static. Why that song in the first place?

Anyway, the fact that Susperia cancelled and W.A.S.P. played a short set did that I could catch the last train home, without even having to rush to the station. Very comfortable, but deep inside I wished for a night so loaded and magic, lasting so long that I just had to sacrifice the train and a good nights sleep, for the sake of rock 'n' roll.

7 chalices of 10

SETLIST:
Medley: On Your Knees/Electric Circus/Hate To Love Me
L.O.V.E Machine
Wild Child
Take Me Up
The Real Me
The Idol
I Wanna Be Somebody
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Heaven`s Hung In Black
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Blind In Texas