W.A.S.P in Boston, November 16, 2022

Legendary shock rockers W.A.S.P took over Big Night Live on Wednesday night as part of the 40 Years Live Tour, joined on the road by Armored Saint. The long line of fans went around the corner from the venue shortly before doors opened, being one of the many sold out shows on this tour.

Armored Saint

Armored Saint’s lead singer John Bush walked out to introduce the band and Jason McMaster, who is taking over vocals duties while Bush recovers from a respiratory illness. The Dangerous Toys singer hyped up the crowd as they kicked off with “Reign of Fire”. The band sounded massive and McMaster did not miss a single beat, even though he had just recently joined the tour. Fans were very receptive, screaming out songs they wanted to hear and answering to all prompts coming from the stage. McMaster also made sure to ask the fans to show love to John Bush and Armored Saint, with a powerful performance that impressed the crowd.

W.A.S.P

The room was packed on every corner and felt electric as fans awaited patiently for W.A.S.P to take over. A gigantic skeleton mic stand was neatly set up at the edge of the stage, the lights went down and a medley of some of the band’s greatest hits kicked off the show. Frontman Blackie Lawless’ presence is as menacing as ever, and the band jumped right into another medley, including several tracks off their self titled debut album. The crowd was roaring after a false start to the classic “Wild Child”, prompting Lawless to ask if that was something they wanted to hear.

The second half of the show started with a series of tracks off their 1992 album The Crimson Idol, an epic sound that had hardcore fans screaming every word. The room exploded as the band brought back “Blind In Texas”, played for the first time since 2015. As they walked off stage to prepare for the encore, the screens projected the history of the PMRC hearings, a clear stand against censorship. As the Filthy 15 List was mentioned, the word “Animal” flashed on the screens, and the audience went wild: it was the first time the controversial song was played in over 15 years. The band returned for the encore, and Lawless took the time to thank fans and let them know many promoters had passed on a full U.S tour over the years, citing lack of interest as the reason. W.A.S.P proved them wrong by selling out almost every single date on the tour, and the closer “I Wanna Be Somebody” was the final battle cry. The band is headed towards the west coast, and gearing up for a full European tour in 2023, so make sure to catch them in a city near you.