W.A.S.P.
Gagarin 205, Athens
21/11/2009

It’s been almost a tradition for W.A.SP. to drop by our country the last few years. We may not have been treated with their show (when the band was at its peak), but the story goes that this is their fifth visit in Greece.

Without many glamorous stage props or a support act, W.A.SP. gave arguably their best performance on Greek soil. Blackie and the rest of the members were in great spirits and in perfect physical condition. They performed a “best-of” set list and they add two new numbers cued from their latest effort “Babylon” (I’d prefer to listen to at least one more). With the exception of “Heaven’s Hung In Black” and “Take Me Up” (from “Dominator”), the rest of the songs were from 1992 and downwards the catalogue list. The really positive thing was that the crowd welcomed the new songs are really classic ones. The only additional element in the whole show was a big screen on the back of the stage on which they projected the video-slips from the songs that they were being played live at the same time. W.A.S.P.’s performance and their sound reached the flawless level and I must add that I haven’t heard such a good sound quality in the specific club ever! The show had a 90-minute duration (that was good considering the band’s previous shows), while it would be an omission if we didn’t mention the fact that Blackie (re)appeared after a long time with his trademark saws on his sleeves.

All of the above were adequate enough to cause a stir and excite the fans who didn’t stop going crazy from the opening “Memphisto Waltz” and the follow-up “On Your Knees” until the closing “Blind In Texas”. Gagarin Club was packed and the show was officially sold-out one day before the band’s performance.

I will close this review by saying to all those who put judgment on a W.A.S.P. show regarding the pre-recorded audio samples that this is a common practice for the band since 1984 (check out their official videotape “Live in Lyceum”) and we must always have that in mind before we criticize W.A.S.P. and their overall performance.

Dimitris Kazantzis

Set list:
Memphisto Waltz/ On Your Knees
The Real Me
L.O.V.E. Machine
Crazy
Babylon's Burning
Wild Child
medley: Hellion / I Don't Need No Doctor / Scream Until You Like It
Arena Of Pleasure
Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)
The Idol
Take Me Up
I Wanna Be Somebody
Heaven's Hung In Black
Blind In Texas