By Christopher David<\/p>\n
At long last, after literal years of speculation, scheduling issues, and a pandemic, L.A. shock rockers W.A.S.P. made a triumphant return to the Chicagoland area with a 40th anniversary\u00a0 show that reminded everyone in attendance exactly why Blackie Lawless remains a legend in the heavy metal scene.<\/p>\n
Taking a stage that looked like a carnival freak tent complete with a giant clapper monkey, chains, and skulls aplenty, Lawless led the quartet through some of W.A.S.P.\u2019s best known material, and while the setlist felt far too short given the band\u2019s rich discography, leaving the Arcada disappointed would have been impossible.\u00a0 A three-song hammer of cuts from the band\u2019s eponymous 1984 debut album led the charge, with special attention on 1992\u2019s The Crimson Idol<\/em> towards the middle of the set, the concept album that remains a fan favorite and also happens to be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.\u00a0 Bassist Mike Duda, guitarist Doug Blair and drummer Aquiles Priester remain one of the band\u2019s longest running and strongest lineups, and Blair\u2019s excellent guitar work during \u201cChainsaw Charlie\u201d offered a mesmerizing accompaniment to the Crimson Idol <\/em>clips that played on the screen behind the band.<\/p>\n By the time the encores rolled around, the elephant in the room was the answer to the big question: will they Animal<\/em> or won\u2019t they Animal<\/em>?\u00a0 Lawless\u2019s misgivings with the lyrical content of the band\u2019s most notorious cut has been widely documented, but in a fitting and triumphant turnabout, a video detailing the P.M.R.C.\u2019s notorious campaign to censor heavy metal in the mid-80s made for a somehow sinister backdrop to a performance the savage \u201cFuck Like a Beast,\u201d maybe the most notorious rock song of that decade for reasons that became clear to those who didn\u2019t know or remember.\u00a0 The Satanic Panic was real, kids, and it cost people their livelihood.\u00a0 It might seem like a quaint thing in our current world, but in 1985, it was no joke, and the montage that played while Lawless sang the greatest anthem to filthy sex ever recorded reminded us all of just how insidious censorship can be\u2014far worse, in the grand scheme of things, than song lyrics.<\/p>\n While many of the \u201880s metal band born from the Sunset Strip\u2019s debauched heyday have already enjoyed a resurgence in touring over the last decade or so, prior to the 40th anniversary outing, W.A.S.P. had been curious absent, which Lawless addressed prior to the final song of the evening.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to talk to you about this really unusual phenomenon,\u201d Lawless said, perched on a platform at the front of the stage behind his motorcycle-modded mic stand.\u00a0 \u201cPromoters in this country didn\u2019t think we could sell tickets.\u00a0 All you guys got together online and started emailing these promoters\u2014thousands of you that did this\u2014and night after night, sold out.\u00a0 So to those promoters who didn\u2019t believe in us anymore\u2014suck on that one, baby!\u201d\u00a0 And with that, the band launched into \u201cI Wanna Be Somebody\u201d as Lawless stalked the stage and rallied the crowd for the singalong choruses.<\/p>\n Armored Saint, led by powerhouse vocalist John Bush, opened the night with a solid ten-song set of tracks spanning their career, including new track \u201cStanding on the Shoulders of Giants\u201d from 2020\u2019s Punching the Sky<\/em>.\u00a0 One of the most underrated bands of the early 80s power metal scene, Saint were the perfect opener, and more than deserving of their own headlining tour.<\/p>\n