Barely 6 months have passed since Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P. toured Norway last time, visiting 7 different cities as they promoted their newest release. Tonight they were once again rocking Rockefeller Stage in Oslo. The band is currently touring Europe, reliving old memories from The Crimson Idol album that is celebrating its 15 year anniversary this year.
Doors opened up at 8. After the support acts Sahg and Triosphere warmed up the crowd, and they did a great job with that, the time was set for the main act. As the roadies were preparing the stage for W.A.S.P., fans could notice that something was different this time. Besides the big screen that was hanging over the drums and the neutral stage rig, something seemed to be missing … it took a while to put a finger on it, and then there it was! Blackie’s impressive mic stand was gone, replaced with an ordinary looking microphone. Even though the venue was only half-filled, the electrifying atmosphere was rising for each minute closer to the show. No one really knew what the guys had planned for this special evening.
The lights went down and the roar that had started some minutes earlier became even louder. The big screen was now showing the cover of The Crimson Idol album. And, as the well-known tunes of “The Titanic Overture” started to fill the room, the tale of Jonathan A. Steel, a rock star in torment, began rolling on the screen.
3 songs into the show, and there was still only a shade of blue light that brightened up the stage. All the focus was drawn to the screen that was playing a black and white movie, giving a feeling of watching a 1920’s silent film that was accompanied by an orchestra. The crowd that was roaring so vividly not so long ago was now standing still, all eyes on the big screen. From time to time, when the stage lightened up on songs like “Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)” and “I Am One,” the audience managed to break through the spell and the feeling that this was actually a Metal concert filled the venue again. After all the songs from the concept album were played, the band left the stage for about 10 minutes before returning to play more classics.
The second set, which consisted of “Love Machine,” “Wild Child,” and “Blind In Texas” seemed to have definitely awakened the audience, rocking the hell out of the Rockefeller stage and making the masses scream for more. Unfortunately, the “grand finale” came a bit faster than what people wanted as “Blind In Texas” was the last song of the night.
As for a conclusion, W.A.S.P. was good as ever. The sound quality was good, the volume was high, and Blackie’s voice still sounds amazing live. Even though some of the audience may have found the first part of the show a bit dull, the majority seemed to be very satisfied with tonight’s event.
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