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Saw W.A.S.P.This Weekend


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A few months ago a friend and I got tickets to see W.A.S.P. and Armored Saint in Charlotte.  Another friend had a conflict with the show date for Charlotte, but last week he said, "Hey, man.  You wanna go see the Atlanta show?"  Well, yeah.  I guess I could do that.  Then the friend with the other Charlotte ticket jumped in.  We went to Atlanta on Friday night. 

Late start.  No traffic.  A desire for pizza.  We arrived before the doors opened at the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, but the line wrapped around the block.  The show was sold out. 

My spot was in the middle of the floor.  It was distant for the size of the venue, and would be great if we were in a giant amphitheater or coliseum.  I had to put up with some taller people in front of me, but there was no trouble for me.  The girl who rode down with us worked her way forward and had to put up with young people trying to mosh.  Neither W.A.S.P. nor Armored Saint are mosh pit bands. 

Armored Saint was killer when I saw them a few years ago.  They were incredible in Atlanta.  John Bush is every bit the front man that Bruce Dickinson is.  These guys should have been bigger.  They look at the audience.  They move around.  All the songs get to the point quickly.  They sound metal.  I could have been happy just seeing Armored Saint. 

W.A.S.P. did their set.  They start with a medley.  They run two songs in the encore together.  Blackie Lawless does not make the evil faces he was known for years ago.  Blackie also has a giant mic stand that makes it harder to see him.  I could see his face from where I was, but if one was up on the front row it was more difficult.  His band was on fire. 

During the last song of the night everyone who has been in W.A.S.P. appears on the video screen behind the band along with a thank you list to everyone who helped the band.  I noticed the names of Rod Smallwood and Bernie Rico, Sr. among the many.  Regardless of any issues in departures from the band everyone was acknowledged. 

On the way home all three of us felt that both bands were equally appealing.  I was kind of leaning toward Armored Saint. 

Sunday was supposed to be the opportunity to get a better spot on the floor.  We paid for early entry in Charlotte!  All the traffic problems usually associated with trips to Atlanta magically happened to all of us driving to Charlotte.  I still managed to hit the barricade in front on the left side of the stage.  Tammy, the girl who was with us in Atlanta arrived after the fast pass people were let in, but I let her have my spot on the barricade and stood behind her.  She got great photos, but I am not posting them without permission. 

Armored Saint is almost all original members.  Dave Prichard died 30 years ago, and Jeff Duncan took his place.  Sunday night was Prichard's birthday, so the night's performance was dedicated to him.  The Armored Saint set made me think, "Yeah.  I like this band better."  Everyone played ESP guitars.  Joey Vera had an ESP P-bass and Hartke speaker cabs.  Jeff Duncan played an ESP Strat the entire time.  Phil Sandoval played ESP Arrow (Flying V with a different cut) models and a Gibson Les Paul.  The guitar speaker cabs had Krank badges on them.  There were no heads.  It was rackmount modeling amps for these guys.  The drums had a variety of company logos on the bass drum heads that reminded me of the sponsorship stickers on race cars. 

W.A.S.P. did their set.  I got a better view of Blackie at this show.  Like in Atlanta, he walked to the front of the stage on the left side more often than the right.  In Atlanta I thought he was playing B.C. Rich Warlock, but the logo was different.  At this Charlotte show I saw that it was an LTD.  Both his bass player and guitar player had ESP instruments.  A P-bass and those Eclipse model (Les Paul shaped) guitars.  No amps were on stage. 

It was worth seeing W.A.S.P. again, but on the way out the door I bought an Armored Saint T-shirt.  Armored Saint was my preference of the two bands. 

If you are thinking about going to see this tour I suggest buying the Armored Saint meet and greet that we regretted not purchasing.  You get a T-shirt, some picks, and you get early entry to the show.  The cost is not far above what you would pay for the shirt, picks, and an early entry pass. 

I think I could write a novelette about the drunk beside me in Charlotte.  That story has nothing to do with guitars, though.  I will not wish him any harm.  In fact, I want him to enjoy other concerts.  I would love for him to be in the audience at a recent Dave Prichard performance. 

Armored Saint setlist

W.A.S.P. setlist

 

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Nice recap...  The first Wasp and Armored Saint lp's were on regular playlist in our dorm room.     That first Wasp

album was pretty good,  production wasn't that great.     trying to think about that early wave of metal signings....

Great White,  Malice,  Savatage,  Ratt, Twisted,  Black and Blue...     

 

  I noticed WASP brought back F like a...  back into the setlist.  Blackie wouldn't sing it for years  

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2 hours ago, DaveL said:

 

 

  I noticed WASP brought back F like a...  back into the setlist.  Blackie wouldn't sing it for years  

I still have my signed picture disc EP of Fu*ck like a Beast. It's a classic!

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8 hours ago, Willie G. Moseley said:

Bush's vocals on Anthrax's "Only" are the primary reason I've visited that song's official video on Youtube every few months

I was going to mention Bush's Anthrax years. Sound of White Noise has some bangers on it and is one of my favorite albums by them. Pretty sure all the albums he was on have at least a couple of killer songs. 

I wonder how Metallica would have panned out if Bush would have taken the job back in the early 80s.

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10 hours ago, LucSulla said:


I wonder how Metallica would have panned out if Bush would have taken the job back in the early 80s.

 

I always thought John in Metallica and Mark Storache (sp? Krokus guy) in AC Dc would have been epic.

We did several early Wasp tunes back in the day; love machine, b.a.d., F like a beast. Always liked A.Saint too.

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