Concert Review: W.A.S.P. & KK's Priest Deliver a Classic Metal Night in Connecticut

14 hours ago

4 min read

W.A.S.P. and KK's Priest brought their current tour to the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford CT night # 19. This 43-date US/Canadian 1984 "Headless" tour is quite extensive compared to most tours seem to look like nowadays of dates under 30. W.A.S.P. has toured the US frequently over the past few years - always bringing an excellent opening act. Previous tours featured Armored Saint & Death Angel, this year Blackie brought along another great opener in KK's Priest. I still remember the hype when WASP first came out, they were everywhere with their single F*** Like a Beast and the stories of their live shows with raw meat, half naked girls and blood... Plus their first album was damn good filled with great songs. I first saw them in January 1985 when they were touring with Metallica, supported by Armored Saint, those shows and that time were just awesome. They were still doing more of the stage antics that they were famously known for in the beginning with the blood and things. Through the years I've seen WASP a lot, always putting on a good show but this year's show was truly outstanding—both the set list and the sound!

WASP formed in LA during 1982 and was signed to Capitol Records which was kinda a big deal at the time. Blackie was also a top target of the PMRC. All of those hearings kind of backfired, and the bands in question actually got more publicity than they probably would have received otherwise. Regardless, bands like WASP, Twisted Sister and others were called into these hearings. In the end, metal won and all of these bands sold even more records because of it, despite the backlash from some selected groups and some record burnings. For this year's tour, Blackie pulled music from his first four album releases, spanning 1984 to 1989. Featuring music from the self-titled release W.A.S.P. (1984), The Last Command (1985), Inside the Electric Circus (1986) and The Headless Children (1989). They haven't released any new music in a while, so all recent touring has featured music from their catalog. As a fan of the earlier music, this is not a bad thing. The current touring lineup has been with Blackie for quite some time: Mike Duda on bass (joined in 1996), guitarist Doug Blair (joined in 2006), and most recently Aquiles Priester on drums (joined in 2017).

Onto the show, KK's priest opened to a full crowd, The venue is very nice, seating around 4,500. It's a sloped venue with floor seating, multi-level tiers of elevated seating, and some added suites. For this show they weren't using the top 3rd level. The stage size is very wide and deep, leaving plenty of room for opening acts. KK started this band in 2019, releaseing two solo albums "Sermons of the Sinner" in 2021 and "The Sinner rides Again" in 2023. He was kind of silent for the years after leaving Judas Priest in 2011 but he was getting the itch to play again, which he did at the Bloodstock Air Festival in 2019. Clearly this fired him up to get back out again, so he formed KK's Priest with the help of former Judas Priest Singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, Tim has quite the resume and has been a crucial member of many bands most notably Judas Priest but also Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen, and a host of other projects. Also joining was guitarist A. J. Mills. Sean Elg took over drumming duties in 2021 with the newest member, bassist Anthony - Ant "the wall," joining this year to replace Tony Newton.

They jumped right in with the hits, pulling in many of his songs from his time with Judas Priest along with a few of KK's Priest's original songs. Even though KK might be getting older you wouldn't know it; he is full of energy and was all over the stage. The band is tight, they are all excellent performers and they all know how to put on a great performance. Tim is an excellent frontman with great stage presence, KK & A.J. shared solos and often would team togther, Sean Elg was pounding the drums and he sounded great . Bassist Ant The Wall kept everything thumping along just fine... Really great set by polished professionals - it was great to see those Priest songs played by KK and the guys!

After a pretty short break for the changeover, W.A.S.P. took the stage. Somewhat a surprise opening with Uriah Heep's "Easy Livin'" but it's a great song, so why not? The stage show is basically the same set as previous years, with Circus style banners hanging around. Blackie is still using his giant creature-looking bike mic stand, which looks very cool but is so large it often blocks him, making it hard to photograph him with that stand. I was up for the challenge and had to wait for the right moments; thankfully, he moved around the stage at times, and I was able to get some pictures of him. Like I said earlier - he sounded great, and the band sounded great! The setlist was amazing too. Show highlights for me were "On Your Knees," the Who cover of "The Real Me," LOVE Machine, and "I Wanna Be Somebody.". Really great all-around show, filled with great songs! I suggest that if you have an opportunity to see this show make it a point to go. Plus, you just never know how many more opportunities you have to see these bands again!