Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P hit Europe in March for their 40 Years Live tour. With a number of venues sold out and London’s Roundhouse show only having level two standing tickets available, anticipation levels are as high as the US tour, which Blackie says had “been a joy I’ve not felt since the first tour we did in ’84-’85.”
MetalTalk covered The Wellmont Theater, New Jersey show, where the band brought the show of your wildest dreams and most menacing nightmares. Blackie Lawless has spoken of his emotions on that run through the US.
“There have been a number of times in my life when I was caught between agony and ecstasy,” Blackie Lawless said. “Many times while either making a record that had great meaning for me or a tour that was truly memorable. But the U.S. Tour that we just finished has been a joy I’ve not felt since the first tour we did in ’84-’85.
“When that first tour was over, I felt like a little kid that had his brand new toy taken away from him. When I got up on Elvis at the end of the last show finale, I stayed up on him longer than I normally do. I held that pose for what seemed like forever, and in my mind, it was a blur, and I was flashing in my head all the shows we had just done and how desperately I wished this tour would just keep going and going. I’ve never wanted something not to end so badly before…even more than the first World Tour in ’84-’85.
“I’ve been blessed with a good memory, and as I was on Elvis, I could see the faces of many of you that were at these shows. In a flash, it flooded my head, and I just wanted to stay up there.
“When we played the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville a couple of weeks ago, it had a profound effect on myself and the whole band. We knew we were standing on sacred ground. Where I was standing and singing was the exact spot where Loretta Lynn’s body had been lying at her funeral just a couple of weeks before. She was music royalty. She was true greatness….the Coal Miners Daughter.
“That was an emotional night for us, and from that moment on, for the rest of the tour, we all kept talking about how we absolutely did not want this tour to end. In these shows, we got an awful lot of love from all you guy’s, and it was so heavy when we’d stand on stage, it felt like we could cut it with a knife. Something truly special happened between all of you and us on this tour. More than I’ve ever felt before in my entire career.
“Additionally, I must take a couple of minutes to address the Meet and Greets. I had never done these before. Especially not where I could have a real dialogue with those who were there. In the course of the 30-plus gatherings, I learned more about your true feelings than I’ve ever learned before.
“Someone might say I should have started doing them several years ago. If I did, I don’t believe it would have had the same effect because the things I was hearing from you was an accumulation of years and years of you studying those lyrics and having the space to let them speak to you that only time can do. Time to let you really reflect on how it’s spoken to your lives.
“The looks on your faces when you spoke was at times, for me, a frustration that is difficult to express because mere words cannot paint the raw emotions I was feeling from many of you. And I’m supposed to be the writer here!
“The European leg of the 40th Anniversary World Tour begins March 17th in Manchester, England. Like most of the shows here in the U.S., Manchester now shares the two most beautiful words in show business, ‘Sold Out’.
“Yes, we’re coming to hit you, we’re coming to hurt you…as this travelling Circus Insane Asylum Rolls On….and I cannot wait to start it all again.”
Tickets previously purchased for the 2022 European tour that was rescheduled to 2023 are valid for the new dates. VIP tickets are available from https://waspnation.myshopify.com.
