W.A.S.P./ Seven Witches
March 7th Crocodile Rock
Allentown, PA
by Paul Autry
I've been to Crocodile Rock before. It's a great place and I've never had a problem there. I haven't been there for a long time though. So, when the W.A.S.P. tour rolled into Pennsylvania, I was thrilled to find out that they would stop at Crocodile Rock to kick a little ass. One of the flyers that I picked up includes the line "features the best entertainment" under the club logo...and I couldn't agree more.
We got to the club a bit early. So early, in fact, that the guest list wasn't at the door. I had to wait around for about ten minutes, which wasn't a problem. At least I was inside the club where it was nice and warm. It was kind of cold outside and I don't deal with cold too well. In fact, if I have to zipper up my coat, it's too cold outside for me. Anyway, the guest list was brought up, I got my wristband and I made a quick phone call to Seven Witches guitar player Jack Frost to let him know I was at the club. Funny thing about that is the fact that he was about five feet behind me when I made the call. I walked over to where he was, sitting at the table drinking a Diet Coke. We were supposed to do an interview and he had mentioned that someone said to him that the interview was to be done with vocalist Alan Tecchio, who is a new addition to the Seven Witches line up. I said, "Well, if you wanna get him, I could speak to both of you" and, after a quick phone call, Alan came to join us. We had a nice little conversation and, let me tell you, it was a wonderful experience. You know, I've seen a fair share of "rock star" attitude in my time and it was great to see that Jack and Alan didn't subscribe to that way of thinking. I know I've used the term "down to earth" to describe some other people that I've been lucky enough to meet. But, with these guys, there's no better term I could use. I mean, I didn't even feel like I was doing an interview with 'em. It felt more like old friends catching up on old times. I can't praise them enough and I really wish a lot of other people would have the kind of attitude that these guys have...and it wasn't just with me. I saw Jack quite a few times during the night, walking through the audience, taking the time to shake a hand, answer a few questions, sign an autograph, whatever. When you make that kind of connection with your audience, you're making a fan for life. Remember that.
Anyway, we finished up the interview as the first band of the night, Five Act Tragedy, took the stage. I don't know if you'd call them death metal or a hardcore band. I heard both terms thrown around as I was walking though the audience. They really weren't my cup of tea. So, I used their time on stage to kick back with a cold beer or two. I was low on cash this evening and I figured I might as well get my buzz early which, of course, I did. That way, I wouldn't pass out on the way home which, I didn't. I managed to stay awake for the two hour drive, including a stop at Dunkin' Doughnuts, where I got a good cup of coffee...for once...to help kill what little buzz I had left.
The 2nd band to take the stage was Zodiac, who hail from Philidelphia. I'm not really sure what to make of the audience reaction to this band. On one hand, I got the impression that some people could've done without 'em. On the other hand, I thought some people were getting into them. Personally, I thought they were great. They had a good stage presence and their music...I don't know...I'm thinkin' a bit of blues, classic rock, stuff like that. They did a killer version of Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down," which had me wondering if they decided to do that tune simply because it was a song they liked or because they were aware of the fact that W.A.S.P. recorded a version of it. Either way, I was impressed. Vocalist Nick Fargo was trying to work the crowd up in between songs. At one point, when I didn't think the crowd reaction was what it should've been, I yelled "ZODIAC!" Nick looked in my direction, said thanks and goes, "Now, what's your name so I can yell it back to you." Feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, I responded by saying "Just play the song!" What really impressed me was the fact that all the band members are under twenty one. So, they're a young band in every sense of the word. Keep your eye on 'em...I think they're gonna go places.
Next up...Seven Witches. I got their latest disc a day or two before the show and I was listening to it as much as possible before the day of the show. However, I wasn't as familiar with it as I would have liked to have been. So, when they took the stage, all I could do was stand there and watch and take it all in. I know they did some material from this release. But, not having the song titles on the disc that was sent to me, I couldn't tell you what they were. However, I will say this...on record, Seven Witches is an amazing band. On stage, they're a whole other monster. This is probably the first real power metal band that I've seen live and I was amazed by the wall of sound that they created and, judging by the reaction the audience had, they were impressed as well. I didn't talk to a lot of people during the show. But, the few people I did meet were there to see Seven Witches, which is a good thing. At most of the shows I've been to, usually, the people I talk with could care less about seeing the opening bands. They're there to see the headline act and that's that. But, Seven Witches drew them in. I saw quite a few people wearin' Seven Witches shirts. On an interesting side note, the soon to be released Seven Witches DVD was filmed at Crocodile Rock.
Finally...the moment we've all been waiting for...W.A.S.P. I saw them before a few years back during the "Helldorado" tour and I was really looking forward to seeing what they had to offer this time around. I was a little disappointed with this gig because, first of all, it seemed like a really short set and, besides Blackie's mic stand, there wasn't any of the theatrical sickness that W.A.S.P. was/is known for. Blackie Lawless didn't even drink any blood...what's up with that? This performance wasn't anything more than W.A.S.P. coming out on stage and rollin' through a few tunes. Ah, let's see...what did we hear? "On Your Knees," "Chainsaw Charlie," "Love Machine," "Widowmaker," "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)," "Charisma" and, of course, "I Wanna Be Somebody." There were a few more tunes. But, those are the ones I remember, thanks in part to the fact that I rattled them off into my tape player in order to remember them. Anyway, this show did prove one thing...even without a fancy stage show, W.A.S.P. can still get up there and rock the hell out of you. As short as the set seemed to me, the songs were still solid. Blackie and company didn't miss a beat....and, yes, I will admit that I'm a huge W.A.S.P. fan. They're one of my all time favorite bands. However, if they didn't give a good performance, I'd be the first one to bitch and complain about it. But, I have nothing bad to say about this show. Even after all these years, W.A.S.P. is still a dangerous band and they can put on a killer show. Be sure to catch 'em when they come to your town and see for yourself.
http://www.truemetal.org/jackfrost
http://www.waspnation.com
http://www.crocodilerockcafe.com