W.A.S.P.‘s set last night, November 16th, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City ended with a tribute to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The latter businessman/media personality turned U.S. President was in attendance at UFC 309 at the nearby Madison Square Garden yesterday during W.A.S.P.‘s set.
Blackie Lawless, vocalist/guitarist for the veteran glam metal/shock rock outfit, launched into a speech from the stage ahead of closing out their set with a performance of “Blind In Texas“. That final was staged in front of backdrops projecting images and banners of Trump, including the infamous shot taken after the unsuccessful July attempt on his life. Lawless stated:
“We’ll do something a little different tonight. We are in the appropriate city to do this. You know, it was Shakespeare that said, ‘Some are born to greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them.’ It was the Greek historian Herodotus who said that when it comes to tragedy and things like that, that we do not rule circumstances, circumstances rule us.
Now when I was a little kid, growing up across the bay over here in Staten Island, I never, I never ever imagined that my time would come where I would be thrust into a situation where I had no control over. Now, it will be 40 years next year, there was a situation that happened, and it was called the PMRC [Parents Music Resource Center, a committee that sought to censor and regulate the availability of music with explicit lyrical content.] And there were hearings, there were hearings done in Washington, D.C. And two days later, Frank Zappa and myself stood on a stage just around the corner here and we talked about the evils that would come about them. Because censorship is an ugly, ugly thing. And it ain’t just in music. It happens in all forms of life.
Now, down the street here in lower Manhattan, there’s a chapel down there. It’s called the St. Paul’s Chapel. We now know it as the chapel from 9/11. But before that, when George Washington was elected the first president of the United States, after he was sworn in the federal building, he walked into that street and he walked down to that chapel and he consecrated the United States of America to God Almighty right there on that spot.
The very first amendment of our constitution guarantees freedom of speech. Our founding fathers were genius enough to know that if you can control speech, you can control thought. And these men knew this. These were great men. Fast-forward a couple hundred years — 250 almost — now we have a situation in the last six, eight years, we find censorship again rearing its ugly, ugly head. Now, this time it’s on the Internet, and it’s affecting every single one of us.
Tonight, you may not be aware, but right next door to us over here in the Garden, there is a man who has undergone attempt after attempt, assassinations on his life, and this man has stood up for this country. He’s right next door right now at the Garden.
Now, I got two things that I’m passionate about the most. One of them is that freedom of speech. And the other one is about being a patriot. Because I’m here to tell you, I don’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, Independent, you need to be a patriot of this country. I am willing to die for this country. I believe in it that much. And that man next door, he believes in it too.
I only got one more thing to say before we go. ‘Cause I’m blind in Texas.”
W.A.S.P.‘s explicit lyrical content earlier into their career stirred up much controversy for the group, landing the band in the sights of the PMRC and Christian hardliners, who found the lyrical content and onstage imagery of W.A.S.P. to be morally reprehensible.
W.A.S.P.’s current headlining run finds the band out celebrating the 40th anniversary of their gold-certified self-titled debut album. While that trek was originally intended to find them sharing stages with Death Angel and Unto Others, scheduling conflicts saw Armored Saint replace Death Angel, while Unto Others were unceremoniously removed from the bill.
11/17 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
11/19 Cleveland, OH – The Agora Theater
11/20 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
11/21 Stroudsburg, PA – The Sherman Theater
11/22 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
11/23 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
11/24 Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live
11/26 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
11/27 Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
11/29 Houston, TX – House Of Blues
11/30 San Antonio, TX – Aztec Theatre
12/01 Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum
12/03 Little Rock, AR – The Hall
12/04 Wichita, KS – The Cotillion
12/06 Albuquerque, NM – REVEL
12/07 Tempe, AZ – The Marquee Theatre
12/09 Tucson, AZ – The Rialto Theatre
12/10 San Diego, CA – House Of Blues
12/11 Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort and Casino
12/12 Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
12/13 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
12/14 Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
