W.A.S.P., KK’s PRIEST In Boston, MA With Photos!

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 9:38 AM

By George Dionne, The Rock Is George Podcast

The Electric Circus Relives The Eighties At The House Of Blues In Boston On September 29th

All Live Photos By George Dionne / @rockisgeorge

I missed out on W.A.S.P. throughout the eighties. Yeah, I had one of those Moms. You can throw in all the other pentagram living bands as well. As I got older she relented a bit. I was also ten years old in 1985. By the time my teen years rolled around in the nineties, W.A.S.P. was a little tough to see live. They didn’t play much in Massachusetts. I would later find out from Blackie Lawless himself that the promoter for the area did not like him.

I finally saw W.A.S.P. in 2001 for the Unholy Terror Tour. I had to travel to a venue, whose name I cannot remember, in Connecticut. I do remember it was in a sketchy area of town. I brought my 18 year old brother with me and we had the time of our lives. We even got to hang out with the band after the show. For whatever reason, twenty-five years passed before my next opportunity to see W.A.S.P. This time around, I had my 18 year old son with me. What a crazy loop.

The night began with KK’s PRIEST. For those not familiar, former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist KK Downing launched a new group featuring one-time JUDAS PRIEST vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens. While they do have two albums of original material, the group leans heavy into KK’s work with his former band. Look, I was just as skeptical as you. JUDAS PRIEST-lite, right? WRONG!

KK’s PRIEST jumped right into a powerful three song set of JUDAS PRIEST classics. Owens handled the vocal highs and lows of “You Got Another Thing Coming”, “Breaking The Law”, and “Living After Midnight” with ease. Downing commanded the stage with his boisterous guitar riffage and solo runs. From there, the band inserted three songs of their own from ‘Sermons of the Sinner’ (2021) and ‘The Sinner Rides Again’.

With a catalog of songs so vast, JUDAS PRIEST couldn’t possibly play them all. That’s why the existence of KK PRIEST makes sense. Although, seeing Downing perform on this night, with the crowd in the palm of his hand, it did make me wonder why his former bandmates can’t bury the hatchet for one more go round. When KK’s PRIEST announced they were playing “Beyond The Realms of Death”, the crowd went wild. I’m guessing this is one that doesn’t get played too often. The live version with Ripper was incredible.

KK’s PRIEST brought new perspectives to old JUDAS PRIEST hits, including a keyboard-less version of “Turbo Lover”. I hadn’t paid too much attention to the original music of KK’s PRIEST prior to this performance, but after hearing the cohesiveness and intensity by the band in this live setting, I’m heading back to give it a second look.

Setlist:

“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”
“Breaking the Law”
“Living After Midnight”
“Strike of the Viper”
“One More Shot at Glory”
“Hellfire Thunderbolt”
“Heading Out to the Highway”
“Beyond the Realms of Death”
“The Sentinel”
“Victim of Changes”
“Turbo Lover”
“Raise Your Fists”

https://kkdowningofficial.com

In 2024, W.A.S.P. brought the Album One Alive Tour to Boston (which I missed). That tour was in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut. This time around, W.A.S.P. moves a step up in their catalog with the 1984 To Headless Tour. This time period covers their 1984 self-titled debut, ‘The Last Command’ (1985), ‘Inside The Electric Circus’ (1986), and ‘The Headless Children’ (1988).

For the 1984 to Headless Tour, the setlist was vastly different that the prior tour, but also in some ways similar. There’s certain songs that the fans expect, and to a degree, demand that the group play. What impressed me was the little nuggets of unexpected songs that were sprinkled through the night.

Fans expect W.A.S.P. to play their cover of THE WHO classic “The Real Me”. What they probably didn’t expect this night, was the band’s cover of URIAH HEEP’s “Easy Livin’”. Another surprise was the debut of “Mr. Cool”, a demo that was never officially released. It’s rumored that portions of the song have appeared in another W.A.S.P. song. The track fit right in with the era of music the band was honoring tonight. Hopefully, a finished version will appear on their next album.

Blackie Lawless was at the top of his game rolling though W.A.S.P. classics with fervor, emotion, and confidence. Yes, the band that built part of its reputation on stage theatrics has cut most of that out in recent times, but it makes perfect sense why in 2026. The songs speak for themselves and are more emotionally connected forty years later than any saw blade and piece of raw meat ever could.

Four of the ten tracks from W.A.S.P.’s debut remained in the set from the last tour, and it’s the four you would expect (or demand). “Thunderhead” was another unexpected song in the set. Where most bands play 13-14 songs in their main set before encore, W.A.S.P. played 8, but returned for a 7 song encore. There is probably a reason for this, but I don’t know what it is. Act 1 & Act 2?

I have to mention how in-the-pocket Blackie’s backing band was. Yes, W.A.S.P. rightfully revolves around Lawless, but the electrifying performances of guitarist Doug Blair, bassist Mike Duda, and drummer Aquila’s Priester proves that the charismatic frontman needs the very best in their field to help him sound and look his best.

The encore was a hit after hit affair, with the title track from W.A.S.P.’s last studio album, ‘Golgotha’ (2015) thrown in near the end. It's a compelling song that Lawless clearly has a deep connection to and much adoration for. The band could not have ended the night with a better combination of “Wild Child” and “Blind In Texas”. This was a one-two punch that had the crowd singing along with their fists in the air. Don’t believe the naysayers, W.A.S.P. is still worth the price of admission.

Setlist:

“Easy Livin’”
“Fistful of Diamonds”
“The Flame”
“Mr. Cool”
“On Your Knees”
“Thunderhead”
“Forever Free”
“The Real Me”
“The Headless Children”
“I Wanna Be Somebody”
“L.O.V.E. Machine”
“Inside the Electric Circus”
“I Don’t Need No Doctor”
“Golgotha”
“Wild Child”
“Blind in Texas”

https://www.waspnation.com

The 1984 To Headless Tour continues:

10-06 - Ottawa, ON Hard Rock Casino
10-07 - Pickering, ON Pickering Casino Resort
10-09 - Des Plaines, IL Des Plaines Theater
10-10 - St Charles, IL Arcada Theater
10-11 - St Charles, IL Arcada Theater
10-13 - Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
10-14 - Harrisburg, PA Capitol City Music Hall
10-15 - Cleveland, OH Agoura Theater
10-16 - Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
10-17 - Green Bay, WI EPIC Event Center
10-19 - Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre
10-21 - Edmonton, AB Midway Music Hall
10-22 - Calgary, AB The Palace Theater
10-23 - Coquitlam, BC Great Canadian Casino Vancouver
10-25 - Seattle, WA Moore Theater
10-27 - San Jose, CA San Jose Civic
10-29 - Rancho Mirage, CA The Show @Â AguaÂ Caliente
10-30 - Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues
10-31 - Anaheim, CA The Grove