Customer Reviews

W.A.S.P. - The Sting (Live at the Key Club, L.A.)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this DVD with high hopes for the Live WASP that I had always wanted to see. I saw them on the Headless Children tour and was pretty impressed. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with this DVD. It is a good DVD - and a must for WASP fans - but it does have it's problems.

For starters, the vocals are highly suspect in this DVD. Many times you can hear 3 singers but you only see 2. The drummer has a headset on, but you rarely see him singing. The only time he was noticeably singing was during "I Wanna Be Somebody" but then there was only one voice on the soundtrack and that was Blackie. Also Blackie forgets to sing the first chorus in "Sleeping In The Fire." Overall, the vocals are inconsistent. Some songs sound perfect - other songs do not. Also the recorded quality of the voice is different in several songs. I can only think they did vocal overdubs in the studio after the fact.

The other thing that bugged me is that some cameras are sharply in focus wile others are fuzzy. And, I got a little tired of the "gonzo" angle from the ground up. Once or twice would have been cool but not throughout the whole video.

I was also amazed that WASP would release this product with the timing errors at the beginning "Sleeping In The Fire" and "The Real Me." In fact, at the beginning of "The Real Me", I thought my DVD had skipped. Not so...just a bad edit.

Also, sadly, this crowd wasn't into the band at all. The crowd was so quiet on the DVD that when the band stopped playing it sounded like about 10 people in the audience. Most of them just stared at the stage as if they had never seen or heard of the band.

Okay...I know I am ragging on them a lot, but one last complaint..song selection. I would have much rather heard another WASP tune than "The Real Me." How about "High On the Flames"? How about "Headless Children."? How about the "Heretic"? And I don't really care for "Dirty Balls" and "Damnation Angels." I thought Helldorado had better tunes than those.

Overall I give this DVD a rating of 3. Mostly because Blackie is so outrageous and outspoken - I was expecting a superior quality DVD and only got good. In my book they didn't deliver the goods. Sorry Blackie! But as I said if you are a WASP fan, you will probably enjoy this DVD.

This DVD contains a basic offering of hits and a few miscellaneous songs from the band. Because it is a collection of more popular songs, it does not necessarily give a full insight into what WASP is capable of. The performance itself is not all that bad and they pour themselves into it. The show fairly rocks (3 and a half stars), but contains nothing from more intelligent WASP projects (and lyrics) such as Crimson Idol, and Dying For The World.

Some of the criticism in previous reviews are worth noting, but are not all necessarily the fault of WASP themselves. The way the DVD is put together is a different story. I once had an opportunity to interview WASP singer Blackie Lawless after this DVD came out (I used to work with an online music magazine), and among what turned into a long and very interesting interview I asked him about this DVD. He said that this DVD was part of a deal involving a company that WASP was no longer involved with, and that WASP had no creative control over the DVD at the time. He would not say much else because the company behind the project made it clear that if WASP said anything derogatory about them they would sue. He said he had never seen the DVD and that we could just fill in the blanks regarding what he thought.

Seems to me that WASP fans will love it a lot, but according to Blackie, WASP plans on doing something more proper in the future.

Wow, finally a live WASP show on DVD that isn't a bootleg. Sound quality is excellent. Camera angles are very good. My only complaint was that they never miked the crowd noise. Listen to the cd of this same show and you'll see what I mean, lots of dead gaps. Would love to see more WASP live shows on DVD. BUY THIS!

what can i say,, this is one of the greatest bands ever, chris holmes ROCKS, and blackie is looking and sounding better than ever,, the production and editing are flawless!, if you buy only one music dvd this year, make it this one, its well worth it, and i hope someday the vhs catalog is released on dvd, this is the most enjoyable dvd ive seen in a very long time,, so what are you waiting for, BUY IT!

Ever wonder why W.A.S.P. was so controversial? Check this DVD and you'll see why! From the opener, Helldorado, this is a solid concert performance with a good live set list. Such classics as: Chainsaw Charlie, Wild Child, Animal, The Real Me, I Wanna Be Somebody, only the creepy stage show this time around is perfectly matched with the energy of the offensive songs. See Black Lawless shoot a cod piece and drink blood as the band prances around stage like it was an 80s heavy metal party only updated into the 80s updated for the year 20000. It's so offensive you can't help appreciate it as high art as they put a lot of money intgo this tour and live stage show. People giving bad reviews of W.A.S.P. are fans of sell outs like Inside the Electric Circus and about half of The Headless Children. Don't listen to those people. They don't know what they were talking about. W.A.S.P. finally recovered from sellouts like Inside the Electric Circus with this DVD and live CD which I thought great when I found it at the local store. This DVD is totally killer, don't miss W.A.S.P.'s return to form as gory shock rockers.

this is a MUST have!,the camera angles are GREAT!,not too fast, not too slow,and a couple of times the microphones go out,, but its not that noticeable,,all in all, a must have for all W.A.S.P. fans,,the sound is GREAT!, much better than the cd, of the same title, just a great rock and roll show, from start to finish, you will NOT be disapointed, BLACKIE ROCKS.

Ive been a W.A.S.P. fan for years this DVD is great the sound and picture quality was awsome . Ive been waiting for W.A.S.P to put out a DVD for years. This is what made me go out and get a DVD player . Awsome concert. This DVD displays W.A.S.P. at their bombastic best. A must have concert DVD for not just W.A.S.P fans but fans of true Heavy Metal as well. I actualy saw W.A.S.P. on this same tour in Lincoln and they kicked [butt] This DVD kicks [butt] W.A.S.P. RULES. Buy this you will not regret it.

I read alot of reviews for this dvd, most talking about sound and some things not lining up, when there is singing and Blackie is not singing. That is all just bad editing, it is a live show shot from different cameras, put together by someone who isn't too bright. I am glad i bought this dvd, i have been a WASP fan for many years and i have seen them live. WASP kicks ass and they always have! Seeing them live is the best, this show could have been better but oh well. I enjoyed this concert!! Anyone who is a WASP fan should buy this!

The concert was originally recorded and shown as a live webcast. It is also the first live footage of the band to feature Blackies signature microphone stand, dubbed 'Elvis'. Truly an Amazing Concert, you'll wish there were more songs! It's that GOOD!

DVD Audio Setup Configurable from 2 channel stereo to surround 5.1 and the sound and video production is nothing short of GREAT! Blackie has no problem gaining full command over his audience and putting on a highly energized, full force effort (as usual), but even more spectacular is how the entire band works perfectly together, almost to studio perfection.

Sad to say, Nothing of what most of the negative reviewers say, seem coherent or cohesive to the actual event. And even though the crowd noise attenuation doesn't drown out or overshadow the music (THANK GOD!), it is obvious they (the crowd) are quite content and obviously amped. Those wide eyed (deer caught in the headlights) and stunned/mesmerized (or on drugs) "Portion" of the crowd are merely "AWESTRUCK", and not bored as some would have you think! On the contrary!!! At anytime, and all throughout the show, you'll notice the crowd is fixated as if riveted to the floor with "ALL" eyes on the band, with most of them with raised hands throughout the concert. If you've ever been to any major event, especially a smaller intimate venue such as the Hollywood Key Club, You would know exactly what I mean. Close up and Personal! Although the band has aged a bit from the earlier 80's era, you'll find this live show evidence of seasoned players who definitely have their sheat! together.

"This is more than you would expect, not less! You'll feel almost as if your there!"

This is W.A.S.P. Live and in the raw! (not to be confused with the W.A.S.P. VHS Concert by same name) No overdubs, and straight in your face VOCALS with backing band vocals in tune and never missing a beat (Mike Duda shines, especially on the backing harmonies and vocal fills) and real time heavy metal riffs with a few awesome solo's by Veteran W.A.S.P. Guitar Extraordinaire Chris Holmes that will leave you utterly speechless ("Sleeping (in the Fire)" has an amazing two minute solo by Chris Holmes. A must see!). If you know what's good for you, you won't be misled by anyone giving this concert anything less than a 5 Star performance. Given the fact, this was Blackie at the age of around 43, it was a great surprise to see that even at that age, Blackie still possesses a youthful vigor in not only vocal lung capacity (unlike others at that age who seem to gasp for breath ever few seconds), but with an energy of a 20 yr old. Another thing you'll notice is that Blackie easily hits all the high notes effortlessly. After reading some of these negative droned/cloned reviews, One thing is for sure, There are some people who see only what they want to see, and believe me, I searched high n' low for any of these critics negative comments and found no evidence what so ever, other than where weighed, measured, and came up short and wanting.

btw, I didn't buy the DVD to see or hear the crowd, or how many "Chicks were there" (as one reviewer put it), but to see the show! And since I couldn't be there, this is the next best thing!

Keep in mind, there "ARE NOT" a lot of W.A.S.P. performances on DVD and should consider this event not just a rarity, but a true must have. So if you don't have it already, my recommendation is "TO GET IT NOW!!!!"

My only real gripe is, WHY NOT IN WIDESCREEN! Better yet! IMAX! and for heaven's sake, WHY HASN'T W.A.S.P. Made more Video's? "Heaven's Hung In Black" shot by someone in the crowd (live in Lovech, Bulgaria on YouTube just doesn't cut it!) Own a piece of history and get the DVD....YOU CAN'T GO WRONG!

9.5 out of 10.0 or 5 Stars!

i bought thid dvd about a year ago and was greatly dissapointed with it. the microphones keep cutting out, there are backing vocals when no-one is singing them and some songs are not full versions.i love wasp but this dvd was poorly produced.