W.A.S.P. Brings the Sting to The Arcada Theater in St.Charles, IL with Their 1984 To Headless Tour and SpecialGuests KK’s Priest

My introduction to W.A.S.P came at the tender age of 14,smack dab in the middle of the PMRC and Filthy Fifteen shenanigans. I remember hearing “Animal (F**k Like a Beast)” for the first time, both blushing and smirking all at the same time, and knowing almost immediately I needed to get their record.

Their 1984 release was a constant part of my cassette rotation with “I Wanna Be Somebody”, “L.O.V.E. Machine”, “School Daze”,
“Hellion” & “Sleeping (In the Fire)” being the most frequent repeat offenders.

Fast forward to October 10, 2026, in St. Charles, IL, home to the legendary Arcada Theater, where I got to experience W.A.S.P. & KK’s Priest melt the faces of a packed house.

KK’s Priest came out with guitars flying, opening with the always anthemic “You Got Another Thing Coming”, and just kept delivering the goods, no pun intended, with “Breaking the Law” & “Living After Midnight”. The crowd was eating it up. The last time I saw KK play was on the Ram it Down tour, and let me just say, at 74, he does not miss a beat!

This was my first time seeing Tim “Ripper” Owens live, and I completely understand why he was chosen to fill Rob Halford’s shoes back in the day. He completely engages the audience & makes it very obvious that he loves what he does, as do co-lead guitarists AJ Mills, bassist Anthony Wall & drummer Sean Elg.

The rest of the set continued to rock the Arcada with legacy Priest songs Heading “Out to the Highway”, “Beyond the Realms of Death”, “The Sentinel”, “Victims of Change” & “Turbo Lover” mixed in with a sprinkle of KK’s songs: “Strike of the Viper”, “One More Shot at Glory”, “Hellfire Thunderbolt”, and closed their night out with “Raise Your Fists”. I must also add that the screens behind the band throughout the set only improved the entire experience. The colors, the imagery, even song titles for newcomers, just in case they came in not knowing anything about KK’s Priest, made it all the better. It usually gives me a little pause when you have two different factions of a band, but these guys delivered the Priest sound 100%. If you haven’t seen these guys yet, do yourself a favor & check them out!

KK’s Priest Gallery.

Seeing W.A.S.P.’s crew set Elvis up was exciting to watch and built up the anticipation of what was soon to come. We had Inside the Electric Circus represented at stage right & Headless Children to the left. They hit the stage with a blazing rendition of Uriah Heep’s “Easy Livin’”, and it just kept getting better as the night went on. After they finished “The Flame”, Blackie Lawless went ahead and did one of the coolest things he could’ve done playing to a theater full of Chicagoans. He talked about none other that #89 himself Coach Mike Ditka, who sadly passed away the day before, breaking Chicago Bears fans’ hearts wide open. He then proceeded to dedicate “Mr. Cool” to Iron Mike. You’re a class act Blackie, thank you for that.

Their set list was a treasure trove of songs from their first four records, some that I hadn’t heard in a hot minute, like “Fistful of Diamonds” and “Thunderhead”, and the obvious “we wouldn’t have gotten out alive if we didn’t play these”, like “Forever Free”, “The Real Me”, “I Wanna Be Somebody”, “L.O.V.E. Machine”, “I Don’t Need No Doctor”, “Wild Child”, and the closer of the night, “Blind In Texas”.

What made W.A.S.P.’s set a little more special were the music videos playing behind the current lineup of Blackie, guitarist Doug Blair, bassist Mike Duda & drummer Aquiles Priester. Past meets present at its finest and the Arcada loved every minute of it. It was an amazing night of metal music, and I was so glad my now 55 year old ears got to hear some of my repeat offenders live & up close!

W.A.S.P. Gallery.

PHOTO CREDIT: All photos by Rachel Escamilla for ZRockR Magazine -©2026 All Rights Reserved