Concert Review: Twisted Sister

It was annoyed a few months back that Twisted Sister would be having a concert at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in full costume. I had seen them twice before and they put on a great show live, but I hadn't had the pleasure of seeing the old-school make-up and costume show. No time better than the present! On top of that Sebastian Bach and Danger Danger were on the bill. Sold. Crowd Shot

There was one more place on the bill to fill, and it was filled by a battle of the bands. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the contest, but I did get to see the winner, Operatika.
The doors were scheduled to open at 7:00 PM on Friday the 13th (Ooooohhhh!). I arrived shortly before that and took my place at the end of the line that wrapped around the building. Once the doors opened, the line moved pretty quickly. After getting inside, I made my way up towards the stage, ending up about 5 rows or so back, approximately as it was all general admission. There I waited for the show to start. The first act, Operatika, hit the stage around 7:45.

Operatika. I have seen this band once before, when they opened for George Lynch and Yngwie Malmsteen. At the time I thought they were pretty good, but they didn't seem terribly comfortable on stage together. What a difference a few months makes. This time, they looked a lot more confident and gelled well on stage. The reaction from the crowd wasn't terribly good, at first. They weren't sure how to take this combination of opera style singing and music which seemed to be heavily influenced by the likes of Iron Maiden and Dream Theater. It doesn't help that the acoustics in the Civic Center are not terribly good and they did not benefit the vocals at all. I could hear vocal tones, but was unable to make out any words, her voice was clearly strong, it was just not a beneficial venue for her vocal stylings. The rest of the band was very tight, ripping through some excellent riffs and solos. The guitar player is very good, fast solos that meld into the build of the song, rather than being pasted in, like some bands seem to do. I liked the depth that the keyboards added to the sound, adds a nice texture and fills it out well, and if I may digress for a moment, the keyboard player was very cute. Anyway, back to the show at hand, by the end of their half hour set, the crowd had come around and the applause grew. I was talking with a few of the people around me, and they all seemed to like their set a lot, but they also agreed that they couldn't hear the vocals too well either. I liked the sound they brought to the table, and I think it would be interesting to see them in a venue which was more complimentary of the opera styled singing. On-Stage

Danger Danger. Next up was an 80's metal band that I missed the first time around. I can honestly say that I was unfamiliar with all of their work. When I mentioned this to a few of the other guys around me, they stared at me in disbelief, this was the band they drove all the way from Plattsburg to see. I had gotten into music a bit late and missed a lot of the 80's bands, and this was one of those that got swallowed up by higher profile acts like Poison, Warrant, and of course Skid Row and Twisted Sister. Danger Danger hit the stage, featuring the return of original lead singer Ted Poley. I will say, I was impressed, energy level was high and the music was good. I don't think I'll be counting myself among their fans, but it entertaining live. On-Stage 1, On-Stage 2

Sebastian Bach. This is where the show gets interesting. I say Bach last year, and it was a great show, I was hoping for a repeat performance. The show had it's share of problems though, monitor issues, level issues. Bach was running off stage yelling at the sound guy, often times doing right on the stage. I had no problems with the levels, although I did here the guitars go up and down a few times. Nothing that really hurt my listening, that is why I think it was mainly the monitors that were having the problems. If there is one thing that Bach knows how to do, that's work the crowd. He was going full steam right from the start. Opening his set with Slave to the Grind, he tore through songs from all three Skid Row albums, plus a couple of new tracks I was unfamiliar with. He performed for nearly an hour closing with a sing to Youth Gone Wild, what? Youth, Gone Wild, huh? Youth Gone Wild. Sorry, he had the crowd reading the song name off of the tattoo on his arm. I actually wished he played longer. On-Stage 1, On-Stage 2, On-Stage 3

Twisted Sister. It is now time for the main event, introduced with the appropriate song Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Dee came out full makeup, big hair, shoulder pads, the works. The rest of the band followed suit. Third time's the charm, as I think this is the best of the three times I've seen them live. Playing all of their hits, Under the Blade, We're Not Gonna Take It, The Kids Are Back, and the rest. The crowd reaction was incredible. There is nothing like a loud rock show to get the adrenalin flowing. In between songs Dee gave us a history lesson about the band. I had not realized how close the ties were between Twisted Sister and this area. First they apologized for taking 22 years to come back this location, of course they have played other smaller venues locally just not the big one. We also learn that this was where they were signed to their first recording contract, and also that the local rock station, WPDH, was the first American station to give them airplay. Enough of that, all that we're really interested in here is how much ass did this show kick? The answer is tons. The near sellout crowd was into it from start to finish. It was very reminiscent of those old metal shows. No moshing, just a lot of old-fashioned head banging. Eddie Ojeda, JJ French, Dee Snider, Mark Mendoza, A.J. Pero were all on point. A true reunion show with all original members in the old costumes. It was simply incredible, Sound was as good as you could get factoring in the location. They played for a little over an hour closing with a fully interactive rendition of I Wanna Rock before leaving the stage. This darkening of the stage would prove to be a short one, quickly returning to play Come Out and Play, and closing with SMF. This was possibly the last opportunity we have to see Twisted Sister, as they do not play a lot of shows and we cannot predict what the future will hold for them. Be sure to get out and see them if given the opportunity. Stage Pre-Show, On-Stage 1, On-Stage 2, On-Stage 3, On-Stage 4, On-Stage 5

There is something to be said for these bands from the 80's that are still doing tours. The atmosphere is so much different than when they were the main stream. You can tell that they are up there strictly for the fans and the love of the performance. This night was proof of that filled with icons of the 80's still out there doing there thing.