Almost every metal fan has an "a-ha" moment - a song, an album, a concert that turns them on to metal music. It is like a gateway into metal. For me that was "We're Not Gonna Take It" from Stay Hungry by Twisted Sister. You see, my dad had a habit of putting on his records and blasting some of his favorite tunes through the stereo, usually on weekends. One day he plays this record and from the boom, click of the drums it caught my ear. Then comes this in your face anthem. I was amped. Later, I got in the habit of coming home from school and putting on my dad's records. When I listened to all of Stay Hungry I fell even more in love with the band. This concerned my mom a bit, but she knew I was a good kid and not to worry too much. So it was, that Twisted Sister was the first metal band that I hooked in with and this opened up my musical tastes to a whole new genre.
It was a dream come true when I was able to see them for the first time with my dad at WDHA's Rock the Park 2005 at Montclair State University's Yogi Berra Stadium. Dee was in full costume and makeup and the others, except Mark Mendoza, had their glam makeup on as well. The attitude that they played with and the incomparable stage presence of Dee Snider made this a concert to remember. Of most note was him asking for the stadium lights to be turned on because the small stage rigging wasn't cutting it and "we got dressed up all pretty for the people." It was a fantastic end to a rocking show that also featured Queen V (a local NJ talent contest winner), Sebastian Bach (of Skid Row), and .38 Special. The most memorable songs from Twisted that night were "What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)" that they opened with, and "S.M.F." that they closed with. Interestingly, they played "We're Not Gonna Take It" in the middle of the set. Dee said he knew that a lot of people in the audience just came for that song and had to go home and relieve the babysitter so he'd get it out of the way, haha.
Now to last night's show. The concert is part of a small series of shows entitled "The Sound of Thunder Tour" to honor former drummer AJ Pero who died of a heart attack at the age of 55 on March 20 of this year. The night began with a band called Billy Mira & The Hitmen. They played mostly big band covers like "Rock This Town" by the Stray Cats and "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies. It was kind of a weird opener, but apparently AJ had been playing shows with these guys. The lead singer is definitely a performer and in between songs he entertained the crowd with impressions including Tony Soprano, Ozzy Osbourne, David Lee Roth, and a "metal" Tom Jones.
The next band was Four by Fate which featured bassist John Regan and guitarist/keyboardist/singer Tod Howarth formerly of Frehley's Comet. Rounding them out is guitarist Patrick James (Pound/Flywheel) and drummer Rob Affuso (Skid Row). AJ Pero had been recording with Four by Fate and the band said they may have the last studio recordings with AJ. Tod has an amazing voice, and he played a guitar with no headstock which I had never seen before. The sound of this band was much more appropriate as an opener for Twisted Sister and they really rocked.
Four By Fate, Starland Ballroom 6/13/15
After the set change two of AJ's children came out to thank the crowd. Also one of the roadies said that he took away 4 things about AJ: He loved music, his family, his fans, and the Mets.
Finally, Twisted Sister with Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater/Adrenaline Mob/Winery Dogs) on drums took the stage. Though there was no makeup except for some blue eyeshadow on Dee, they grabbed the crowd in traditional form by beginning with "What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)." They then played what amounted to as a greatest hits setlist including all of their fan-favorite songs except for Captain Howdy. Below you can see the setlist where it was scratched. The only error is that instead of "Come Out and Play," which only played over the PA as they came back on stage for an encore, they decided to keep the blacked out "Tear It Loose" which is from their debut studio album Under the Blade. They rocked it! The set contained multiple breakdowns where Dee would talk to the crowd or prime us for singing along. I liked that he talked about "I Am (I'm Me)" as being the song he is most proud of lyrically. That song made its mark on me when I first heard it and it continues to be inspiring. Dee said that "The Price" was written about the internal conflicts he felt about being on the road and away from his family. This was interesting to me because the lyrics might lead one to think it was about suicide, but he said it wasn't about giving up on life, but giving up on the career in music. I guess just like the song "Under the Blade" that brought them much criticism from the government, you never know what the artist is thinking when they pen the words and they are always up for interpretation. During Senate hearings in 1985, Dee said this song wasn't about knife violence, but about undergoing surgery.
There were, of course, multiple mentions of AJ Pero by Dee and guitarist Jay Jay French as well. They cited him as being "the nice one in the group" and the one who helped push the band to play out and play hard. Dee said that the upcoming "Forty and Fuck It" leg of the tour would be the band's last. This is partly due to the loss of AJ as well as the fact that the band doesn't want to continue to play until they fade away (in popularity or in skill). Until he died, AJ had been playing and recording with a number of bands and was on tour with Adrenaline Mob. Jay Jay said that he asked AJ why he kept playing and how he could keep up with the demands of touring at his age and he replied "because the fire still burns" which led to the song of the same name. The songs that stood out to me as great on this night were "Shoot 'Em Down," "We're Not Gonna Take It," and "Burn In Hell." In the middle of "Burn in Hell" the screen dropped down in front of the stage and video of an AJ Pero drum solo from a Twisted show from last year played. It didn't sound like a recording so I suspect that Portnoy was playing along live behind the screen, but I can't confirm that. I don't think "I Wanna Rock" was tight sounding, but the crowd really got into it and nearly blew the roof off singing along. I wish I knew what the decibel level was during the performance. My ears are still ringing from it. The pictures posted below are my own except for the setlist which was posted by Eddie Trunk (who I still have yet to run into). I didn't take many photos because I wanted to enjoy the show and also because a bunch of people around me were taking pics and video that were much higher quality and I'm hoping they will show up on the internet. If you have any pics you wouldn't mind sharing, please send them my way. Overall, the concert was well worth the price of admission. Moreover, there may not be another Twisted Sister concert in New Jersey again and I wanted to be able to say I was there. I am so glad I went and my SMF spirit was reignited. RIP AJ. Long live TS.
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| Twisted Sister w/ Mike Portnoy, Starland Ballroom 6/13/15 |
