Nearly A Band Member
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Location: Chicago | OK. I've had a couple of days to catch my breath. (And my kids! LOL!) Time to pass on my review of yet another awesome night with Twisted Sister!!!
Upon my initial arrival I must admit that I was a bit concerned. The county fair didn't seem like Twisted kind of folk. Even up to an hour before show time, there really weren't many people in front of the stage. But 7:30 rolled around and all of a sudden SMF's started appearing from just about every direction it seemed. Soon they were as far back as I could see from my spot at the front. By the time the boys came on at 8pm, the crowd was ready to rock and roll old school style! The party was on!!!
From the opening number, the boys were balls out and high energy all the way! They did suffer a number of technical difficulties with Dee's mic and some feedback from the monitors but that never once even slowed them down. I think they re-defined juggernaut on this night!
Dee was awesome as always! His voice sounded great! His shoot from the hip between song banter was funny as he attempted to keep the cursing to a minimum. (With varying degrees of success or un-success depending on your point of view. LMAO!!) His energy was incredible as he was all over that stage! Bottom line: he once again showed why he is the greatest front man in rock n roll! Period!
Jay Jay and Eddie sounded great as usual! The way those 2 play together is nothing short of magical. They play those riffs and trade off on their solos so seamlessly that you would almost think they were the same person at times. Eddie’s playing, as always, was so clean and melodic while Jay Jay was running all over the stage never missing a note. And I must add that they both looked great!!! Not that they didn’t look good before but they both looked like they have lost some weight and seem to really be taking care of themselves. The years seem to be going backwards with these guys as they actually looked younger than when I saw them last year and the year before that and the year before that! I guess Rock n Roll really is a fountain of youth!
Animal was smokin’!!! Being a bass player myself, I obviously paid some special attention to the man bringing that low rumble to that Twisted sound. He abused that bass within an inch of it’s life as usual but he seemed to be playing with even more aggression on this night from a technical standpoint. He wasn’t just beating that bass into submission, he was shredding the fret board like I have never seen him do before! And my favorite part was that he seems to be having so much fun up there! Then again, what more can an Animal ask for than a good bass to abuse and a few thousand SMF’s to cheer him on while he does it?
AJ brought the sound of thunder down on Wisconsin for the second time during the day. (There was actually a thunderstorm earlier in the day.) Only this time, the storm had a menacing backbeat! As MP mentioned in his review, drum solos are usually when everyone sits down or goes out for a potty break. But not on this night! The crowd cheered and screamed throughout AJ’s solo as he once again proved that he is one of the greatest rock n roll drummers around!!
It wasn’t long into the show that I just felt like something special was happening. I’ve never seen a bad TS show from the first show I saw 22 years ago up through this night. But there just seemed to be something special this night that you just couldn’t put your finger on. The crowd was incredible, as they seemed to be taking it up a notch higher than I had heard in years. They were singing along with every song and responding to every word from Dee. The volume from the crowd when they were singing along to “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” was beyond anything I had heard since the reunion. I had already started to feel like this was the best show I had seen from the boys since they got back together but it was the closer of the set that just sent me over the top! I had waited over 23 years to see Twisted Sister play the song that made me the SMF I am today and this was the night that they pulled it out and left me content for the first time at the end of a TS show. (Normally I always want more because I can never get enough of course!) This song wasn’t written by Twisted Sister but as far as I’m concerned they own this song because they shred, chew up, and spit out the original version done by the Rolling Stones and make it 110% Twisted!! When they introduced “It’s Only Rock n Roll”, I just about lost my mind!! I had gotten hooked on Twisted Sister back in early 1983 but it was a live version of this song that put me over the edge. After hearing this song live by TS, it was all over and I’ve been a life long SMF ever since!! So hearing and seeing it performed live in person was a dream come true for me!! For that and many other moments, I give thanks to the boys!!!
And as if this fantastic show was not enough, I found that my night was only getting started!! It was after the smoke started to clear from the show that I bumped into and met some great SMF’s from the Slamboard. It was awesome to finally put faces to the names! It’s always great to meet other SMF’s but MP1975, Joe Rock, SMF Cyndi, DCT, TS Fan Forever, and KLO made me feel like one of the family. They all confirmed my feelings of how special and unique Twisted Sister fans really are. Hanging out and grabbing a bite to eat after the show was a blast! SMF Cyndi and DCT, you ladies ROCK!!!! You’re the best and then some!!! Thanks for everything!!!
Oh, and to top things off on this fine evening, I was able to finally meeting the boys after the show!!! Jay Jay, AJ,. Eddie, and Dee were all there and were kind enough to take pictures with me! You're next Animal!! This was especially important to me as I was finally able to tell Dee how important his lyrics and Twisted’s music have been in my life. Bottom line, I wouldn’t be here today able to type this excessively long review if it wasn’t for these guys! There are very few bands that care as much about their fans as TS!! Thanks a ton guys!! For everything you do!!
Stay Sick!!!
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