Twisted Sister's A Twisted Christmas at the Fillmore
I received a frantic call from Vic Wettner. "Just announced Twisted Sister is doing a Twisted Christmas." "Great, where in Philly is it," I asked. Vic responded, "It is in New York City." That was all I needed to hear; I was in. The chance to see a band like Twisted Sister in their hometown is an offer you can't pass up. I also couldn't think of a better way to get me further into the holiday spirit than Twisted Sister doing their fantastic A Twisted Christmas album in NYC.
The concert was held at the very small Fillmore at Irving Plaza. I enjoyed the venue, but I can see why a band like Twisted Sister would hate it. They are abnormally large men and there are five of them. So the small stage was very cramped. I can also see why they enjoy playing to NYC. The crowd is much more polite than Philly.
In Philly, the mosh pits always have the potential for a race war or a misogynistic beating. But in NYC, everyone acted as if we all had been friends since elementary school. They generally seemed to care about each other. In Philly, we are quick to boo the shit out of any band that doesn't impress us in five minutes. In NYC, I don't think they would ever boo, unless it was the New York Giants. The NYC crowd helped enhance the atmosphere.
But back to the band. I had never seen Twisted Sister live, but I had seen videos. I knew what I was in for...lots of crowd interaction, solidarity amongst the audience (we are all S.M.F's), and the sheer ugliness of the band. Flat out I will say they are uglier and scarier than I could ever imagine. Dee Snider is famous for saying "I don't think Twisted Sister is 'glam' because that implies glamour and we're not glamorous. We should be called 'hid' because we're hideous." He isn't lying.
The band waltzes on stage and J.J. French has a fake brown wig, big wrap-around sunglasses, and a pencil-thin, rapist mustache painted on with a Sharpie. Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda looks like he was just kicked off an Indian reservation. He had almost like Apache war paint on his face, and he lumbered around stage like Tony Iommi. Mark "The Animal" Mendoza is the scariest, largest, man to ever play the bass. He raped that bass all night like a 120lb white man in the prison showers on the first night. He banged the hell out of it with his fists, his microphone stand, and occasionally the Twisted Sister "elf" roadie. He was ruthless and took no prisoners.
That gives the background on the band, but the star is Dee Snider. As the band played White Christmas, Dee comes running out dressed as the Santa Claus from your nightmares. I would explain it, but this picture says it all. Remember he had a white beard on.
From song one, the band commanded your attention. Actually, even if they didn't command your attention you couldn't look away anyway. It was like a Jesus trainwreck, conducted by a Jew. They run through most of the Christmas album, the Stay Hungry album, and played a few other great hits as well ("Don't Wake the Sleeping Giant," and "You Can't Stop Rock n Roll" for instance).
Dee has an uncanny ability to command a stage. His actions, his mannerisms, and his dialog all keep your eyes glued to him. A small pit broke out during "O Come All Ye Faithful" after the song Dee said "I saw a small pit broke out during O Come All Ye Faithful. It brought a tear to my eyes. It wasn't big, but it had heart, I could see it. All you guys moshing for the Baby Jesus is great."
Dee also threw a fan out of the building, which is always great to see. There was a Gotti grandson look-a-like in the family VIP section and he was showing no emotion during Twisted Sister's set. He didn't clap, sing, or cheer a-long. Dee said, "I have gotten older and tried hard not to get angry anymore. I am at peace. I used to weed out assholes not having a good time and toss their asses out of the club. I have gotten older and become more peaceful. But when I see someone like that fucker [he points to the guy], it gets me going. Who is that fucker? He is in the family section. He's not my kid. [He proceeds to ask the band if they know the guy. They don't]. Get the fuck out fucker." That is when the crowd started chanting "Get the fuck out. Get the fuck out."
The concert ranks up there as one of the best. Sadly, Twisted Sister doesn't tour that often so your chances of seeing them is slim. The Christmas Show is a must-see and if you are lucky enough to see the band, do it! You will not regret it.
The concert was held at the very small Fillmore at Irving Plaza. I enjoyed the venue, but I can see why a band like Twisted Sister would hate it. They are abnormally large men and there are five of them. So the small stage was very cramped. I can also see why they enjoy playing to NYC. The crowd is much more polite than Philly.
In Philly, the mosh pits always have the potential for a race war or a misogynistic beating. But in NYC, everyone acted as if we all had been friends since elementary school. They generally seemed to care about each other. In Philly, we are quick to boo the shit out of any band that doesn't impress us in five minutes. In NYC, I don't think they would ever boo, unless it was the New York Giants. The NYC crowd helped enhance the atmosphere.
But back to the band. I had never seen Twisted Sister live, but I had seen videos. I knew what I was in for...lots of crowd interaction, solidarity amongst the audience (we are all S.M.F's), and the sheer ugliness of the band. Flat out I will say they are uglier and scarier than I could ever imagine. Dee Snider is famous for saying "I don't think Twisted Sister is 'glam' because that implies glamour and we're not glamorous. We should be called 'hid' because we're hideous." He isn't lying.
The band waltzes on stage and J.J. French has a fake brown wig, big wrap-around sunglasses, and a pencil-thin, rapist mustache painted on with a Sharpie. Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda looks like he was just kicked off an Indian reservation. He had almost like Apache war paint on his face, and he lumbered around stage like Tony Iommi. Mark "The Animal" Mendoza is the scariest, largest, man to ever play the bass. He raped that bass all night like a 120lb white man in the prison showers on the first night. He banged the hell out of it with his fists, his microphone stand, and occasionally the Twisted Sister "elf" roadie. He was ruthless and took no prisoners.
That gives the background on the band, but the star is Dee Snider. As the band played White Christmas, Dee comes running out dressed as the Santa Claus from your nightmares. I would explain it, but this picture says it all. Remember he had a white beard on.
From song one, the band commanded your attention. Actually, even if they didn't command your attention you couldn't look away anyway. It was like a Jesus trainwreck, conducted by a Jew. They run through most of the Christmas album, the Stay Hungry album, and played a few other great hits as well ("Don't Wake the Sleeping Giant," and "You Can't Stop Rock n Roll" for instance).
Dee has an uncanny ability to command a stage. His actions, his mannerisms, and his dialog all keep your eyes glued to him. A small pit broke out during "O Come All Ye Faithful" after the song Dee said "I saw a small pit broke out during O Come All Ye Faithful. It brought a tear to my eyes. It wasn't big, but it had heart, I could see it. All you guys moshing for the Baby Jesus is great."
Dee also threw a fan out of the building, which is always great to see. There was a Gotti grandson look-a-like in the family VIP section and he was showing no emotion during Twisted Sister's set. He didn't clap, sing, or cheer a-long. Dee said, "I have gotten older and tried hard not to get angry anymore. I am at peace. I used to weed out assholes not having a good time and toss their asses out of the club. I have gotten older and become more peaceful. But when I see someone like that fucker [he points to the guy], it gets me going. Who is that fucker? He is in the family section. He's not my kid. [He proceeds to ask the band if they know the guy. They don't]. Get the fuck out fucker." That is when the crowd started chanting "Get the fuck out. Get the fuck out."
The concert ranks up there as one of the best. Sadly, Twisted Sister doesn't tour that often so your chances of seeing them is slim. The Christmas Show is a must-see and if you are lucky enough to see the band, do it! You will not regret it.
Comments