Twisted Sister is in my mind the best live band on the planet without a doubt! Never before or since has there been a group that quite simply grab the audience by the balls, captivating them by commanding the stage with this energy that I have yet to ever see, it is pure rock magic! I was fortunate enough to catch their show this past weekend in Las Vegas...

Now I have been a fan from the moment I first saw them in a club on Long Island New York, their stomping ground in the late 70s. I recall the first thing that impressed me, and still holds true today in 2006, as in every performance I have seen, was that no matter the size of venue or how many people were there, usually the masses, however in the early days I remember traveling to Detroit in Connecticut in a blizzard and only about 50 or so die hard fans made it, making it seem a little more like a sound check then a show, they would put on a concert as if you were seeing them at Madison Square Garden and could melt the ice and snow of that storm and they always delivered!

D & Z (West coast chapter Short Scoots)

Every stage move, the music, the wall of sound, the roadies scrambling to catch a falling mike stand or rush to tune and replace a guitar without missing a note, they always gave 150% and the way they carried them selves was as if they were the biggest band on earth, compete with bodyguards and entourage and you left every night believing it. As they they strived to achieve that goal, while making us feel that, their dream was becoming reality and deservedly so.

As for me I remember believing in them so much and I would try to help out in any small way I could. When the pressed their first independent single on Twisted Sister records "I'll Never Grow up Now" and I enjoy the memory of meeting Eddie Kramer who produce it and getting to sing along on the chorus with the group chant. They recorded it in Radio City Music Hall. At That time I was managing a string of record Stores in the Tri-state area, Record World and the Record Shops at TSS.I also was in charge of getting the 45 records for a juke box operation that also covers all three states New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. One perk was that I would supply them with Disco Displays, Records and posters to Destroy during the Disco sucks era. But most importantly and being a loyal SMF I took it upon myself to use my position to  come to the aid of the band  and its cause of  become as big as any super group of the day, Even though it was against my companies policy to order 45s that were not the standard price then of about a buck, and there single being an indie was more than double that, I ordered cases, got creative with the invoices so the owners would not notice they were more expensive, especially at the time they were considered by the record companies as a club band and there was no promotion of  the record as there would be with a label release. I made sure plenty were stocked in the stores with front store Displays I created myself, many stores I made a window display as well. But my largest coo for them would be the Jukebox company; I left out the 50th record on orders for the top 50 and sent the vender the Twisted Sister record in its place I even had printed up those special little pink labels that you see in every dinner or bar jukebox with the bands name and A&B sides. When I presented them To Jay Jay he was thrilled, I was recently proud to see the label turn up on the 2001 release Club Daze II .So every jukebox in the tri state area had that single on it.

I like to think it helped, I think of myself in some small way, as they marched into battle, being one of the soldiers that were part of helping them win the war.

So when they went on to sell out The Calderon Concert hall with no record deal then sell out the Palladium again with no record deal, the only band ever to achieve this (It should be in the Guinness book of records).All the early club fans were thrilled when they got there first record deal and when they were sighed to Atlantic all the fans around that time felt a sense of pride, like when your home team wins the world series, we always new success would come and we stood by our team until it did. After they made it I only got to see them a few times after that in the big arenas and coliseums. It was a wonderful feeling to see them on the big stage; I however was melancholy for the club days and the intimacy you get with small venues and the one on one. But they had arrived and were pros on the big stage like that was what they were born to do. The videos and Success came, they went on to conquer the world having a great career with MTV and sold out shows across the globe. I then moved out to California and I had heard a few years back they were reuniting after not playing together for many years, I was thrilled and wished I were in New York for there reunion gig. Though 3000 miles away I was only there in spirit.

Fast-forward to present and I heard they would be playing this past Saturday in Las Vegas April 29th,I told my wife Diane" We are Their”. She being from New York had her own similar memories of the Band when she was around 15 or 16 using her fake I.D. and sneaking in the Mad Hatter of Stonybrook. She was equally thrilled to relive those times and reminisced on how one night after seeing them and staying out after curfew, as she tells it, the band gave her and her cousin a ride home in the wee hours of the morning, and not unlike a scene that could have appeared in one of there videos, her Dad was waiting up and after the fatherly yelling commenced realizing there were these "Hair Bags" on his front lawn, and gave them a tongue thrashing "And What the Hell is a Twisted Sister" .Ah the good old days.
So excited to relive the best memories of yester year we head out from L.A, across the Mojave Desert toward Las Vegas. As the Sun beat down on our faces of over 100 degrees and the wind in our hair we began to unwind, adding to the mood as it would happen this weekend was also the  24th ANNUAL LAUGHLIN RIVER RUN, so the desert roads were alive with hot steel and the roar of 1000s of bikes heading to be part of West Coast's largest motorcycle event featuring non-stop casino action, Factory demo rides and Genuine Parts & Accessory exhibits and will expect 50k plus attendees. As they made their way to the river and casinos we were on our way for our own heavy metal and roar of the amplifier hum. The ride could not have been more exciting, we arrived and drove down the strip as we passed the Harley-Davidson Cafe which seemed happening and buzzing. We were ready. We hooked up with my brother Jeff, a fan himself also from Long Island who now resides and performs there .We picked up our tickets and headed for the show at the Silverton Casino. Us like three musketeers, each of us not seeing them in well over 20 years we headed off with the excitement we had when heading out to Cheers, Beggar Opera or The Factory. This is the Bands 30th anniversary and we were prepared for a good time, but were not too sure of what to expect of the place where they were playing. So many places anymore, you get frisked at the door on the way in and rules are strictly enforced. Back in the day when you saw a concert, there was a sort of a free and easy feeling, people smoking whatever, dancing on the seats or in the isle, you were not forced to conform, it was escapism, the rules of the everyday life did not apply and you could forget the real world for a short while.

Well I must tell you I highly recommend seeing a show at the Silverton, they were laid back as I described it had been, and this enhanced the evening that was about to unfold. We walked in sans be frisked and the stage was set up in the courtyard surrounded by the hotels rooms at first it seemed odd that that there was a pool right in the center of it all but it reminded me of Spring Break or Hot Dog Beach. It was an outdoor Pavilion the air was warm and the Moon was a thin sliver in the sky and appears to be smiling down on us. The relaxed atmosphere was just right and everyone was parting and enjoying themselves without hassle or incident.

Then the moment we had been waiting for, the lights went down, you could feel the energy, if it could be harnessed the electricity could have lit the Vegas Strip, the crowd was great, not an arena show, more like Hammerheads when it was packed to the gills’ yes an intimate Twisted feel.
They hit the stage..................................
Dee growls threw the PA      "GOOD EVENING"
The music roars..................... Bah ....Bah.....Bah
Dee  ..................................."Welcome To the Show"
Wall of Sound........................Bah.....Bah.....Bah
Then with the power of the Hoover dam bursting, the guitars, drums and lights flood a force that doesn't stop washing over us until the end of the night .Twisted Sister still got it and Dee Snider the charismatic lead singer not only looks the part but still knows how to work the crowd as well as anyone. A genuine wit, Snider is one of the few lead singers that entertain the crowd as well with his stage banter as he does whilst singing the songs. It’s been something like twenty years since and Twisted Sister still do the trick, they rip through classics such as “The Fire Still Burns”, “We’re Not Gonna Take it”, “I Wanna Rock”, the highlights of the night were “Burn in Hell" and "Under the Blade" then the set-closer “S.M.F”, it’ll hopefully will not be as long till I see them again. To say we were exhilarated is an understatement, It was like on the live track on Big Hits and Nasty Cuts when after a tape malfunctions and Dee says "Click your heels together three times and we will go back in time" and restart the tape like nothing happened. By clicking our heels together it was as if the years never happened and we were back in the glory days without skipping a beat. Diane Clicked her heels and said she could see her self at the Mad Hatter. It was like seeing a dear old friend you had not seen in as many years and taking up right where you left off. They looked and sounded as good as they ever did. When Dee started up his stage banter he said something like, just cause there is a pool in the middle of the crowd don't mistake this for Jimmy Buffet s Margaretville and then like Simone Says or should I say Snider Says,” It is a beautiful night here in Sin City jump in the pool Mother F...ers, and about dozen or so did just that on his command, clothes and all.

Ok everybody in the pool!

They remained there for the rest of the night, dancing, jumping, splashing to the beat of the drums right there in the pool. And as I mention earlier no one from the hotel trying to get them out and ruin the fun, it was pandemonium and of course Dee cuts no one any slack. VIP hotel guests and People peering out the windows who were not there for the show and were just sort of checking it out could not get away with being a typical apathetic lookey lou. In typical twisted fashion he engages them until they too have to let there inhibitions slip and are drawn into the moment or are commanded to get the F... Out!

The Band also took a moment to thank Samantha of Harley Davidson Las Vegas for supplying them with bikes earlier in the day to take a Short Scoot along the beautiful state of Nevada's country Side. What a site, can you just imagine The TS Motorcycle gang riding down the Las Vegas strip and on the Desert Highways? Mixing business with pleasure, but back to the business of rocking and that they did with wild and untamed abandon.

When the show finally came to an end in the warm dessert evening air, the general consensus was that of total satisfaction from the crowd. As for us we all agreed not in years had we felt so fulfilled after a rock show. All life's frustrations had melted away and time stood still if but for a moment. Life was good
Afterwards we went to the Rainbow in Vegas located across from the Hard Rock Hotel, a replica and then some of the famous Rainbow club in Hollywood on the Sunset Strip. The band showed up and it was good to reminisce with Mark(To this day I have never seen anyone play the bass the way he does, punching and beating each note out of his instrument, for me the way a bass demands and should be played) We joked with Jay Jay that we felt like we were at Speaks. I got to tell Eddie how good his new solo disc is and were joined by Jerry Greenberg who has worked with the best of the best in the industry and Rainbow owner for some great eats and good drinks. A good time was had by all and was a perfect night cap to a perfect day. I did not realize how much I missed them. At one time they promised "From the East Coast to the West Coast, New York to Frisco, Twisted Sister will do there best to wipe out F....ing Disco"!  They did that and More      (Hey Guys a little help on the Rap thing)
Thanks Twisted Sister
Thanks for Saturday night
Thanks for the Club dates for all those years
Thanks for being there
Thanks for Being True to who you are, no matter what the current music trend
Thanks for giving us something to count on and believe in
Thanks for the memories
You are and always will be
 
The Rock and Roll Saviors

The Bad Boys doin what they do best

 
 
Zachary Nevel