BENT BROTHER (a.k.a. - TWISTED SISTER)

The Chance - Poughkeepsie, NY - Saturday, December 13, 2003

Posted: 12/15/03

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Heavy Metal

Released:

Artist URL: www.twistedsister.com

SET LIST

Rock & Roll Saviors / The Kids Are Back  /Breaking The Law  /The Beast

We're Gonna Make It  /Under The Blade  / You Know I Cry  / Sin After Sin

Sin City / Plastic Money / Burn In Hell / (drum solo) / We're Not Gonna Take It

I Wanna Rock......(ENCORE) Tear It Loose / The Price

You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll

TWISTED SISTER (performing under the name BENT BROTHER) hadn't played The Chance since April 12th, so the fans truly appreciated their re-appearance before the close of this tour. For the unaware, The Chance is a place that Twisted calls home, considering that they've played the joint many times in the last 30 years.

The Chance was uncomfortably crowded for the band's April performance, so my friends and I were forced to the very top of the balcony. Never in all the years of attending shows at The Chance had this occurred, so a lot of people were just as excited as we were to see the reformed Twisted Sister.

For Saturday's show, the attendance was a bit more bearable (although still packed), and Metal Dreams-alum Lynn Phillips and I were able to get onto the floor, up close. The really great news for us was that we missed all the opening acts. In all my years of attending shows, I think I've seen two cool local acts (Livesay and Towne Cryer), so I always do my best to skip the torture.

Bent Brother emerged on stage without makeup and costumes at 11:45 PM after using The Rocky Horror Picture Show's "Time Warp" and AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top" as an intro. It was instantly clear that vocalist Dee Snider has continued hitting the gym, as he's in amazing physical condition. Guitarist Eddie Ojeda still has shoulder length, jet black hair. Guitarist Jay Jay French has short hair but still wears sunglasses, despite updating them a tad. Bassist Mark Mendoza still wears his sunglasses too, but his appearance has changed the most. His hair is long but pulled back in a braid, and he's quite a bit stockier (I'm being kind) than he was in the 80s. A.J. Pero has finally abandoned his cropped bleached blonde doo and re-grown his classic curly black 'fro, albeit a shorter one.

This performance proved to be a lot different than the April show. While the April show covered songs from Under The Blade up through Come Out And Play, Saturday's show found the Sisters opting to eliminate songs from Come Out And Play (and more!) in favor of pre-Under The Blade material. This time, the band shockingly opened with "Rock N' Roll Saviors" (which can be found on Club Daze Volume I), but unfortunately the mix wasn't too good on this one, as Mark's bass monopolized the room and the guitars were set way low. The sound instantly got crisper though, for song number two, "The Kids Are Back," culled from 1983's You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll." The crowd really came to life with this one. The 'club daze vibe' continued with a cover of Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law" next, and later AC/DC's "Sin City." Jay Jay explained that these Bent Brother shows are for the diehards, not necessarily the MTV generation (but they did not skip "We're Not Gonna Take It"). He said that the Bent Brother shows allow them to reach back into the pre-Under The Blade catalog. He also said that fans on www.twistedsister.com repeatedly request songs from their club days. This explained the reason behind the cover tunes, "Rock N' Roll Saviors," as well as the performance of the little known "Plastic Money," and "You Know I Cry." Props to the guys for paying attention to their fans' requests. Most bands never would. Interestingly, Jay Jay went on to say that if the crowd didn't respond to these songs they wouldn't perform them, and Dee followed up by stating that the same five guys probably requested "Plastic Money." While I'm sure these five songs satisfied a small portion of the audience, I don't think people were as into them as the band would have hoped. For me, I just don't think these songs represent their best material. Plus, they eliminated "Stay Hungry," "Bad Boys (Of Rock 'n' Roll)," "Like A Knife In The Back," and "Ride To Live, Live To Ride" to fit these in. Most of all, I would have rather heard two of their own songs instead of the Priest and AC/DC covers. If I want to hear those songs, I'll go see Priest and AC/DC. Actually, I don't even want Priest to do "Breaking The Law," as I'm sick of it. If Twisted want to shock everyone, they should play something from Love Is For Suckers. How about "Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant)," "Hot Love," "Yeah Right!" or even the title track? They're all great tunes! If the band wants to get a true picture of what fans want to hear, they should have a ratings poll on their website that lists all their songs.

On the plus side, the band delivered "The Beast" (which they also played in April) from Stay Hungry, where Dee was his most sinister and Mark absolutely beat the crap out of his bass. If you've ever had the opportunity to see Mark play, you'll agree that it's truly an amazing site. While most bassists just hold down a rhythm and hide in the back, Mark is a complete original who prefers to be seen and heard. In between finger plucking, he literally pounds his guitar with his fist to achieve the optimal thump. The band also surprised me with "Tear It Loose" and "Sin After Sin" from Under The Blade, songs that weren't played in April. Other favorites included "We're Gonna Make It," "Burn In Hell," and "Under The Blade."

The show neared the end as they dedicated an awesome rendition of "The Price" to a fallen state trooper, and sent us home happy after 90 minutes with the classic "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll." Before the end of the show, Dee conversed with the crowd a bit, mentioned that he was having some trouble with his voice, commented that after 30 years the neighborhood is still 'fucked,' and pointed out a guy in the balcony who looked like he was masturbating. He also tried to regain the crowd during the pre-encore "I Wanna Rock," when they became a bit preoccupied with the smell of a skunk that had enveloped the room. He said cute lines like, "I know, the one who smelt it, dealt it…but nobody smells that bad" and "C'mon people, focus!" Actually, the crowd's eyes began to wander prior to 'the smell' when some slam dancing began and security grabbed a guy by the throat. Dee said "settle down," but he was actually the one who told everybody to go "crazy" during "I Wanna Rock," so the few dip-shits took him quite literally. Of course, all his banter is a major highlight of a Twisted Sister/Bent Brother show, as his charisma sets the band apart from all other acts.

The Bloody Truth: Overall, this was a very enjoyable show, but not as perfect as the April performance. Nevertheless, the band shows that they have more firepower than today's wannabees. Dee Snider should never retire either, because he's clearly found the fountain of youth, both in looks and in energy. Where the man gets his spunk, I do not know. Can't wait until they come around again.