Twisted Sister Live at the Astoria
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
Twisted Sister has been quite active of late, with Christmas albums, rerecorded albums, festival appearances, and now a live CD/DVD set filmed at the famed Astoria Theater in London. Anyone who has seen Twisted Sister (or their non-costumed alter-egos Bent Brother) knows they put on a hell of a show, and their performance here is no exception.
Dee Snider, one of the most charismatic (not to mention underrated) frontmen in rock, seems to be having the time of his life, gleefully leading this costumed and made-up crew through roughly 80 minutes of sheer rock & roll mayhem. You’d never guess from this performance that the band has been kicking around for more than three decades. Any other band might have been tempted to phone it in, but Twisted Sister thoroughly and completely rocks the place.
Of course any live Twisted Sister performance, especially one recorded for an official CD/DVD release, is going to include the band’s biggest hits. You get your “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as well as minor hits “You Can’t Stop Rock n’ Roll” and “The Price”. The band also serves up a nice amount of lesser known tracks like “Under the Blade”, “The Fire Still Burns” and “Destroyer”. The set list is a great romp through the band’s much loved back catalog, and the band makes you believe they’re absolutely thrilled to be playing that song, whether it’s a massive hit or a deep cut, that night, for that particular crowd.
DVD Notes – The video quality is as good as the sound quality, there are multiple camera angles, and the whole thing is very professionally shot and edited. It’s a bit of a drag that the concert was in a relatively small setting. Sure, the Astoria is an important venue, but a performance this energetic would have been much more powerful against the backdrop of a large outdoor festival. Oh, and if you’re planning on watching this on a large screen TV, be warned: Dee and company look older, sweatier and uglier in HD.
Live at the Astoria an impressive performance overall, and it’s great to see the band doing so many live appearances in recent years. Still, it’s been more than twenty years since their last studio album (1987’s Love is for Suckers). The band obviously hasn’t lost a step in a live setting. It’s past time for them to see what they can come up with in the studio.
Label: DVE
Lineup:
Dee Snider: Vocals
A.J. Pero: Drums
Mark Mendoza: Bass
Eddie Ojeda: Guitar
Jay Jay French: Guitar
Track Listing:
What You Don’t Know (Sure Can’t Hurt You)
The Kids are Back
Under the Blade
Destroyer
Like a Knife in the Back
Burn in Hell
Ride to Live
Shoot ‘em Down
You Can’t Stop Rock n’ Roll
The Fire Still Burns
We’re Not Gonna Take It
The Price
I Am, I’m Me
I Wanna Rock
Come Out and Play
S.M.F.
Online: Official Site
Hardrock Haven Rating: 7.5/10