The date, 11/26/05, the time, approximately 7:00pm, the place, the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. The start of a night of old school, rock and role debauchery. Or so everyone there hoped. The end result of the night was a bit of a mixed bag.
Twisted Sister was actually supposed to play here way back in July, as a part of WASP's "American Metal Blast" tour. They had to cancel, which, apparently, ticked off a lot of fans. I still went to that WASP show, and had a great time. Dee and the boys quickly rescheduled their visit, and I waited with eager anticipation. It seems the fans may have won out, getting the opportunity to see these other three acts on the same bill. On to the show!
It was about 7:25 when out opening act took to the stage. The opening chords of "Unchain the Night" introduced us to Lynch Mob, led by the former Dokken guitar maestro, George Lynch. That was followed by "Into the Fire." In addition to Lynch's masterful guitar, he brought along a special guest with him, drummer Vinny Appice (Derringer, Black Sabbath, Dio). I really wanted to like the performance, but the mix was doing all that it could to prevent that from happening. George's guitar was too low, Marten Andersson's bass was nearly non-existent, and the singer's (whose name I did not catch) mic was overdone to the point of distortion. As the set wore on, the mix gradually improved, the only constant was the sound of Appice's drums, they always sounded great! Lynch was on point, working his magic on the fretboard. I have seen Lynch Mob a few times, and while this was good, it was not the best performance I have seen from them. They played for about 40 minutes, closing with Lynch's signature instrumental, "Mr. Scary" followed with "Tooth and Nail".
In between sets, we returned to the lobby to grab a bite to eat and check out the merchandise. They were selling the usual array of CD's and t=shits, at prices that can only be considered extreme. There were also items like Vinny Appice's drumsticks, Yngwie Malmsteen guitar picks, a George Lynch poster of him with his many guitars, and a Twisted Sister thong. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be an Sebastian Bach items.
We returned inside, just as they were finishing setting the stage for Sebastian Bach. Tonight's Bach performance also featured a special guest, Wolf Hoffman from the German metal act Accept. I was never a big Accept fan, but they had some classic tracks in the 80's. The lights came up and they tore right into "Slaves to the Grind" followed with an earlier Skid Row track, "Big Guns". Sebastian Bach has got to be one of the best frontmen working today. Besides having a great voice, he is an absolute cluster of energy. He roams the stage like a caged beast, never letting his voice falter, and when he isn't singing, his mic is being swung around his head. Bach and crew even had a surprise for us, while playing "Monkey Business" they stopped and broke into a cover the biggest song from Hoffman's Accept, "Balls to the Wall", before finishing back into "Monkey Business". Sebastian kept his crowd interaction to a minimum, saying he wanted to play as much as he could due to a mere 40 minute stage time, which actually went over, playing about 45. Their set concluded with "Youth Gone Wild". He left the crowd wanting more. Sadly, their performance was plagued by some of the same sound issues that hurt Lynch Mob, volume and distortion first among them.
Here is a near complete set list:
1. Slave to the Grind
2. Big Guns
3. Here I Am
4. The Threat
5. 18 and Life
6. Monkey Business...
7. ...Balls to the Wall...
6. ...Monkey Business (cont.)
8. I Remember You
9. Youth Gone Wild
Article comments
1 - Triniman
Man, I wish Yngwie would tour Canada and play my city! I've been a fan since his first album and I count the first four among my favorite albums. I did tire of his latter recordings due my belief that there was a sense of sameness that didn't make them sound all that fresh. Like anyone making recordings, they are *most* memorable for the actual songs, as opposed to how fast or great the instrumentation is....IMHO, anyway.
I did see TS back in the late 80s and while Dee Snider was entertaining, I wasn't too keen on the lacklustre guitar playing. Still, DS is someone you never forget, especially in full costume.