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.
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.