PiercingMetal Musings

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and that means that Twisted Sister was going to make a return visit to the Big Apple to deliver their “Twisted Christmas Show”.  The gig presents a healthy chunk of the bands “Twisted Christmas” CD and also finds them delivering a number of classics for all to enjoy and having seen this show since it began running I could only say that its always a hoot.  Our comprehensive review of the bands performance can be found on the main PiercingMetal.com site by clicking their logo below but be sure to continue on down the post first to see some other photos that we are only presenting here for your enjoyment.  Merry Christmas everyone.

“Yes Virginia (or New York for that matter), There is a Twisted Christmas”

The Marquee announces this evening's show.

The Bad Boys of Rock & Roll in The Big Apple

I liked the bright look that the marquee was presenting to the tourist ridden streets of Times Square this evening so snapped a couple of shots of them for good measure.  Once inside I saw this rather prominent thing.

A Twisted Guitar X-Mas Tree

Confusing right?  I admit that this caught me a little puzzled as well but upon investigation I learned that this was supposed to be a Christmas Tree assembled from a wide (and weird) assortment of guitars.  Based on the gathering crowd it was a little tricky to get a proper shot of it but we did what we could. Here’s another from a little more distance.

Twisted Guitar Xmas Tree (shot 2)

This next shot is the complete set list that was being performed tonight and based on my vantage point this comes from Eddie Ojeda’s side.  As you can see this was a careful blend of the “Twisted Christmas” CD and “Stay Hungry” for the most part with a little extra seasoning.

Set List: Twisted Christmas 2009

The elves prepared the stage for the bands arrival and the lead elf was guiding the function of the giant doll maker chamber and while he would open up the door, another elf above would pour in the concoction that would deliver us one of the members of the band or something different.  First out of the chamber came a Toy Solder.

A Twisted Elf & Toy Soldier

While he did this another couple of elves brought out some guitars.

Twisted Elf Guitar Tech

First band member out of the Toy Chamber was drummer A.J. Pero

Twisted Sister's drummer A.J. Pero

Next out was the ever intimidating Mark “The Animal” Mendoza on bass mayhem.  We recently did an e-interview with him about the show we were set to attend and you can read that article HERE.

Twisted Sister's Mark "The Animal" Mendoza on bass

Coming up next was Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda and everyone was happy to see him walking onto the stage as he had recently undergone emergency back surgery.   He actually missed one performance and had a stand in, so it was awesome to find him up and around and able to perform.  He was followed by Jay Jay who made sure to point to the guitarist to extra applause.

Twisted Sister's Eddie Ojeda & Jay Jay French

From there the stage was cleared of some space and out came the sleigh that was directed by Santa Dee and pulled by four very sexy reindeer-ettes.  Last year we found the sled being pulled by mini-KISS, but I think that I preferred this upgrade just a little bit more.

These reindeer ladies sure enjoyed the attention that the folks in the photo pit and front row barrier were giving them and were snapping shots like celebrity had just arrived and that moment would come in a second as Santa Dee made his first appearance for the night.

Sexy Reindeers

Ladies and gents, the most sinister elf of them all, Santa Dee Snider!!!

Santa Dee Snider Arrives

Here’s a couple of shots of Santa Dee’s souped up sled.  If you look closely you can see the engine underneath it which I assume helps the Main Metal Elf deliver his goodies to the boys and girls of the world.

The Sled of Santa Dee

Santa Dee's Sled

When Dee arrives to the melodies of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” he does so with a sack loaded with candy canes and condoms (I think I finally get the joke), and he tosses these “presents” out to the fans who eagerly snap them up.  No, the condoms do not have the Twisted Sister Christmas label on them but wow what a good idea that would be.

Santa Dee Dishes Out The Goodies

Santa Dee says "Catch"

You better not pout when Santa Dee is coming to town boys and girls.  He means business that’s for sure.

Santa Dee says "Naughty? Or Nice?"

After the first portion of the song has completed and the sleigh is pulled off the stage the tempo increases and Dee disappears only to return in his classic Twisted Sister uniform which you see below.  The party has only just begun my friends.

Twisted Sister's Dee Snider

During the show Dee mentioned how the band was selling lumps of coal this evening and you could use it for the a-hole on your Christmas list.  During a quick break that I took to see the other merchandise, I found out that he was only kidding and the merchandise guy looked at me like I was crazy but agreed that such an item would have probably sold pretty well.  Food for thought Mr. Sister, good idea would be a tour book just like the old days.  They were selling a cool black Santa’s hat with a Twisted Sister logo.

Twisted Sister Santa Cap

Now that our little introduction to the fun has completed you can be rest assured that there is much more to this story as well as plenty of other photos to enjoy, so if you have not done so already be sure to click the bands “Twisted Christmas” logo banner at the top of this post or to make it easier on you just click HERE

Before we go, we did want to share the surprise running into with the fine folks over at Wood Violins.  You know the name I am sure, as this is the company run by violinist emeritus Mark Wood who we used to enjoy in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Wood Violins Team Alpha: Bridgid B'Dazzle, Mark Wood, Laura Kaye

Mark stepped down from TSO earlier this year to focus on his company and his own Mark Wood Experience shows where he works hard at getting music awareness in students.  Admirable cause and we look forward to catching one of their shows when they come to the city with it.