Twisted Sister at the Best Buy Theater

Dee Snider

In late December 1972, a glam band called Silver Star was trying to stabilize its lineup in order to become a New Jersey version of the New York Dolls. Manhattan resident John Segall joined and pushed to change the band's name. Two months later, the band became Twisted Sister, and Segall changed his name first to Johnny Heartbreaker and later to Jay Jay French. The band adopted costumes and began performing in bigger and bigger New Jersey and Long Island clubs, while the band's line-up changed countless times. By 1976, Twisted Sister moved in a heavier direction, performing hard rock cover songs, and hired vocalist Danny Snider (Dee Snider). The band's line-up stabilized in the 1980s with Snider, French, guitarist Eddie Ojeda, bassist Mark Mendoza and drummer A.J. Pero. Twisted Sister also evolved its feminized image into a more grotesque look, and began introducing original hard rock and heavy metal songs. After a decade of being rejected by every record company, Twisted Sister finally broke internationally with "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock." After more personnel changes, Twisted Sister disbanded in January 1988, but the members' solo projects were unsuccessful. Twisted Sister reunited after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 at a benefit concert for the NYPD and FDNY Widows and Orphans Fund; the band's classic line-up now reunites annually to perform at European rock festivals. The band officially stopped wearing make-up and costumes in 2009.

Twisted Sister ended its brief 2014 tour tonight at the Best Buy Theater with a benefit concert for the Pinkburst Project for Uveitis Research in association with the Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation. Jay Jay French's daughter, Samantha, has uveitis. Before Twisted Sister’s set, French, his daughter, and her doctor, Dr. Stephen Foster, thanked the audience and spoke about the treatable disease. "That Metal Show" co-host Don Jamieson hosted the benefit concert, and opening acts Adrenaline Mob and Killcode also donated their time and talent for the cause.  A.J. Pero played drums for both Twisted Sister and Adrenaline Mob tonight.

As the lights dimmed, the audience sang along to AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)," a fitting theme for Twisted Sister. Twisted Sister re-emphasized the theme with two rousing openers, "Stay Hungry" and "The Kids Are Back." With long curly hair falling onto his "Stop Talking Selfies" t-shirt, gripping his hot pink microphone stand, Snider moved non-stop, welcoming the audience to the band's long-awaited homecoming concert. Besides the charity, the band had one center of gravity, identified clearly through the anthemic "You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll", "I Believe in Rock 'n' Roll", "I Wanna Rock" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)." All the musicians played well, but Snider and his gravelly voice commanded the attention, with so much banter that the last two songs listed on the set list had to be cut due to a curfew, "Come Out and Play" and "Tear It Loose." A seemingly semi-retired Twisted Sister has not released an album since 2006, but the concert tonight proved that when the rare concert appearance comes along, the fire still burns.

Visit Twisted Sister at www.twistedsister.com.