For fans who love 80’s rock, when Twisted Sister announced a comeback in the Fall of 2025, there was a lot of intrigue and skepticism at the same time. The band was supposed to consist of original guitar players Eddie Ojeda, Jay Jay French and vocalist Dee Snider. Shortly after the announcement was made, he had to bow out due to health concerns. Stepping up in his place was former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach. The other notable omission was original bassist Marco Mendoza, who was not invited to participate in the reunion. Stepping up in his place was Russell Pzütto (who played with Snider in his solo band). Rounding out the band was Joey Cassata on drums. Country act Diamond Dixie opened the show.
Diamond Dixie is led by sisters Gabriela and Bianca LeDuc. They are backed by a 3 piece band. They originally hail from Orlando, Florida but now have set up shop in Nashville, TN. Their 40 minute set consisted of mostly originals with a few classic rock covers tossed in. Songs like “Gone (and Moving On)” and “Lock It Up” showcased Gabriela’s vocal range. Bianca LeDjuc talents stretched from playing, guitar, mandolin and banjo. You haven’t heard “Enter Sandman” until you heard it led on a banjo. Kudos to the band for giving it a unique fresh look. Diamond Dixie made the most of their time in front of a rock crowd. Let’s see if they can build off playing in front of their biggest crowd to date.
Headlining the show was Twisted Sister. The band went back to the 1982 ‘Under the Blade’ album and opened up with “What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You).” One of my favorite TS songs was up next in “You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll. This show wasn’t just built on a great TS Catalog, but the showmanship of one Sebastian Bach. Since the show was in Southern Ontario, Bach made every effort to bring up historical tidbits to the audience. He is originally from Peterborough, Ontario (which is located about 2 hours north from Niagara Falls). He talked about old venues like Rock and Roll Heaven and the CNE. He shared stories of past friends and talked about his Aunt Leslie (who was located directly behind us in the crowd) who first introduced him to music with some Elvis Presley records. French also talked about the bands love of Canada throughout the show as well. He apologized for not playing the country enough during the bands heydey. Bach said “The Price” was one of the most beautiful songs ever written and dedicated to it Dee Snider. Since Bach was singing, it was only right to toss in a few Skid Row classics. Before, “I Remember You,” he dedicated it to the memory of Sass Jordan, who passed away a few days earlier. He also dedicated it to Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Peart. Towards the end of the set, Eddie Ojeda’s daughter Melanie Mortal joined Bach on vocals to sing a few parts of “I Will Remember You, “Youth Gone Wild” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Bach’s vocals were strong throughout the show and few command an audience like he does. Bach ended the set by saying, you just witnessed a guy from Ontario, Canada be the lead singer of Twisted Sister.
There wasn’t a lot of dates announced for this reformation. As I’m sure they wanted to see how the crowds reactions would be throughout the tour. If anything is like the support they received this past Thursday night, I would assume the Twisted Sister train will continue with more dates added in 2027.
Setlist:
What You Don’t Know (Sure Can Hurt You)
You Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll
Were Gonna Make It
The Kids are Back
Shoot ‘Em Down
Tear it Loose
Like a Knife in the Back
Ride to Live, Live to Ride
The Beast
The Price
I Remember You (Skid Row cover)
I Wanna Rock
Youth Gone Wild (Skid Row cover)
We’re Not Gonna Take It
We would like to thank to thank Erin Stitt from the Fallsview Casino for the credentials to review the show.