Flashback Friday: Twiztid’s “This Way To Hell Tour” 18 October 2014

I left Aunt Kathy’s house around 2 pm and dad dropped me off to the Dekalb Station to take the P & W (err, Norristown High Speed Line) to 69th Street then catch the el into Philadelphia. I was dressed in my old pair of ripped jeans (I’m going to have to get a belt for them… they’re stretchy and by the end of the night, I had to hold them up) with purple/black striped stockings and my black Twiztid shirt. I had my hippie purse around me and my camera bag in hand. I was ready to get pictures of the show and for whomever to take pictures of me with Madrox and Monoxide. Dad said, “I’m glad you’re excited. It’s cool you’re meeting them.” When we pulled into the Dekalb Station parking lot, dad said, “Have a great time, but be careful. I’ll be up until 11.” I said, “I’ll be home around 1:30. Friends have said their shows usually end at Midnight.” “Okay, have fun!” I headed down to wait for the P & W, it came five minutes later and I blasted Twiztid on my iPod all the way until the city. I was pumped, excited and a bit nervous about meeting my heroes and my crush: Monoxide.

I arrived to the TLA at 4 pm. I still had an hour until the VIPs were supposed to meet to get the goody bag and get the instructions of where to meet. I wasn’t the only one waiting, four other people were waiting and we all introduced ourselves. They were cool to talk to. Gradually more people came and it was so neat seeing cars drive by for the concert blasting music. One car had Twiztid stickers all over their back window. We all thought that was cool, but we wondered about the legality of it since we always thought seeing out the back window had to be visible and couldn’t have too many stickers. We shrugged it off and continued talking about Twiztid, Faygo, where we were from, etc. Gradually more people were coming and then we were told to wait on the side. While we waited on the side, I started talking to more people. One group was a couple from Allentown (Pennsylvania) and we just started talking about concerts and music. We introduced ourselves: Dan and Laura were their names. Justin, one of the guys I met when I first got to the TLA, loved Dan’s speakers since he was playing Abominationz through his iPod. Justin is a DJ and wanted to see how his music sounded on the mini 808 speakers. Then the Twiztid Shop guys came out and said things had been moved back until 6. Laura and Dan said, “Alright, I guess we can catch a quick drink. Let’s all go!” So a bunch of us went to that bar across the street from Jim Steak’s.

We ordered our drinks and just sat at the table and talked. Laura was talking about a concert she went to previously and that’s when I asked where they were from. They said, “Allentown” and I said, “Oh, neat! I went to a few concerts there.” “Really? The venues are usually lame.” I replied, “Yeah, I didn’t like the Crocodile Rock. I went to see Mindless Self Indulgence in 2008 and apparently at the time they wanted you in the mosh pit. I had a panic attack because it was getting out of hand and I’m small. The owners actually yelled at me about getting out of the pit,but I did and watched the show from the side. Still a good show.” She replied, “I was at that show! And the same thing happened to me, and I waited on the side. It was a good show.” Small world. We then talked about our excitement and nervousness about meeting Twiztid. We were just imagining what it’ll be like to finally meet them. They have been fans for a long time as well and I believe it was their first time seeing them too or at least first time meeting them (actually, when I first got there, I said it was my first time seeing them and meeting them and someone said, “Wow! You’re going all out for your first time!”). I looked at my watch, told them it was almost 6 and we finished our drinks.

When we got back, the Twiztid shop guys were there and handed us our bags and VIP passes. We were told we’ll be let in to line up to meet them at 6:30. Laura, Dan and I split up and I hung out with Justin for a bit. I also met Rich and his sister, Bre. I met George when I first arrived, but we all started talking more about the time was nearing to meet the performers we all loved for 10+ years. It was awesome to see that there were other long time fans there and others who could relate to them as well. George held up his cell phone to get a picture of everyone waiting. I asked him if he could take one with my phone so I could post (after all, I’m short and he was tall…):

I’m still shaking even though it’s been a half an hour since the last hug from Jamie and Monoxide took place. I was still fan girling and thinking, “OMG! This just happened! I just met the people I loved since I was a teenager and someone I have a huge crush on! They were awesome!” when the time Rich and I walked from the merch booth to where Bre was saving a spot for us all: front row. The TLA is standing room only, but there was still room to sit so we all sat and waited until the show started. Bre and I gushed about meeting Monoxide and how cool it was. We both were squeeing. I also showed off pictures of the birthday cake I made (remember that one? The one with Monoxide from Mostasteless and he loved, then wished me a happy birthday?), which everyone loved.

The show finally started at 9 pm with Whitney Peyton opening (hmm… I did talk to her… she’s from the Philadelphia area and someone I had a class with in college knows her personally and has worked with her since she’s a musician… that was an awesome experience too. She’s probably about my age and she was down to Earth. I bought a shirt and she signed it. I’ll have to download more of her songs from Amazon or iTunes) with “Wasted Pt. 2” which she collaborated with Twiztid (and a bunch of others) on the Get Twiztid album. That was really cool.

Her whole opening act was really cool. I loved the special effects for “Pinwheels” and she ended it with a burst of confetti (which there are still a few strands hanging out in my Twiztid bag… save them for a scrapbook) and then body surfed in an inflated donut flotation device. I really liked her style and I would see her again. She was good.

The next band was a heavy metal band, which reminded me of Poison the Well. They were called Neurotic November. It didn’t surprise me they were playing because Jamie is a fan of metal music and that’s why Twiztid sometimes can have a rock sound… they were on Rock Tunes for a long while in the early to mid 2000s. Which, yes… Twiztid and the cartoon I’ve had printed out since 2004 is still there! Twiztid Cartoon. They weren’t a bad band, but I think I’d like to check out their CD and form a judgement. They had a lot of energy and I loved their playing… but the lead singer was meh. I think they accomplished what they were hired for as seen here:

Kung Fu Vampire was the last act before Twiztid. They were a combination between rock with the instruments and rap, since the rapper rapped. I thought they were interesting and I liked their style too. I really liked their energy and he was a great choice before Twiztid playing. The guitarist was awesome as well. Oh, there was also a controlled mosh pit; Kung Fu Vampire had us part to the sides for those who wanted to mosh could mosh for a song. It was a controlled pit, but I stayed on the side. Kung Fu Vampire thanked people for helping people up who fell and considerate of others around them. 🙂

Ah, Twiztid! Twiztid came on around 10:45 and played until midnight. Oh man, their performance was AMAZING! When they came out on stage, since I was in the front row, Madrox and Monoxide dowsed me with their water bottles. It was freezing cold water too! It sort of reminded me of the polar plunges I did and it made me even more alert. More people began to mosh and a lot of them were put on the side since no moshing was allowed. I also became between first and second room because some people moved up to get pictures of their idols. I didn’t mind and I’m glad most of my pictures turned out well.

Their set list was AWESOME. They played a lot of songs from Mostasteless such as Rock The Dead and Blink, which those are my favorite two. They played “We Don’t Die,” which was the Twiztid song that got me into them back in 2003. They played “Afraid of Me,” “Down With Us,” “Lift Me Up,” “Whatthefuck,” “Bagz,” “Breakdown,” and a bunch of others. I was singing, errr, rapping along with them and jumping up and down. No wonder why I was hoarse at the end of the show and I was all smiles. I waved to Monoxide a few times and gave him a big smile. 😀

They ended with “LDLHA-IBCSYWA,” which is my absolute favorite song by them. This song is on Abominationz and it’s always something I listen to. If I ever play the piano again, I’d play this. I sang along with it and you can definitely hear it in the video. When the song ended, the lights dimmed and we all screamed, “FAMILY! FAMILY! FAMILY!” Madrox and Monoxide came back out and did a mini comedy routine. Madrox started saying, “Monoxide, I want to give you a big hug” and Monoxide started running from him – it was a game of cat and mouse on stage. Monoxide gave a big smile, but sadly that picture didn’t come out.. however, I did capture another Monoxide smile moment (I love his smile! His smile makes my heart melt). Then they thanked everyone who performed. Jamie said, “after me let’s give everyone a “whoop motherfuckin’ whoop whoop!” We had to do it a few times, I gave a really loud “whoop motherfuckin’ whoop whoop” to Monoxide. Monoxide just said, “I’m not as creative as Jamie, so let’s all give Jamie a simple “whoop whoop.”

It was just so much fun, so much fun. I can’t wait to see them again because it was just a really powerful show with so much energy. That was one of the best weekends this year and this totally made my year. Check out my photo album: Twiztid Meet & Greet, This Way To Hell Tour 2014.

Oh, I was on Wesley’s profile and Twiztid posted this! Sadly you can’t see me because Monoxide is covering me… but that goes to show I had front row view of that awesome, handsome man… so it’s okay! 😀