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Event
WE ARE TWISTED FUCKING SISTER
WE ARE TWISTED FUCKING SISTER!
dir. Andrew Horn, 2014
135 mins. In English.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8th - 7 PM
WITH FILMMAKER Q&A! (This event is $10.)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21 - 7:30 PM
The Beatles trial by fire was those two years playing in the bars in Hamburg. For Twisted Sister, it lasted for 10.
Back then, they were the Grand Funk of Glam and the NY Dolls of Metal. Some considered Twisted Sister a joke, others called them the greatest bar band in the world. While the microcosm of Punk and New Wave was taking over downtown New York in the mid 70s early 80s, Twisted Sister was battling their way to the top of a vast suburban, cover-band bar scene that surrounded Manhattan in a 100 mile radius, yet existed in a parallel universe.
The film follows them from their beginnings as a cross-dressing glam band, playing cover songs for 4 shows a night, 6 nights a week from New Jersey bowling alleys and Long Island beach bars, to the suburban mega-clubs of the late 70s/early 80s, and on to their bust-out appearance on the UK rock TV show, The Tube. Through it all, Twisted stood ready to do or die, not just for the music, but also the show. They refused to play the usual bar band role of human juke box for drunk and horny teens. Every night, the band would give their all to the crowd, and mounted a full frontal attack on anyone not participating. They were going to force you to pay attention and you were going to have fun whether you liked it or not.
They regaled their audiences with comedy rants, dragging them on stage for vomit inducing drinking games, engaging them in fits of disco record smashing and, at their most extreme, whipping them into club-destroying frenzy. The performances were low on style and heavy on the humor and attitude but behind it all, always smart and full of self awareness. Spinal Tap may have been clueless but Twisted Sister knew exactly what they were doing.
It was both a great living and a dead end because once you reached the peak headlining clubs attracting audiences of 2, 3 or 5 thousand a night there was nowhere left to go. As big as Twisted got on that circuit, in the eyes of the world, ie the music business establishment, they were nothing but a bar band.
If youre expecting a tribute film recounting the well known events of Twisted Sisters rock star career, be prepared for something very different. This is not about their hit songs, the MTV videos and their massive stadium shows, rather its the untold story of how they became that band one full of strange, and often hilarious, twists and turns. Its a story of Rock n Roll and the business of Rock n Roll. Its about perseverance and things blowing up in your face. Its about finding yourself, finding your audience and doing literally anything, however wild, to connect with them. And even though we know how it ends, the roller coaster ride of getting there is what its really all about. A mesmerizing, and wickedly funny story of a 10 year odyssey to overnight success.
Twisted guitarist, Jay Jay French, sums it up, the history of Twisted is really those 10 years in the clubs. The years we spent clawing our way through the bar scene. It was learning how to make order out of chaos and how to win in bad situations. And it was unique to Twisted. I talk to hundreds of bands and nobodys ever gone through what we went through. Its who we are, and its why we are, and why we do what we do.
One of the most surprising movies I have seen in quite some time.() a film for everyone, not just fans, one which [imparts] a deeper understanding of and respect for the men who lived it. Pamela Glasner, Huffington Post
Hilarious and revealing interviews () as well as plenty of riotously entertaining footage from the bands Seventies Tri-State club heyday. Immensely compelling. Dan Epstein, Rolling Stone
The time flies by, director Andrew Horn concocting a compelling, take-no-shit tale of Twisted Sisters stuttering rise to stardom. Geoff Barton, Classic Rock Magazine
Im not a Twisted Sister fan and, in fact, knew very little about their scene in generalbut this is a fascinating documentary. David Hudson, Fandor
Noise, mayhem, pathos, endless reversals and plenty of uproarious comedy. The Independent (UK)
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LocationSPECTACLE (View)
124 South 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11249
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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