It was a long time in the making. The unknown hamlet of Patterson, New York was about to host the show of a lifetime- THOR.

Unfortunately, the night of the show, Thor was up against a couple of competing gigs. One was a bunch of scrawny, undernourished, somehow famous punkers (their name was “Not Worth Seeing”, I think) headlining at a show a few towns away. The pale anemic punks with necks like toothpicks + legs like pencils somehow drew a very large crowd, I'm told. The other was called (I think) “Wash Up Fest 2005” featuring the bunch of pretenders billing themselves as Lynyrd Skynyrd who were polluting the air with their half baked boogie noises. This was occurring mere yards away from the Patterson Rec Center.

But weaklings be darned. Anticipation at the Center was high! The ether was electric with excitement as Steve Stack clawed huge sheets of metal from his guitar to herald the coming of THOR. A veritable flood of people poured in from the parking lot (where they were hiding from my band, ULTRABUNNY, while we decimated all barriers of sound, light, and fashion) when they heard Steve's volcanic rumbling. Then the whole band kicks in and suddenly! There he is! First walking, now running to the stage- THOR! In full body armor with helmet and sword. The show has begun!

If you're reading this, you know what happens when Thor strides the boards, but I will provide a few vignettes from that awesome night.

It was amazing to see none other than Steve Price demonstrate the meaning of twin guitar shred with Steve Stack. Old school collided head on with new school and the crash sounded great! Ears ring to this day and all who witnessed these two guitar giants battling it out on stage know how lucky they are to have seen it!

Thor is a true showman who lives for his time on stage. Everyone who sees him can tell. Everyone who hears him believes. His enthusiasm is 100% human to human contagious and when Thor rocks, there's a grin on every face.

Every member of the audience left that night a true believer of the power of THOR. When Thor plays, there are no curious locals, wallflowers, or scenesters. Neither the moms, dads, housewives, nor their kids have ever seen nor will ever see majesty on the level of THOR.

-- Malcolm Tent