Touched by the Thunder god of Rock! or What I Did On My Summer Vacation A review of THOR's live show at The Springwater in Nashville, TN - July 27th, 2005 by Jeff Decker

I had discovered the music of Thor back in 1985, I was in high school and had sen many interviews, reviews and photos in underground music mags like Kerrang!,Metal Forces,Metallion, and Kick Ass Monthly. I hadn't heard any music just yet, but the visuals and song titles excited my imagination. Thor,like Kiss, was about a
total escape from reality into a metal fantasy world,me being a fan of sword and sorcery and sci-fi as well as superheroes,was taken in by the Conan-esque concept.

I soon was lucky enough to see the video for "Knock 'em down" on the USA network show Radio 1990. I was hooked! I soon acquired a copy of "Only the Strong" which is one of my all-time favorite metal albums. Fast forward to 2005,I had discovered the Thor website through a search engine,while looking up my favorite bands,and was happy to find that Thor was alive and well! I emailed the webmaster, Mike Pilmer,about some merchandise available,and after a few responses back and forth, was able to correspond with Thor himself! I had sent a fan letter,then had a few emails back and forth,when he sent me the news he was putting out a new cd,as well as going on tour!

After getting an update for the dates, Me and my wife Angel were planning our vacation down south,(we live in Omaha, Nebraska) and her relatives live in Alabama. I checked out the tour dates and found that the 2 dates in Tennessee were at the time we would be on vacation! I told her about being a huge fan of Thor and we made plans to attend the Nashville show.

After a long drive,we arrived in Tennessee,we checked into our motel and then went to the Springwater supper club,the venue for the show. We got there early and I got to meet Mike Pilmer from the website, guitarist Steve Stack, Bassist John,and Mike Favata. We all seemed to get along immediately! I had also made the aquaintance of Christos,a fan from Greece. We all chatted as we awaited showtime! I had a week earlier mentioned to Thor about the possibility of jamming a song with him perhaps at soundcheck,he said if it was possible I could do a song with him. I had found out that he didn't usually appear at soundcheck, but watched as Christos tok the mike for a few songs. I eagerly awaited the show to begin. Unknown to me,my wife had chatted with the band about getting me onstage during the show (I love you Angel! Thank you sooo much!). Now it was showtime! Two locals opened up the show, but I watched as Christos gave a passionate intro to the metal mayhem to follow...

Thor took the stage,marching through the crowd,then launching into "The coming of Thor" from the latest cd. "Ride of the Chariots" followed as Thor went through his catalog,songs from all eras,including,"Thunder on the Tundra" "Easy Women","Anger",and many others. Thor even made special announcements about the fans who had travelled to see him even mentioning they'll be getting up here later...I had no idea he was talking about me! Now I am a guitarist,and have been playing since 1982,and I had relearned 2 Thor songs "Knock 'em Down",and "Ride of the Chariots" lately for fun. The show continued and it was encore time! Thor had pulled most of us onstage during "Thunderhawk" while he went into the crowd. But what stunned me was a few minutes later,Thor grasped my arm and pulled me onstage! He told Steve to let me "hit the guitar" and asked if I knew "Lightning Strikes",I shook my head,and decided to warm up with a little lead flurries,then went into "Knock Em Down" the band just went with it and we were off! I couldn't believe it! Here I was playing my favorite Thor song with Thor! It was an incredible rush,and watching as Thor put his arm around me as I played was mindblowing! Even guitarist Steve Stack got into it,as we played together on his guitar,me picking,him fretting the strings...was cool! I pulled out all my tricks,while hoping I didn't make a mistake.

All too soon the song ended,but made for an unforgettable night! Thank you Thor and Thank you Angel for letting me live a dream!

-- Jeff Decker