LIVE: TWIN TEMPLE – St. Petersburg, FL, USA – February 21, 2024

Venue: Jannus Live

City: St. Petersburg, FL

Dates: February 21, 2024

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

Twin Temple brought their God Is Dead tour to St Petersburg, FL’s Jannus Live on a brisk Wednesday evening.  After an atmospheric opening set from VOWWS, the stage was reset and readied for the Satanic Doo-Wop duo Twin Temple to assume their positions and begin their sermon and takeover of the venue, if only for the evening.  Armed with a couple of albums of material, including the latest release and tour namesake God Is Dead.  With a processional and some ceremonial sharing of swords, Bible, and ominous vibes, we were off and running.  The set opened with my favorite from their catalog when the pair and their band launched into “Sex Magick” from their debut release.  Both of the bands releases were equally represented with six tracks from each as well as a couple other tracks tossed in for good measure.  After “I Am a Witch” was worked through, the married practicing Satanist Alexandra and Zachary James paired two tracks from the 2023 release with the one-two punch of “Burn Your Bible” and one of my new favorites “Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy.”  The latter is a contagious song that is as fun sonically as it is campy lyrically.  While there are many references to Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, etc., make no mistake, the show is as much about the songs and the music as it is the presentation and the themes.  Next up was “Lucifer, My Love” and “Femme Fatale” from the debut release helped carry the set into the first of two instrumental breaks that let Zachary and the rest of the band flex their musical muscles without any lyrics to lead the charge.  The band supporting the pair, while dressed as if they escaped from the set of Children Of The Corn, is a tight unit that knows their role and does it well.  The bass and drums are great and anchor the set while the keyboards and saxophone add depth and punch to the guitar and vocals.  A trio of newer tracks – “Be a Slut,” “Black Magick,” and “Spellbreaker” helped take us closer to the end with the first of the songs adding another great song to my playlist, thanks to the music, lyrics, and the cool banter of “Be A Slut.”  Another instrumental featuring “The Munster’s Theme Song” helped swirl the various tracks together.  The next song “I’m Wicked” worked seamlessly with “Spellbreaker” both sonically and lyrically with fun vocals from Alexandra that perfectly demonstrated her grasp on her voice, the lyrics, and the importance of delivery which she has done perfectly throughout the evening.  As the evening worked to the end, “The Devil (Didn’t Make Me Do It)” and the cheeky “Satan’s a Woman” helped close out the set before we were informed they had time for one more and wanted to play a song so good the pair named their latest disc after it and they ripped into and through “God Is Dead.”  While that may or may not be true depending on your beliefs, one this is undeniable — Twin Temple puts on a hell of a show and gave the packed venue exactly what they came for tonight.  Closing the show with similar pomp and circumstance as the opening the closing ceremony was the final perfect touch on the evening.  Believe me when I say, I cannot wait to see these guys live once again.  Until then, I always have their two discs and my favorites from them to hold me over.

TWIN TEMPLE SETLIST: Sex Magick – I Am a Witch – Burn Your Bible – Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy – Lucifer, My Love – Femme Fatale – Be a Slut – Black Magick – Spellbreaker – I’m Wicked – The Devil (Didn’t Make Me Do It) – Satan’s a Woman – God Is Dead

[Show as slideshow]

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries