A Night with Twisted Charm in the Upper West Side
Twisted Charm at Prohibition | Photo by Alicia Lenea
The opinions reflected in this review are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.
The cover band Twisted Charm played their hearts out at Prohibition on Saturday, Feb. 18. Prohibition is a classy bar with a southern touch in the Upper West Side. The venue hosts live music every night and is open Tuesday through Sunday. There is a ten-dollar cover charge for the live performances on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and they have a coat check for $2 per coat.
On Saturday night inside Prohibition, all types of alcoholic beverages lined the walls behind the bar. Normally their tables are available to anyone to sit down and have a meal, but tonight they had the tables reserved for those that got there earlier. They moved the tables to one side of the room so they could create a dance floor.
On this particular Saturday night, all the focus was on Twisted Charm and its six members: lead singer Amanda Nagy, lead singer Eric Delaney, bandleader and pianist Nick Giampino, bass player John Mojica, guitarist Jeff Swan and drummer “Nick I”.
Twisted Charm plays covers of songs from multiple artists, including (but not limited to) Michael Jackson, Lizzo, Walk the Moon and the Backstreet Boys, throughout the Tri-state area.
Delaney and Nagy joined in 2021, but the band itself has been around for much longer. Nick I, Mojica and Swan created the band and kept its name alive for the past 15 years.
They do not play original music and do not have an album or an EP because performing covers is what the band proclaims to be all about. They twist on stage every which way and charm the audience with their beautiful voices and perfect rhythm. The crowd was particularly mesmerized by how Delaney moved like Michaell Jackson.
Delaney has always loved music. As a child “he wanted to be cool like all of [his] favorite musicians,” so he started singing at the age of fourteen but didn’t start performing professionally until five years ago. He currently performs for a living. “It’s a dream come true” for him, but he had to “sacrifice a lot” in his life in order to do so.
Photo by Alicia Lenea
Delaney stole the show many times that night as the girls in the crowd went crazy. At one point he reached out his hand, and a girl in the crowd reached back to touch it. When he let go of her hand, she pulled her hand toward her heart and leaned over to her friend.
“Watching live music forces people to be present in the moment,” Delaney said. “I've talked to showgoers afterward who said they've waited all week to get out and have a few hours to enjoy their life. I realized that we're providing an experience that's an escape for some people, and I think that's beautiful.”
Delaney was not the only lead singer that provided a few hours of a fun escape. Nagy, also showed off her vocals.
Photo by Alicia Lenea
Nagy grew up in a home that was always performing something. She said that it was “the carrot that was always dangled over her.” In order to perform, she had to do well in school. She eventually went to school at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and double majored in Voice and Music Education with a minor in Dance.
Nagy is currently the District Supervisor of the Arts at an elementary school in Union County, NJ. Performing has always been a treat to her and something that she loves to do.
Nagy’s voice pushed the audience both emotionally and physically.
Charlie Murherore, a 73-year-old semi-retired Wall Street headhunter, danced the night away with any young woman that would take his outstretched hand. Every time Nagy sang, Murherore got up out of his seat from his private table and let the music move him around the small area between the crowd and the stage. At one point Nagy got off the stage, took Murherore's outstretched hand, and danced with him as she continued singing.
The crowd cheered as Delaney and Nagy sang together with their breathtaking chemistry.
At the night's end, Maci, the person in charge of the coat check, said that Delaney and Nagy “are married or a couple.” In reality, their chemistry on stage is from a close friendship.
"No, me and Amanda have always been good friends. We're close, so I'm assuming people see that chemistry between us while we're performing and make some assumptions." Delaney said.
Delaney and Nagy have not known each other long, but they have a strong friendship. “Eric and I met through the band,” Nagy said. “I feel like I’ve known him forever though, and we hit it off right away! Truly partners in party when we hit the stage!”
23-year-old Andrew Romero of Santa Fe, New Mexico said that the performance “was electric” after visiting Prohibition for the first time Saturday night.
When they played the song Wonderwall, Neidin Shelnutt, a senior at The King's College, said, “I hate this song, but they are making me love it.”
Twisted Charm is truly a must-see band. They give the crowd exactly what they are looking for in a fun and exciting night. Their live music is an escape from the realities of life that most of us need at one point or another. This band gives the audience a fun night that they will hopefully never forget.
Twisted Charm often plays at Prohibition and will be playing there once a month for the foreseeable future. Check their Instagram page to see when they are playing next.
Alicia Lenea is the Live Music Columnist at The Empire State Tribune. She is a senior majoring in Journalism Culture and Society.