The 80s were a weird time. If you lived through it, you experienced an analogue world and watched it shift into a digital one. You also would have experienced the rise and fall of music television and, with that, you would have experienced the shift in rock music. Gather round children, and let me tell you a tale...a tale of a rock genre that had a sound as loud as their outfits. Nestled on the rock timeline in between the original yacht rock and grunge, Hair Metal or Glam Rock secured the 80s and early 90s. It was a wild time, and an overly sexual time. Big hair and monstrous guitar licks, spandex patterned with neon colored animal prints, and insane backstage antics were signature trademarks of the era. Those are just a few of the things that made up the essence of glam metal. Steel Panther has taken that essence and cranked it up to 11! This ain’t your mama's hair metal band.
Steel Panther members Michael Starr (vocals), Satchel (guitar), Spyder (bass), and Stix Zadinia (drums) present a performance that will have you rocking while you’re uncontrollably laughing. Not an act for the faint of heart, this show is rated R and at times NC-17.
The lyrics may be raunchy but they are hilarious and the music is nothing to laugh at. Frontman Michael Starr brings serious vocal chops, Satchel absolutely shreds channeling Eddie Van Halen himself, bassist Spyder becomes a candy-wielding Nikki Sixx, and drummer Stix hammers the skins like Bill Ward.
They opened with “Eyes Of A Panther” from 2009s Feel The Steel, and jumped directly into “Let Me Come In” from 2011s Balls Out. Before the third song, “Asian Hooker”, from the album Feel The Steel, the band took their time playfully insulting each other, fighting over leadership status, and picking on members of the crowd. They controlled the audience like a seasoned stand-up comic would. The crowd belted out in simultaneous laughter like a studio audience laugh track on a sitcom. Their songs were gleefully obscene like “Friends with Benefits” from their latest release On The Prowl, and beyond crass like Feel The Steel’s “Party All Day", and the audience ate that shit up!
Let me warn you if you have never heard of Steel Panther and you go in blind, you may find yourself in for a shock. The lyrics are joyously offensive and, in a day and age where things can easily offend or be taken out of context, it was extremely refreshing. Not only does Steel Panther rock, they bring back a massively influential sound from the 80s and also manage to bring back the I dont give a f**k attitude that the era was known for!
