Just kidding! Tonight was about spandex and make up, and that’s just the guys! Tonight was about hairspray and bangles, the guys once again! Tonight was going to be a glam metal extravaganza, with some of the most brutally honest lyrics, and songs so wrong - but so right - that it’s a crime they don’t get mainstream radio play. Performing on stage once again we were about pay homage to the glam studs who have ignited a love affair of hair metal in a generation that may have missed the 80s; Steel Panther, and tonight they brought a few new friends with them for the ride.
To kick off proceedings we had Fozzy. Whether you are an existing fan or new to the name, people tend to identify the band with Chris Jericho. He is a bit of a ladies’ man, and known to be a bit of a fighter, on top of being a killer front man. Performing at Soundwave earlier this year, Fozzy may have still been fresh in the minds of some punters as their fan base was showing its support early in the night. Fists pumping and chants of “Fozzy! Fozzy! Fozzy!” over and over to an elated Jericho after the first song, the band quickly got the party started.
I wish I could name a few of the songs they played but alas, I am new to them, I just stood back and watched an energetic performance by a bunch of guys that enjoyed playing to the Adelaide crowd. Jericho pulled off some moves that I’m sure he did in the WWE. The rest of the guys just let their playing speak for itself.
The mood lighting changed to a fitting shade of electric blue as the four guys from California we’d all come to see hit the stage. Opening with ‘Eyes Of A Panther’, followed by ‘Tomorrow Night’, this particular night was at full swing. Steel Panther fucking rock, Satchel’s guitar solos would have raised Eddy Van Halen’s eyebrows; there is no denying the talent on the stage as ‘Turn Out The Lights’ starts up. Even Lexxi, when he could hold off from looking at himself in the mirror and brushing his hair, showed he wasn’t just up there for his looks alone. There was more cock thrusting than in a seventies porno and that no hold barred humour wasn’t only directed at members of the crowd, each member of the band had their own turn at getting the absolute piss taken out of them with some entertaining videos being played on the big screen between songs.
New songs ‘Party Like Tomorrow’s The End of the World’ and ‘Glory Hole’ were a nice touch to a set that was already busting a zipper. The confetti cannon sprayed the crowd like a well placed money shot as frontman Michael Starr led us all on a ‘Weenie Ride’. “’Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’ and ‘Death To All But Metal’ closed a set that was everything you would expect at a Steel Panther show. Everyone knew that an encore would follow and not a soul moved from the floor in anticipation of a few more songs to truly cap off the evening.
Now, what would a Steel Panther show be without showcasing the lovely women in attendance? Without much persuasion, the stage was quickly filled up with an array of eager fans. It didn’t take long before we had flesh, and a bit of girl on girl action, along with some duct tape being used in a non crowd pleasing way. Starr made his way through the girls and gave then some one on one Steel Panther time much to the amusement of the punters.
Steel Panther had a message we all needed to heed and that message was to party all day and for a few hours this night we did just that.
Chris Jericho was asked to make his way onto the stage along with his entourage of ladies and join Starr on vocals for closing number ‘17 Girls In A Row’.
Watching a Steel Panther show is like living in a 80s glam rock video for 90 minutes. Cheese factor reaches 100%, the hair spray is at biohazard levels, the whole feel of it is warm and sticky. As I walked out of the venue and surveyed my fellow punters, you could see the crowd really did feel the Steel tonight.
Review by Wayne Walters
Photos by Sofie Marsden. Full gallery can be seen here