By Andrew Bansal
June 24th 2013, House Of Blues, West Hollywood CA: In the past couple of months, the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip has been running dry as far as hard rock and heavy metal shows are concerned, and as a result, I hadn’t visited the venue in a while. But what better way to end that drought than with a Steel Panther Monday night residency? Following their travels abroad, the band is back in their hometown for a few weeks of Monday night shows at the venue, the kind of shows Steel Panther have been doing for more than a decade, shows that are hailed as legendary by fans and musicians alike. In December 2011, I saw the band open up for Guns N’ Roses at the Great Western Forum, and even though that was a very different set from them as compared to what they do here, I had a newfound appreciation for them. This being my first time seeing them since then, I was expecting to enjoy the ‘Steel Panther experience’ a lot more than I did in the past.
Promptly at their regularly scheduled set start time of 11.30 PM, the curtains drew apart and the band appeared to a raucous applause, a majority of which came from the tons of hot chicks that were in attendance. They began with the jumpy, catchy and rocking ‘Eyes Of A Panther’ off of the Feel The Steel album, a fitting opening tune that represents the band perfectly with its music and lyrics, and sure enough, it immediately got this crowd rocking. They followed that up with ‘Tomorrow Night’ off of the latest album ‘Balls Out’, and only then did they get into the comedy segment and stayed on it for a good 10-15 minutes. For them it’s such a routine but it’s so not routine for anyone in the crowd. It’s near impossible to not laugh at the jokes cracked by the dudes on stage. As always, they pointed out chicks in the crowd and took the mickey out of them, the most hilarious being their jab at an Indian girl. Guitarist Satchel’s joke about that girl and the 7-eleven had most people in splits, specially myself being an Indian. I was laughing so hard I was about ready to roll down on the floor right there.
‘I gained ten pounds this weekend. I’m gonna fuck some fat bitches tonight, fuck yeah! shouted singer Michael Starr gleefully, leading into the next musical bit of the show with ‘Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)’. Some Van Halen jokes came next, and of course, a cover of ‘Jump’. Things got real freaky after that, as a dozen chicks came up on stage and displayed their wares for all to see. This bit took another 10-15 minutes out of the show, not that anyone was complaining. ‘Community Property’ was the next song played, and then came the Satchel guitar solo, truly one of the most unique and entertaining guitar solos you’ll ever get to witness, complete with the man himself jumping on the drumkit and playing the kick drum even while he continued playing the guitar, bringing out some of the most loved riffs in heavy metal.
They usually have a guest musician performing with them for a couple of songs, and on this occasion it was Poison drummer Rikki Rockett who sat in with Steel Panther on three popular Poison tunes. Their parody-based style of performing the song ensured that even non-Poison fans in the crowd enjoyed that part. I must also admit, this was my first ever time seeing Rockett perform, and he came across as a better drummer than I had ever imagined him to be. He exited the stage, after which the band continued on with the Poison parody/tribute for one more song, covering ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’. They ended the set with the most popular Steel Panther original song ‘Death To All But Metal’, and bid goodbye to the fans.
More than anything else, people who have never been to a Steel Panther show need to understand that even though the band members love and respect the 80s glam metal bands, their act is very much a parody and a fun take on those songs. Theirs is a show enjoyable to glam metal fans as well as people who hate the genre or aren’t big fans of it. In essence, a Steel Panther show is accessible to just about everyone, metalhead or not. I really thought I would dig the actual musical performance more than the comedy routines, but I was proved wrong as both aspects of the show were equally entertaining. Hands down, this was the most fun show I have been to in the year 2013 so far, and I have a feeling only Steel Panther have the ability to beat it.
Remaining House Of Blues Sunset Strip residency dates: July 1, 8, 22 and 29
Set List (might be missing one SP original):
1. Eyes Of A Panther
2. Tomorrow Night
3. Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)
4. Jump (Van Halen cover)
5. Community Property
6. Satchel Guitar Solo
* Poison covers with Rikki Rockett on drums*
7. Nothin’ But A Good Time
8. Talk Dirty To Me
9. I Want Action
10.Every Rose Has Its Thorn (Poison cover)
11.Death To All But Metal
If you live in the UK and enjoy comedy, get Micky Flanagan Tickets.