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STEEL PANTHER SETLIST MOON FEVER SETLIST STEEL PANTHER TOUR DATES FEB 21 Iron City Birmingham, AL
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Timeless rock, and still out on the prowl--
Teleporting in from 1987-era LA Sunset Strip and every hair metal poster that was on a teenager’s wall, Steel Panther came to downtown Kansas City, selling out The Truman for a weekend party night filled with expert musicianship, amped up stage antics, and hilariously stereotypical routines.
Kicking off the evening in a very loud and serious rocking (with a punk edge) fashion, was Seattle foursome (Mitch Micoley, Triston Bracht, Dave Orton, Troy Wageman), Moon Fever, in support of recent singles, “Getting Loud” and “Nothing Left to Lose”, which follow their 2021 EP, “Payphone Blues.”
Their half-hour opening set started and stayed in sixth gear- energetic and full of high octane, with lead singer Bracht keeping alive the Seattle front man tradition of climbing on speaker stacks, stalking the stage and interacting with the crowd along the rail. And towards the end while playing their recent single, “Feels So Good”, diving headfirst into the crowd, to be carried around on fans’ hands.
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The restless crowd was more than ready for the headlining act with many dressed in similar garb in tribute- teased long hair wigs, neon-colored spandex with leather, and some makeup here and there. The Los Angeles glam foursome (Michael Starr; Satchel; Stix Zadinia; Spyder) have been around more than two decades now (but still seem ‘frozen’ in late 80s) and we’ve been fans of the members even longer, remembering that Starr was the longtime frontman for Van Halen cover band, Atomic Punks, alongside guitarist Satchel.
This is the first full tour with new bassist Spyder (the current tour manager and also a former Atomic Punks member) who replaced the popular Lexxi Foxx, after his somewhat sporadic absences ("in sex rehab" it was hilariously explained). The band’s sixth full-length album, “On the Prowl” has been reviewed as their best in years, and their R- rated stage hi-jinks continue to amuse and entertain.
Festivities got underway with “Never Too Late” from the new album, with Starr subtly sniffing his fingers between verses, followed by the innocently named “Tomorrow Night” from 2011, which is anything but.
A spoken routine between Starr and Satchel led into “Just Like Tiger Woods”, still funny though the golfer is less in the news than a decade ago, and “Asian Hooker” was roughly scribbled off the setlist, in favor of the more direct, “All I Want to do is F**k”.
Satchel’s guitar solo (played mid-set) was part parody (like the whole act) but also showcased how experienced and technically skilled he really is, as a musician. Drummer Stix drew some uncomfortable but genuine laughs doing his one-armed Rick (Def Leppard) Allen drum impression.
Fans came to life during hit “Death to All But Metal” (a song showcased when they even tried out for ‘America’s Got Talent’ last year, making it to the semifinals) and they then went acoustic with Stix on keyboards for a more gentle delivery on “Weenie Ride”.
You can’t play a song like “17 Girls in a Row” without inviting some ladies to dance on stage, and soon there were dozens surrounding the band members. The night would end with the decade-old favorite, “Gloryhole”, a very adult-themed song about what just might be on the other side of that fence.
To fully enjoy a Steel Panther show, you have to appreciate the heyday of hair metal, let your hair down (so to speak) to take in the moment as-is, and let any walls down to not be offended by any language, scenarios, and these extreme personalities. On that level, Steel Panther’s ‘joke’ remains funny two decades plus later and is always a show to be guaranteed to be entertaining. No wonder they’re still strongly ‘on the prowl’.
(Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
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| JohnC ♥ johnc@weheartmusic.com ♥ X / twitter.com |
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