For those of us who grew up listening to “Hair Metal” and love the glory days of the Sunset Strip, we have a savior of sorts, and they call themselves Steel Panther. Michael Starr, Lexxi Foxx, Stixx Zandinia, and Satchel ( I know, it’s like just Satchel?) are keeping a lost art alive and well, while taking excessiveness to a whole new level and reminding us all how ridiculous hair metal became at times.
Legend has it that Steel Panther were on the brink of signing the largest record deal in history back in the ’80s. All the major labels came to their showcase one night in LA, but the band never showed up. According to Dee Snider, their manager told them to be at the showcase, and they mistakenly thought he said to go out and get shit-faced. The labels ended up signing Jane’s Addiction, and the rest is history.
Fast forward 20 years, and what has been hailed as the greatest album ever created resurfaces at Universal Republic. It turns out that the band is alive and well, ready to stage the greatest comeback of all time. They released their debut Feel the Steel in 2011 to critical acclaim and quickly followed up with 2012’s Balls Out.
The band’s new album All You Can Eat is due to be released early next year. The first single “Party Like it’s the End of the World” is a surprisingly catchy number that could easily be put in a cage match against the best Poison song and have a good chance of coming out on top. While these guys may not take the genre too seriously (who still can for that matter?), they have some serious skills and noteworthy songwriting talents, in terms of pure unadulterated party rock ‘n’ roll.
The Regency Ballroom was completely packed to see these guys and for good reason. Their live show is one of the most incredibly entertaining things I have seen in a while. It’s nostalgic, comedic, partly a sing-along, and always excessive and insulting. It’s almost as if the backstage antics from Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard in their heyday have been moved onto center stage for all to see with no shame whatsoever and with full commentary. That to me is fascinating.
Highlights from the set included “Eyes of a Panther,” which could be confused with a serious metal song, “Tomorrow Night,” which has been stuck in my head all week long, and their “hit,” if you want to call it that, the purposely clichéd “Community Property.”
I’m not sure what song they were playing, but at one point during the set, the band brought numerous girls from the crowd onto the stage where they danced it up with various band members, eventually removing their tops. Now this is what I remembered about going to a metal show in the ’80s.
One final note: that guy Satchel on guitar is no slouch. He burned through a medley of guitar hero jams, which made me enjoy the fact that the guitar solo was once a replacement for a song in the set. I can’t say enough good things about these guys, but keep in mind, you absolutely must have a sense of humor and can’t be easily offended. If not, you won’t make it past the first two songs. If you do, then get ready to “Party Like It’s the End of the World.”
What did you think of the show? Share your thoughts in the comments and check out the entire hi-res collection of photos in the gallery.
