Saturday night, Steel Panther stopped at the Fillmore Silver Spring as part of the comedic glam metal band’s Twenty Twenty $ex Tour. It showed Steel Panther doing what they do best: delivering an adults-only night of humor, top-shelf musicianship, and delightfully over-the-top parody. The DC suburbs got a show that struck a careful balance between comedy and tight musical performance.
Kicking off the warm spring night in Silver Spring were Nashville’s Cody Parks & The Dirty South. The country-metal outfit delivered a rowdy, no-frills set to the assembled crowd. It was like a shot of Jack Daniels before the slick LA glam of the headliner—a high-energy blend of outlaw country, Southern rock, and Tennessee attitude.
The band leans into themes of working-class pride and rural identity. Heck, they even have an EP called “Smothered & Covered” (2023), a reference to that beloved Southern institution, Waffle House. Cody Parks & The Dirty South don’t rely on elaborate stage production—just driving guitars, pounding drums, and a frontman in Parks who can work a room. In just thirty minutes, Cody Parks & The Dirty South managed to get the crowd engaged with their aural barroom brawl, setting up the tone for the rest of the night. The band’s latest EP is 2024’s “Country Metal, Vol. 1.”
From the moment Steel Panther took the stage at 9 PM, the Fillmore became a neon-lit throwback to the Sunset Strip’s most outrageous days. The LA-based band (frontman Michael Starr, guitarist Satchel, drummer Stix Zadinia, and bassist Spyder) kicked off the set with “Eyes of a Panther” and were joined by athletic dancers showing off their impressive abilities on poles flanking the stage.
“Tomorrow Night” followed, and as usual, a girl was picked out of the crowd to join the band onstage during “Asian Hooker.” It took no time for the crowd to lock into Steel Panther’s blend of infectious hooks, silly adult humor, and deliberately outrageous songwriting. It’s indeed very funny, but the musicianship here is no gimmick—each riff and solo lands with precision.
Songs like “Just Like Tiger Woods” and “Friends with Benefits” displayed the band’s knack for crafting sing-alongs from cultural absurdity. “Death to All but Metal” always ignites big crowd reactions, uniting the audience and band in a tongue-in-cheek anthem of genre loyalty, even as it’s being parodied.
The rest of the show kept the party going deep into Saturday night and closed with “Community Property” and “Gloryhole.” In the end, a Steel Panther gig is equal parts satire and the celebration of the glory of heavy metal. Look beyond the naughty lyrics, strippers, and outrageous, but well-timed humor—this is a group of musicians who know exactly what they’re doing and how to keep a crowd entertained.
The US leg of the Twenty Twenty $ex tour wraps up in New Jersey on May 1. From there, they take hair metal to Europe, starting in Paris on June 15. If they head your way, bring your sense of humor, and leave the kids at home.
CODY PARKS & THE DIRTY SOUTH
