Steel Panther Live Review From Brixton Academy London March 31st 2012
On the last evening of March 2012, Brixton high street and the pubs around Brixton Academy (Wetherspoons anyway) were crammed full of tongue in cheek glam impersonators and people who looked like Motley Crue groupies which means only one thing; Steel Panther were in town and ready to party.
We arrived somewhat after doors and thus only caught the end of the support performance, provided on this occasion by Cambridge natives The Treatment. The Treatment have just been announced to support KISS and Motley Crue on their co-headline US tour so I assumed they must have something about them and their blend of traditional heavy rock & roll went down very well with the assembled masses inside Brixton Academy with the whole of the standing section enthusiastically responding to singer Matt Jones's directions. Based on the limited evidence we saw The Treatment are a band to keep your eyes open for.
As entertaining as The Treatment were, tonight's sold out crowd are all about one thing and that is .Steel Panther. There is an almighty cheer that greets them as they race onto stage for opener Supersonic Sex Machine, which swiftly gives way to the inspired Tomorrow Night which prompts one of the first moshpits of the evening. Steel Panther milk the audience to the maximum amount possible, which is pretty justified considering they got their big break nearly twenty years after beginning the band another lifetime and several band names ago.
Old favourites like Fat Girl and in particular Asian Hooker ellicit very loud responses ("Do you like Asians? Do you like Hookers?") but the newer material such as Just Like Tiger Woods had just as many people singing along to them at top volume. The cheerleader-esque chorus of Gold Digging Whore ("G-O-L-D D-I-G-G-I-N-G W-H-O-R........E") had complete audience participation and the momentum continued all the way through the show (including an impressive solo from Satchel) to the band slowing things down a little with Stix Zadinia stepping out from behind the drums to play the keyboard on "Weenie Ride". One thing we could have done without was having to break up a fully fledged fight during one of my personal favourites Turn Out The Lights, as two guys around us literally wanted to turn each other's lights out for good and the blood was flowing from one of them.
Satchel: Six String Party Animal
After the brief calm of the Weenie Ride, it was back to full throttle with old favourite Party All Day during which Michael Starr invited several "sluts" (a selection of young ladies of varying ages including some who as my friend Stuart put it, "weren't questionable, they still had bed times") onto the stage to party with the band which was entertaining enough, although slightly disturbing at times as some of the girls on stage were probably (without exaggeration) a quarter of the age of certain members of Steel Panther, though whether those girls visited the Steel Panther dressing room after leaving the stage and what they did whilst in there is not my concern.
Steel Panther: Partying All Day and Night
The end of the show was classic Panther with It Won't Suck Itself packing an enormous punch despite the lack of Chad Kroeger on co-lead vocals (though most people would probably say that that is a good thing) leading into "a single that we sold more than 600 copies of here in the UK", Death To All But Metal which sent Brixton mental and closed the main part of the show in fitting style. There was still time for the fun to continue on the encore with "Eatin Ain't Cheatin" before The Panther closed proceedings with the inevitable 17 Girls In A Row.
The full Steel Panther setlist was:
- In The Future (PA Intro)
- Supersonic Sex Machine
- Tomorrow Night
- Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)
- Asian Hooker
- Just Like Tiger Woods
- Gold Digging Whore
- Satchel Guitar Solo
- Turn Out the Lights
- Community Property
- Eyes of a Panther
- Weenie Ride
- Party All Day (Fuck All Night)
- It Won't Suck Itself
- Death to All but Metal
- ======================================
- Eatin' Ain't Cheatin'
- 17 Girls In A Row
If you like good tongue in cheek humour, good metal and generally having a good time, Steel Panther live is an experience for you. Michael Starr and friends are extremely good value for money live and there are many people, all of us who went on this particularly night included, who are looking forward to their UK returns at Download and then in November for their next UK tour. There will be many people throwing the shocker in excitement at the thought of this.
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