Steel Panther Shows Teeth And Humor At Varsity
With another lovely night in Minneapolis during the early springtime ahead, why not indulge in some shock rock fun for a change of flavor.
The beginning of my evening began with scoring that coveted U of M metered spot a block away from the venue. Even though $3 an hour is somewhat steep, not having to battle with the one ways and walking hoards of students is quite nice when you can score it. Talked with a few older gentlemen who never miss a Steel Panther show before the opening support went on. The last one was at The Fillmore, so nice to get a smaller club show venue like the Varsity to get a bit more of an intimate performance. The audience was a bit interesting. A tad shy before music started, very male dominated as suspected, but there were some gals there in some sweet high heeled boots.
Extra cool was the lead singer of Steel Panther came to the side of the stage beforehand to meet up with a friend. My lucky butt was there, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shake his hand (which was soft like Irish butter.) He was courteous and friendly, making great eye contact asking me with a smile “Do I know you?” I responded “No, but I know you” which made him laugh a bit and his smile even brighter.
Hailing all the way from the little town of music you may know Nashville, Tennessee, Cody Parks and The Dirty South was a wonderful blend of new-to-me originals and clever covers. Opened up with “Dirt I’m From,” very on-brand and catchy. A little Charlie Daniels “Long Haired Country Boy” won over the audience pretty fast. Their attention to detail and fast fingers screams southern expertise, love seeing when all the members of a band have real chemistry together. The deep velvety red light also helped with the atmospher, letting you see more silhouettes than faces, leading the audience to focusing on the music versus the performers most of the time.
Donning the familiar accoutrement of the genre, a leather jacket, a backwards baseball cap, some free flowing lochs of wild hair. Every member looked like they came out of a movie set centered about southern music. A sweet but short set of 6 songs. Was wishing for a few more, but happy I got there early to make sure not to miss anything.
Taking the stage in blue dreamy light, each member of Steel Panther slinked on oozing with cool. Poised to pounce, they opened the set with one of my all time favorites by them, “Eyes OF A Panther.” Flanking both sides of the band were stripper poles with their beautiful dancers. Bits of neon and fishnet left little to the imagination, which the crowd relished immensely. Found out later they are two local gals from the Twin Cities pole dancing scene! Makes it even cooler they hire local talent.
Even more of my favorites were performed, including “Death To All But Metal,” which the crowd also super dug. Every member of Steel Panther knows what they are doing. Their commitment to the bit is unrivaled. A few gals near the front of the stage gave a nice show to the band, but not as many as is typical. Was a pretty male dominated audience, perhaps next time some more ladies will come out and party. As I watched along, giggling at the cheeky brash lyrics and clever banter between bandmates, forgot I was at a show occasionally. It was like a hangout that just happened to have some badass glam metal guys who know great joke delivery and can also rock the eff out. The guitar tone was heavenly, the sound crispy and clean. They knew when to take a beat, hit up the audience and inviting them to participate fully in the comedy as well as the headbanging.
Couldn’t have a better ending tune than “Glory Hole.” After 14 delectable and devoutly politically incorrect songs, they are exactly who you think they are. Talented rock musicians with a penchant for humor and the abandonment from “should we” adherence. Flavors from a bygone era mixing with contemporary slivers is a most accurate description. Not many bands can get away with songs titled “All I Wanna Do Is Fuck (Myself Tonight)” and “Asian Hooker,” for the faint of constitution they are not. Pushing the envelope? More like sending it into the atmosphere into another universe.
Wouldn’t have it any other way.
