Steel Panther embraces all things absurd about hair metal and mixes them into a comedy/retro-glam concert. Attending the show, you can either be an observer or a participant. Guess which one I was.
Dressed in wig, an ancient
Cinderella Concert T-Shirt (I saw them in 1988) and spandex, I was ready to join my fellow brethren in the Steel Panther experience. It's kind of like joining an instant cult. You walk by fellow spandex wearing concert goers and you have an instant friend. It's weird because the crowd is full of people wearing the gear ironically (like me) and some that are wearing it as their everyday wardrobe (you know who you are).
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| Steel Panther photo by Eric Ewert |
Steel Panther started performing on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California playing covers of hair metal bands while parodying those bands at the same time. That involved into having their own songs with albums titled:
Hole Patrol, Feel the Steel, Balls Out, and
All You Can Eat. They have toured with
Motley Crue,
Def Leppard,
Guns N' Roses, and
Judas Priest. Who knew
those bands have a sense of humor about themselves.
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| A lot more than 17 Girls photo by Eric Ewert |
Steel Panther took the stage dressed in wigs and leopard printed spandex (almost looking as good as me). They had the crowd rocking and laughing at the same time. The bass player, Lexxi Foxx, was armed with a Beyonce Style Wind Machine, a hand held mirror, and more make up than Caitlyn Jenner (he applied more between songs). Lead singer Michael Starr loaded with an arsenal of outrageous jokes took the band through hilarious songs such as
Fat Girl,
Asian Hooker, and
Community Property.
The crowd not only sang along, many of them became part of the show. Women were invited to join the glam band for their song
Seventeen Girls in a Row. A lot more than seventeen rushed the stage almost knocking me over. They danced along and a few flashed the crowd. Keeping it classy Denver.
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| MF Ruckus photo by Eric Ewert |
Before the retro rockers, local band
MF Ruckus performed a high energy set featuring ludicrous stage antics. Dressed in a lightning bolted jumpsuit singer Aaron Howell proved why their name was fitting for the band. There was as an appearance by Thor (a pudgy guy wearing horns in a bathrobe) and a monster (a guy in a rubber mask) waving the Colorado Flag. They describe their show as when "a nexus in the universe forms, creating a place where all is in perfect harmony, war ceases, and poverty becomes abundance and all the starving children of the world dance and sing." They are kind of right.
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| Everybody Panic! photo by Eric Ewert |
Opening the night of rock was
Everybody Panic! They are a Rock/Metal/Electronic band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I was hypnotized by their guitar player's long dreadlocks swinging along to the thunderous beat. Singer Ty (Grace Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt) had the crowd mesmerized by his parade waving between song lyrics. They were a fitting choice to ease the crowd into the insanity that was about to begin.
Walking out of the venue with my fellow spandex wearing rockers (
Steel Panther calls us
Fanthers), I felt like part of something... something ridiculous.
See you at the next show. I will be the one maybe or maybe not wearing spandex.
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