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Steel Panther

steel_panther_metro_perth_wyliepic_12_13_031_ (2)Buckcherry/Fozzy

Metro City
Thursday, December 12, 2013

Steel Panther made a triumphant return to Metros after little more than a year, bringing some new tunes, a big video screen and all the un-PC hair metal revivalism that the good folks of Perth could handle.

First up though, a muscular set from the very metal Fozzy. Fresh from touring the States with Saxon and fronted by ex-pro wrestler Chris Jericho, they went down a treat and warmed up the sold-out crowd.

Buckcherry burst on stage full of vim and vigour, revelling in their finest sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll anthems – Lit Up, So Far, All Night Long and Everything all getting the sleaze-rock loving crowd sweaty. And then… a souped up cover of Icona Pop’s synthpop I Love It polarised the audience despite being re-christened Say Fuck It, followed by energy-sapping sloppy snippets of AC/DC’s Big Balls and The Stones’ Miss You, before regaining the upper hand with the irrepressible anthem, Crazy Bitch.

Steel Panther’s comedy routines are as important to their show as their cock rockin’ tunes, and the headliners’ set started with a video of them playing ‘Strip Battleships’ backstage with some *ahem* classy young ladies. It’s all high camp, tongue-in-your-choice-of-cheek, politically incorrect fun, and Metros lapped it up.

With a minimalist set that made good use of the big video screens and with the two international support bands in place, Panther have also attracted a larger crowd this time round, so it’s a shame they seem a little wearier. Even if the tour and the heat have taken their toll, they are still full of spunk and make sure the night is a riot.

Whether they’re singing about Asian Hookers, chicks for whom you must Turn Out The Lights, or suggesting that Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’, you know they embody the party spirit of the late eighties, and top it off with ridiculous comedic moments that leave no self-deprecating or Spinal Tap-ish clichéd stone unturned.

Yeah, it’s all juvenile teenage swear bear humour delivered by four guys in their ‘40s, three of which are wearing over the top wigs, so by now you know whether you would have loved or hated it.  Steel Panther don’t care – they love ‘80s heavy metal, confetti guns, teased hair and tastefully torn spandex, and they’re playing specifically for the sellout crowd who do, too.

The Hollywood hellraisers finished off their main set with Death To All But Metal, before an encore of the Motley Crue-spoofing Community Property, a throng of gyrating chicks pulled up from the audience and all the sexism one can handle, the more-Bon-Jovi-than-Bon-Jovi (playing on the other side of the tracks this very night) Fuck All Night And Party All Day, and the ever-classy 17 Girls In A Row – all without causing offence to a single soul.

SHANE PINNEGAR

Photo by Michael Wylie

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