STEEL PANTHER // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
Hair metal heroes, Steel Panther, Heavy Metal Rules Tour….and those rules do not include any politically correct pretence.
STEEL PANTHER PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S O2 ACADEMY - 11.02.2020
PICTURE BY: | CALUM BUCHAN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
At the Academy in Glasgow tonight to see Steel Panther, I’m there nice and early to get into the hall. Up first, Wayward Sons are a straight ahead Hard Rock outfit and are pretty good, just the right kinda thing for the slowly swelling crowd to get moving to. They are a 4-piece who were the first of two support acts the last time I saw the headliners back in 2018. Lots of energy and good rock face pulling. These guys are no spring chickens but they do put on a good show 10 out of 10 for effort.
It looks to be a sell out by the time Steel Panther are ready to come on and the Academy crowd are raucous and impatient for the main act, many having dressed in late 80s early 90s Metal fashions in tribute to the era that Steel Panther parody so faithfully. They come on stage with the trademark swagger of a band who are at the top of their game or at least give the appearance and open with Eyes Of A Panther then straight into Let Me Cum In, the Glasgow crowd are possibly the most excitable and animated I have seen at the Academy, much like the last time. The banter starts here to set up the overtly sexual overtones but this went on and on and, don’t get me wrong the band interplay and larking about is done well and very funny, but I found myself thinking, get on with it! The crowd start chanting Here we, Here we, here we fuckin’ go!
When they finally got back round to the job in hand they struck into one of the best tracks from Van Halen debut You Really Got Me and then into the sexually aggressive All I Wanna Do Is Fuck (Myself Tonight). This was accompanied by gratuitous hand actions from Satchel when he wasn’t playing blistering guitar solo’s, nothing comedy about his guitar skills. Between songs Satchel was rating the girls in the crowd and giving them all the visual encouragement they needed to know what he wanted them to do to him as well as suggesting that the girls on their partners/friends shoulders show him their Breasts…..which to my surprise they duly did in almost every case.
They then fired through Asian Hooker, Party Like Tomorrow is The End Of The World, and then an impromptu birthday celebration for one of their female crew members accompanied by a suitable metal rendition of Happy Birthday. Poontang Boomerang is the next track and everyone knows the words, and then into Satchel’s guitar solo, which is significantly less of a feature this time around than the last time I saw them. This is followed by Fuck Everybody which segue into an acoustic slot with Styx the Drummer playing keys and getting a girl out of the audience to serenade with I Ain’t Buying What You’re Selling and Weenie Ride. The band also go around and make up x-rated ditty’s including her name in them….Sabrina.
Then they invited girls to join them on stage, about 20 girls got up there and the band had a fairly good case for sexual assault as at least one girl grabbed Satchel’s crotch and another few were trying to force kisses and all sorts out of the band…….I found all this hilarious but cringed a little too..one girl got up there topless and one girl only had nipple tassels on, I imagine that was to keep those extremities warm, it was a cold night… The Panther played Party All Day (Fuck All Night) then 17 Girls In A Row, got rid of the girls complete with passes for later on I assume, then played Community Property.
The main set finished with the anthem Death To All But Metal which the Glasgow crowd chanted along to. Then the chants went up for the encore like it wasn’t in the script. Out they came and finished off the night with Gloryhole. Interestingly Satchel had picked a young lad out of the crowd who had said he could play the track on guitar and after they played a verse and chorus allowed him to get up and play the rest of the song…..boy done good….solo’s and everything…..I think he was called Jordan Reid….nailed it!
All in all this was a carnival of non PC sexual banter, hinting at the Motely Crue, Van Halen days of Drugs, Groupies and Metal, all done with tongue firmly lodged in cheek. A great gig, great riffs, solos and tunes all delivered by a tight, slick, well drilled band……..the only downside was the amount of between song chat. But I would thoroughly recommend, note not a show for the easily offended.
SETLIST: | STEEL PANTHER : O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW - 11.02.2020
Eyes of a Panther
Let Me Cum In
You Really Got Me - (The Kinks cover)
All I Wanna Do Is Fuck (Myself Tonight)
Asian Hooker
Hair Solo - (Lexxi Foxx)
Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World
Poontang Boomerang
Guitar Solo
Fuck Everybody
I Ain’t Buying What You’re Selling
Weenie Ride
Party All Day (Fuck All Night)
17 Girls in a Row
Community Property
Death to All but Metal
ENCORE:
Gloryhole