Steel Panther with special guests Wayward Sons and Inglorious performing their Lower The Bar Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Tuesday 23rd January 2018.


Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

If an unsuspecting music fan bought a ticket for a Steel Panther show, they would instantly think that they had travelled back to a time when songs about homophobia, sexism and xenophobia were perfectly acceptable. But this was a Steel Panther show, where anything goes and nothing was taken that seriously.

Accompanying them on this tour was one of the UK’s fastest rising new bands, Wayward Sons, who delivered a hard rock performance of tracks from their debut album, Ghosts Of Yet To Come. Particular crowd pleasers were opener Alive and their set closer, Until The End.

With a respectable sized crowd to witness their performance, up next were Inglorious, a rock band fronted by Nathan James; a man with a hell of a voice. Showcasing songs from both of their albums, new song Change Is Coming went down a treat whilst oldies Holy Water and Until I Die finished a very entertaining if not too short a set. With a slot at this year’s Download Festival, there is no doubt that that will continue to enhance their fan base.

But as the first chords of Van Halen’s Everybody Wants Some the crowd made it clear who they had been waiting for. And as Satchel, Michael Starr, Lexxi Foxx and Stix Zadina took to the stage, the crowd went wild.

There is no doubt that this Los Angeles based jokesters come across as probably the most over the top, anti PC glam happy rock band in recent memory. They turned 80s rock excesses into a show full of genuinely rocking riffs and silly between song banter, that was hilarious at times and completely asinine at others.

Opening with Eyes Of A Panther and new number Goin’ In The Back Door, the set ground to a halt for over ten minutes whilst they essentially insulted each other, and Lexxi replenished his lip gloss and checked his appearance in a hand held mirror.

For new song That’s When You Came In, Derbyshire’s Jamie Fowkes, lead singer with tribute band Surreal Panther was invited to join them on stage to rock with them, and did not look out of place as he held his own. We were also treated to one of Satchel’s better guitar solos, complete with drumming and included riffs from the likes of Breaking The Law, Rock You Like A Hurricane, Enter Sandman and Iron Man. They had 17 girls on stage for that song, followed by absolute belters such as Gloryhole, Death To All But Metal, Community Project and set finisher, Party All Day (Fuck All Night).

Steel Panther wouldn’t work if the band did not actually play as well as they do, or perform with as much energy as they bring to the stage. While everything about Steel Panther is a joke, their dedication to their gigs and their fan’s adoration were obviously real. And amongst all of their humour and desire to entertain, what should be remembered is that Steel Panther are a very tight and talented group of musicians.

But with their current lyrics, and hammed up stage presence, have Steel Panther had their day and is there a place for them in the current climate of political correctness. They have made a very good living by being a parody of all things 80s glam and metal, but are they now in danger of being a parody of themselves?

Well, in the words of Starr, “who would give a shit!” They would still be born entertainers.