Tonight Steel Panther play the Hammersmith Apollo to a room that is completely packed on every level. The crowd are just as you’d expect at a Steel Panther show: rowdy and dressed head to toe in leather and spandex. They set the scene well for the spectacle that is about to occur.
The lights go down and a video comes onto the big screen behind the stage: Steel Panther in their dressing room with girls, Steel Panther walking onstage, and so on. It’s entertaining as ever, and they take to the stage to complete hysteria in the audience. The screen splits into four and each part shows a different band member doing their thing. They open with ‘Supersonic Sex Machine’ off their newest album ‘Balls Out’.
They get a raucous reaction to everything they do, but the crowd really goes off when they play arguably their best song ‘Asian Hooker’, which never gets old. Their between-song banter is as outrageous and brilliant as ever, and as always a Steel Panther show is not just a gig, but a combination of stand-up comedy and hilarious (but genuinely quite brilliant) songs.
As promised, they bring on a special guest in the shape of Vivian Campbell from Def Leppard, which goes down a storm with all the heavy metal fans in the room. ‘Death To All But Metal’ is excellent, and the show is peppered with dancing girls brought up onstage from the audience. The band come back on for an encore of ‘Community Property’ and it’s clear to see that the songs from their first album ‘Feel The Steel’ are the most popular.
Tonight is not the best show Steel Panther have ever played, but that is only due to the fact that they have played a million incredible shows (see their residency at West Hollywood’s House Of Blues, where they smash it every single time). They are as entertaining and brilliant as ever, so if you ever want your mind well and truly blown, Steel Panther are the ones for you.
LAIS MW