Review by Dale Jr.
Concert Photos by Ilya Mirman HERE
Concert Photos by Michelle Cucchiaro HERE
The historic Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom has hosted a lot of concerts, shows and events over the years that have attracted many a person, but anyone who attended this show would doubt that stage inside of the Ballroom would have seen anything like this prior. This is all because of one band; Steel Panther. Now, Steel Panther is no stranger to HBCB. This was actually the third year straight playing the venue, and the crowd always seems to have the best time ever while they are in the house. If you aren’t familiar with Steel Panther, here comes the obligatory description of the band that I wish wasn’t necessary anymore.
Steel Panther is a band that is known for their humorous and profane lyrics, and an over-exaggerated personae of the 80s glam/hair metal music; and none of which works if the musicianship isn’t as top notch as it is. The band has received lots of attention lately as they’ve just come off a fall tour; opening for the legendary Judas Priest, and if you open for Priest, that says a lot. Also, they made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Now they are back out on the road, headlining their own shows.
The lights went out and the crowd got jacked as they all sang along to the band’s come out song, Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With The Devil”. Then the opening acoustic guitar licks of “Pussywhipped” came on over the PA and everyone knew it was on. The band came out swinging and never stopped all night, playing material from all of their albums and even a new song that’s titled “Kanye”, and you can guess that it’s about none other than Mr. West.
The band started to play the song “17 Girls In A Row”, and if you’ve seen Steel Panther before, you know that this is where lead singer Michael Starr will start to invite ladies from the crowd up on the stage and dance. Sometimes the ladies have the tendency to get a little wild on stage, but tonight was a night like no other. Michael Starr brought up that a man gave a woman the Shocker on stage last night, and I don’t know if the ladies on stage took that as a dare to try and top it, but they sure as hell tried and most would say that they succeeded, as they performed an act onstage that’s usually reserved for the internet.
Later in the night, the band broke it down a bit as they did an acoustic medley of some of their slower songs, because just like the bands from the 80s, Steel Panther has to have ballads too, and these aren’t your momma’s ballads.
If you aren’t easily offended and have a sense of humor, then you should definitely check out Steel Panther. Each member of the band is an absolutely amazing musician; whether it’s Michael Starr on vocals, Satchel on guitar, Lexxi Foxx on bass and Stix Zadinia on drums, percussion, and keys. Steel Panther wouldn’t work if they didn’t play as well as they do. I have had the pleasure of seeing Steel Panther six times since they started touring the east coast two years ago, and every time I see the band is just as fun and entertaining as the last. Death to all but metal!!!