Steel Panter @ Luna Park

Steel Panther

Luna Park

Sydney, Australia

June 17, 2016

They are the biggest glam rock band that never was from 1985, in 2016. 

Steel Panther has become bigger than any act that served as their source material.

Histrionic comedy rock? Metal cabaret?                                                          

Subversion of the entertainment industry?                                                             

Performance art?                                                                                                   

Expert banter without cynism, stereotypes of self-aggrandizing machismo rock conventions lead ad absurdum.                                                                                

Self-deprecation.                                                                                             

Virtuosic musicianship.                                                                                   

Seasoned jokers. 

Charismatic.

Costumes.

Image.

Wigs and hair sprayed coiffures.

Prowess.

Precision.

Aware of their roots and signifying them.

Itch for publicity.

Poses.

Intelligence.

Stupidity.

Pushing boundaries.

Ever feeding on the lowest common denominators.

Oversexed.

Un-subtle.

Impressive.

Inclusive.

Likeable personas.

Vanity.

All out sexism and misogyny, which gets uncomfortable with the audience taking it for face value.

Stupid.

Memorable hooks.

Persiflage.

Authentic.

Satirical.

Scatological.

Hyperbolic.

Meta-faux.

Cartoonish.

Suggestively taunting.

Attentive to detail.

Painting with broad brushes.

See more than a few contradictions there? 

Steel Panther embodies it all. 

Jokes do get old but Steel Panther's one is well crafted and perfectly executed.  

Do you need more than one trick if it is executed well? 

Does the fact that perfectly tasteless jokes are made on a meta-level justify them?  

Would I even ask the same questions if I reviewed a Will Ferrell / Ben Stiller movie with exactly the same comedic content? 

Steel Panther is a fun act. 

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: 

Their staple opener “Eye of the Panther” kicked off the proceedings and opened a tour de force through the highlights of their 3 studio albums. 

Expertly taking the local context into consideration, the scandalously high prices that Australians have to dish out for Peruvian marching powder were denounced and tribute was paid to Satchel’s crystal meth cooking clan in Adelaide, which may or may not have inspired his trademark mid-show solo performance to culminate doing the locals proud with his Hendrix-ian take on the national anthem of Australia.

As time goes by it seems to take less and less prompting to have loose females jump on stage to frame SP’s performance of the song “17 Girls in a Row” in various states of undress and dry humping the band in the most outrageous manners.

“Party All Day” and the sing-a-long crowd pleaser “Community Property” ended the show on a high note.

Even after having seen them various times with largely the same show, an intelligent band with great songs and likeable characters never gets old.

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Photos by KAVV