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A hilarious, R-rated homage to 80s metal
"We thought about going down to Occupy Wall Street," Steel Panther's Michael Starr announced early on during the faux-glam metal band's Tuesday show at the Gramercy. "But then," he added, pointing at a female fan in the front row, "we decided we'd rather occupy your v-----." So that's a Steel Panther show in a nutshell: over-the-top songs/banter about orifices, STDs and groupies, lampooning the long-gone-but-cherished Sunset Strip lifestyle. And while funny, their anti-P.C. metal anthems ("Asian Hooker," "Fat Girl [Thar She Blows]," "17 Girls in a Row") are performed with the same technically wizardry and rock'n'roll spirit as any good Van Halen, Ratt or Motley Crue song from the 80s.
Originally known as Metal Shop, the Los Angeles-based group released their major label debut "Feel the Steel" a few years back. Since then, Steel Panther has made their mark during some L.A. and Las Vegas residencies, landing A-level guest stars and inspiring "a lot of women to flash their boobs," as our West Coast friend informs us. They've only hit NYC a few times -- which explains why last night's show sold out in 10 minutes, and how tickets were fetching $150 and up on Craigslist and Stubhub. Thankfully, the Panther guys already planned a return date at the Gramercy in January. (Oh, and their new album is called "Balls Out," which seems appropriate.) --Kirk Miller
