Tonight is a pretty special day in Birmingham, not only does the second city host Ozzy Day, the O2 Academy brings the glamour with Steel Panther bringing their ‘twenty twenty sex tour’ with a sold out crowd.
Straight out of Sunset Strip the glam rockers have Black Sonic Pearls and Kelsey Karter and the heroines as supports to warm up the crowd.
With the crowd moist yet well lubricated and hungry for more it was time, the atmosphere shook electric as Steel Panther took to the stage.
The crowd not as wig and lycra laden as years gone by sported a newer , youthful audience dressed in rocker tees and ripped jeans heads bobbing up and down as the thumping intro riffs of “Eyes of a Panther” tore through the room.
Michael Starr exploded on stage in trademark tight lycra and a codpiece, unleashing the beast of his rock tones and falsetto screams accompanied by one of the most underrated sex symbols of rock and roll , the one and only Satchel. Hot looking, skintight spandex and boy in all these years is aging like a fine wine, his riffs are undeniably tight and shredding the guitar like a pro, he isnt just a pretty face as the temperature started to soar that extra notch.
Bassist Spyder, fully locked into his role after replacing the beloved Lexxi Foxx, took his fair share of teasing from Satchel and Starr, proving he has fully earned his stripes within the comedic dynamic. The rhythm section, rounded out by the metronomic Stix Zadinia on drums, kept the energy driving forward even when the onstage antics threatened to devolve into beautiful chaos.The setlist was a masterclass in crowd-pleasing hair metal, leaning heavily into their iconic debut material while sprinkling in anthems from across their catalog. “Gloryhole” had the entire room singing along to words that would make their moms faint.
The rhythic beat of crowd favourite “Asian Hooker” started and the crowd went wild. I’d earlier spotted a girl in the second row that I would have put money on That she would have been dragged on stage for this, however another was spotted to the side and pulled on stage to be playfully serenaded with its raunchy lyrics. Fear not, following the later part of the show however the young girl I’d thought would be pulled up ended up for “17 girls in a row” whipping off her top and letting her ‘puppies’ loose like something you’d see on the club scene of Pattaya or maybe certain innocuous streets of Brum late at night.
Despite the usual banter of the band, Michael and Satchel paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, The Prince of Darkness. At one point, Spyder thought he had found Ozzy in the crowd- they brought a fan onto the stage who was actually in a Ozzy Osbourne tribute band sing Crazy Train letting the crowd go wild. As a reward Satchel declared he could have any of the roadies he wanted but make sure he uses a condom as Stixx may have an STD before telling the crowd he had a thing with Michaels Mom when she was 87 and him 19, leading to a singalong of “1987”.
The band remembered other musicians who have passed on, god knows how many years of becoming like a schoolgirl when the band come to town, it was only todayI realised after all those years Vince Neil is actually alive….
The lovely Jade graced the stage as they serenaded her with “impromptu song for a girl” before she showed off her lungs joining in with “Girl from Oklahoma” wowwing both the band and crowd with her oral skills.
It was time for chaos to ensue as the stage completely overflowed with women from the audience for a chaotic, selfie-fueled performance of “17 Girls in a Row” , boob’s on display, thongs out and the boys showered with kisses the raunchiness getting carried away.
Doubling the audience pleasure with “Death to All but Metal” and the explosive encore of “Party All Day (Fuck All Night)” rang out amidst a shower of confetti, the audience was left completely exhausted and thoroughly entertained.
With a final singalong of the twisted yet romantic ballad that is Community Property ,as the night came to a premature climax Steel Panther’s jokes may be juvenile, offensive, and frozen in time, but when executed with this level of supreme showmanship, world-class musicianship, and sheer joy, it is impossible not to leave with a massive grin. Heavy metal is alive, well, and gloriously ridiculous
