Steel Panther Kicks Off Their Last Leg Of Their "On the Prowl" Tour
There are few live shows as refreshing as a Steel Panther concert. I'm dead serious. Without fail, this band continues to take the stage and make your cares melt away time after time, year after year, with no signs of slowing down. For me, it's been a few years. I'll blame it on COVID, but I simply haven't had the chance to see the band since probably 2019. That translates into the addition of new bassist Spyder in the band, as well as a few albums of new material to play. All good stuff. At the heart of it all, though, this band hasn't changed a bit. Sometimes, we need that kind of stability.
The show started with a thirty-minute set from Jason Charles Miller. Admittedly, I'd never heard of this guy or his band before, but I poked around the merch stand before the show (he's got a beautiful gold marbled vinyl for sale, which he's signing) and got a little familiar with them before the music started. As the band took the stage, they opened up their set with "Reckless," from the 2023 album 'Cards on the Table.'
Electric City is a new venue in Buffalo, which has been nicely renovated before opening this spring. This week, they added an incredible looking digital screen behind the stage. Prior to Steel Panther's set, I wasn't sure what the hype was all about. The venue's logo was displayed and I kind of assumed that was just the default background when a band doesn't bring their own. I quickly found out this was not the case, as the entire wall behind the stage changed over to a vibrant digital display of Steel Panther's 'On the Prowl' backdrop.
They took the stage to open with "Goin' in the Backdoor" from 2017's 'Lower the Bar,' followed by a pair of bangers from their debut album, "Fat Girl" and "Party All Day," one of my personal favorites. By now, the on-stage banter was in full swing as the entire band each took a few moments to engage with the crowd.
I'm consistently amazed by the musicianship of these guys. Every fan already knows, they're one of metal's best-kept secrets. Michael Starr is a dynamite vocalist and Satchel absolutely shreds on his guitar. Funny side note, I recently learned that Satchel was roommates with Paul Gilber (of Mr. Big fame), who was coincidentally the last guitarist I photographed on this stage.
The two newest songs of the night came next with a single selection from both 'Heavy Metal Rules' and 'On the Prowl,' featuring "All I Wanna Do Is Fuck (Myself Tonight)" and "Friends With Benefits," respectively.
Of course, no Steel Panther show would be complete without a full stage of girls from the audience. It should come as no surprise that seventeen lucky ladies were brought up on stage for "17 Girls in a Row." This is always a fun highlight of every show. Still, one of my absolute favorites is the lead track off their debut album, "Death to All But Metal," which closed out the main set before finishing off with an encore of "Gloryhole."
It may have taken a few years between my last show and now, but I sincerely hope it's not that long again. This band consistently puts me in a great mood, and I end up listening to their tunes endlessly after the show. The world needs a bit more of this, and Steel Panther is always glad to oblige.
Comments