LIVE SHOW REVIEW: STEEL PANTHER - Wichita, KS

Review and photos by: Sara Meek – Photographer/Journalist

On the seventh date of the All You Can Eat Tour, Steel Panther made a stop at The Cotillion Ballroom in Wichita, KS for the first time in the bands’ more than 10-year history. This venue had never seen an act quite like Steel Panther, but it wouldn’t be long before the sold out show made its presence ever-known at the ‘mound of sound’ and to all of its patrons inside.

The guys brought along five friends: an American rock band from Los Angeles, CA known as Future Villains which would open the show at almost eight o’ clock sharp giving the crowd 45 minutes of high octane, modern rock sound with a high energy live performance to go with it. Lead vocalist Dusty Bo was never still for more than seconds at a time pacing the stage and rocking with the crowd to hits off of their debut self titled EP. Founding member and lead guitar player Clay Davies, bassist David Ellis and guitarist Nate Jealouss gave Dusty plenty of company on stage as their blend of chorded sounds made tracks like “Devil In Her Bones” and their latest single “Reject,” crowd favorites by all in attendance. Drummer Kenny Dale had no problem keeping the guys in rhythm as he beat away at his drum kit with precision and force that was sure to capture anyone’s eyes and ears. Not that Steel Panther needed a band with this much energy to get the crowd pumped and ready for them to take the stage but if anyone was asleep in the venue, they were certainly awake and ready for more rock by the end of this amazing performance by Future Villains. Steel Panther certainly knows how to choose a great group of guys with a promising music career ahead of them to hit the road with.

The crowd was now awake, eager, and ready for the profane and humorous quartet also reigning from Los Angeles, CA – the one and only STEEL PANTHER! Lead singer Michael Starr, bassist Lexxi Foxx, guitarist Satchel and drummer Stix Zadinia would not make their fans, also referred to as Fanthers, wait any longer. At 15-past-nine, the gents made their way to the stage and opened up with the first track from their brand new album All You Can Eat, entitled “Pussywhipped” followed by “Tomorrow Night” and the well-known single “Asian Hooker.” The guys needed a minute to catch their breath after the opening three-song assault and took a minute to introduce each member of the band to the audience, often insulting or bashing one another in the process as part of their comedy act that has grown to be just one of the highlights of a Steel Panther show.

At first glance you might notice a strong similarity between Steel Panther’s lead singer Michael Starr and David Lee Roth from the 1980’s band Van Halen, and that’s no coincidence. With their vibrant colored spandex pants, cut up t-shirts and over processed, Aqua Net hair doo’s, these guys intentionally nail an 80’s band to a “T,” even mimicking the sound from the decade in many of their anthems and ballads alike. Michael, Lexxi, Satchel and Stix came to please their fans and quickly introduce more new music from their latest album with “Gangbang at the Old Folks Home” and “If I Was the King.”

If you’ve ever been in attendance at a Steel Panther show then you know that guitarist Satchel entertains the audience about midway through the setlist with a guitar solo that is sure to leave everyone in shock and awe as he rips through licks made famous by one of his personal guitar influences Eddie Van Halen. Tonight’s show had a special guest in attendance, 11-year-old Aidan Fisher and his father, whom was made famous across the country from a Steel Panther show held at The Midland in Kansas City from December of 2013 in which Aiden challenged Satchel to a guitar solo. He was called on stage and blew us all away as he nailed the very riffs we’ve all known and grown to love of Eddie Van Halen’s that Satchel showcases for us at each Steel Panther show. Following his guitar solo tonight, Satchel gave a shout out to Aiden and his father standing at the front rail and wasn’t shy in including the two in crude but harmless jokes that are all part of the Steel Panther act. It’s safe to say that if the guys are bashing ya…you’re part of the family.

“Party like Tomorrow Is the End of the World” is the latest single off of All You Can Eat and it followed Satchel’s guitar solo keeping the energy level at full-peak throughout the venue half way through the setlist. It had reached the time of the night in which “17 Girls in a Row” would echo throughout The Cotillion. As the band started out the famous anthem that was a sure crowd favorite, Michael Starr would summon girls, 17 of them to be exact, to join the band on stage and dance around. There was no shortage of female Fanthers eager to join the guys on stage for the remainder of the song as well as through “Gloryhole” and “Death to All but Metal.” The time on stage with the guys was an exciting thrill for sure, but it would come at a small cost. This is the period of the show in which the ladies were encouraged to flash the crowd frequently, a portion of the show favorited by all of the men in attendance for sure. After all, what’s an 80’s rock show without plenty of boobie’s, right?

Before calling it a night for good, the guys would take a quick break before returning to the stage for their encore performance thrilling the crowd with world-famous tracks “Community Property,” “Eyes of a Panther,” and “Party All Day (Fuck All Night).” This could have easily been described as a crowd/band sing along as most everyone in attendance sang every lyric during these very popular tracks.

As all good things must come to an end – this night would come to an end way too soon – even with an epically long set! Steel Panther came and went but not before pissing it’s mark all over the air capitol of the world. The ‘mound of sound’ that is The Cotillion was rocked, and so were each and every patron in attendance. If you missed this one, you missed an epic performance by an epic band breaking their Wichita, KS cherry at a quaint and historic venue. They promised they’d be back, so, we’ll hold them to that. Maybe next time Fanthers, maybe next time.