Donington Park is basking in a heat wave, but people aren't rushing to the Tuborg Tent for shade, so who is the big name packing them in to the rafters and way beyond? Yesterday is was Thunder who packed the tent for their farewell performance. Today it's er .. Steel Panther. As a festival veteran you know that if a relatively unknown band can cause that sort of a stir, its something pretty special.
Steel Panther's byline is "we f*cked your mother in the Eighties" which gives a clue to what you are going to get. Billed as comedy hair rock, Panther are a sort of cross between The Darkness and Tenacious D. They take to the stage with the hair and leopard print spandex floating around everywhere.
The banter between the band and the crowd is amazing. From goading various females in the crowd to bare their breasts to telling their boyfriends what sexual acts they want to perform on them, they soon have the massive crowd eating out of their hands.
Despite the hair and banter, it soon becomes apparent that there is more to Steel Panther than comedy value. They are accomplished musicians, which is not surprising given their pedigree.
Ralph Saenz, performing under the name Michael Starr is a former lead singer of a Van Halen tribute band. You cannot pull off a task like that without a fantastic vocal range. Guitarist Russ Parrish, now performing under the name Satchel, played guitar with Fight, a band fronted by no less than Judas Priests, Rob Halford.
Today, there is no doubt that this band are going to be big, infact they are already the longest running heavy metal show on the Sunset Strip. The music is quite capable of doing the talking without the comedy. 'Fat Girls' has the elements of all the classic rock songs, and 'Community Property' is a real sing along lighter waving ballad with the chorus "my heart belongs to you but my cock is community property." The Download crowd are simply lapping up the banter flying around the stage.
The last moment like this was back at the first Download in 2003 when a relatively new glam rock band wowed the crowd and that band was The Darkness. It appears that with the confidence and experience of the Panthers they wont implode by taking themselves too seriously in the way that The Darkness did.
What is certain is that In the Tuborg tent today there is no doubt, Steel Panther rocked and Download rolled, and I for one am loving the revival of spandex!!
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