Monday. In the evening, the temperature is an uncomfortable 37 degrees. Despite everything listed in the space Dorćol squareand, over 1000 visitors gathered (twice more than my pessimistic assumption) to see off the performance of the band that came to Serbia for the first time. Expectations went so far that some visitors even disguised themselves in clothing that Steel Panther they usually wear on stage, yes, yes, and the wigs were on their heads. All in all, it looked like it was going to be a pretty decent night reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood glam rock, metal, hair metal, you name it. Prc…
At around 9:00 p.m., the band’s set-up started, which was billed as a “cover band”, and whose individual members left their mark both in the band “LA Guns” (Michael Starr) and in Halford’s “Fight” (Satchel), i.e. “Steel Panther” on stage. without the banner (where does it disappear?) on which is the cover of their last album “On the Prowl“. Okay, bro, play the banner, play the music… and the music is quiet, so quiet that you can hear more the buzzing of bloodsuckers on duty (read mosquitoes), than the opening song “Eyes of a Panther“. A disaster. I found out a little later that the gentlemen came to measure the noise level, and that it was not possible to increase the sound, which, as we all know, is very important for a performance of this type. Not to be outdone, a little later the sound level was also “raised”, but certainly not as much as this foursome, inclined to raise everything, would like. Also, the sound came directly from the PA System, so the amplifiers were empty, lifeless, and all visitors know that Starr (vocals), Satchel (guitar) Stix Zadinia (drum) and a new member Spyder (bass), they know how to control their instruments. However, all that did not prevent the audience from having fun and singing perhaps the biggest hit of the band, in the creation of which they participated Corey „Slipknot” Taylor and devilish Scot „Anthrax” Ian.
It was great, but too quiet”Asian Hooker“. And that’s where everything went to the panther mother. Eleven years ago, when I saw them for the first time, “Steel Panther” played more and talked less. Here, the usual lascivious monologues, dialogues about all the extremities that the band sings about in their songs as a joke about Vince Neil, took place, but it all lasted too long. So long, that from time to time the audience could hear exclamations like “play it bro”, and maybe “play mejdene”. Regardless of the presence of two ladies in certain songs, one of which is during the semi-acoustic song “Weenie Ride” and displayed what Satchel had learned as the word “tits”, nothing of note was happening on stage. A little song, more story, with a visual atmosphere of the mid-eighties, the previous decade of the last century and the millennium. Neither Satchel’s excellent guitar solo point, nor the furious two penultimate songs with adequate movement of the main actors on stage could improve that impression:17 Girls in a Row” the “Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World”. The last song was “Gloryhole”, purely to underline once again the theme of the songs of the band Steel Panther, a band that did its job solidly by cheering up the audience. The impression remains that all this, apart from the poor choice of venue for this kind of concert, also lacked what is called cojones in Spanish.
In summary: in the 90 minutes they spent on stage, “Steel Panther” played 13 songs, (not “Dream Theater”, they would have played a maximum of five) that lasted up to four minutes on average. The calculation is clear, there was only 52 minutes of music, which implies that the story was 38 minutes. Hooray +14 for the music, everything else is (I hope it suits them) “stand up”. What can I say without agreeing: instead of everything sputtering & forgiving, with this impotent volume of sound it was limp & with lukewarm beer.
PS Regardless of this event, I will still be happy to listen to one record and four CDs, which I own from the band in question, there are gigs, there is no story. Period.
author: David Vartabedijan
Photo gallery – Steel Panther – Belgrade
Source: balkanrock.com
