Steel Panther @ Copenhell 2024
Satisfaction and dick jokes guaranteed
(Picture credit: Stefan Bollmann / Wikimedia Commons)
Maybe I shouldn't be writing this review. Because if you've seen Steel Panther before, you will have known what to expect for at least a decade by now. Which, just to be clear, is a lot of dumb fun and pure worship of that magical, colorful period in heavy metal history that is collectively remembered as "the '80s".
Another reason I shouldn't be writing it is that I only see the last half of the show, and at this point of the evening, I'm all-round sloshed, still copping a bit of a buzz from smoking some pretty heavy weed earlier. Not sure about the below setlist, you guys.
My entourage and I have just seen local synthwave act St. Digue deliver a near-spellbinding, lofty, and intense performance. And now, we're off to see pretty much the exact opposite. As we arrive, then, the band are well into "1987", a tribute song to an amazing year for hard rock music, from their latest LP, last year's "On the Prowl". While that song in itself works, I wasn't a fan of the album. Because a joke stops being funny after you hear it enough times.
It's the damnedest thing, then, that said joke just plain works in this context. But of course, there are other factors to consider as well.
One of them is the fact that Steel Panther are actually funny people. Not just in a calculated context like in their songwriting, but in an improvisational context as well. While you know there's gonna be dick jokes, you can't ever be fully sure what direction their on-stage antics might take.
Another factor, not surprisingly, is the songs themselves. Dumb lyrics aside, tunes like "Gloryhole" and "17 Girls in a Row" are damn solid. Even if you didn't speak a word of English, you'd still rock out to these bangers. Because bangers is what they inarguably are.
And sure, that cover of "Crazy Train" might be a cheap shot. But hey, we're dealing with a comedy band that's also known for ripping into Van Halen covers at their gigs. Again: You should know what to expect.
While I'm missing that first half of the show, I'm as well-entertained as is possible at this point. And set closer "Community Property" cements the party and establishes a sense of exactly community by enticing a singalong, the volume of which matches that of the crowds belting out, say, "Self Esteem" and "Chemical Wedding" earlier today.
Exactly like with the activity around which Steel Panther have centered the majority of their lyrics, I would gladly have this experience over and over, only perhaps a bit less inebriated and not coming too late.
See, I can be funny as well.
Rating: 4.5 out of 6
Genre: Hard rock / heavy metal
Venue: Copenhell, Hades stage
Date: Wed., June 19th, 2024
Setlist:
- Eyes of a Panther
- Tomorrow Night
- Just Like Tiger Woods
- Sleeping on the Rollaway
- Asian Hooker
- Death to All but Metal
- 1987
- 17 Girls in a Row
- Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World
- Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)
- Gloryhole
- Community Property