On Friday night, Ottawa rock and metal fans came out in droves to the sold-out show by Los Angeles comedic glam-metal band Steel Panther at Algonquin Commons Theatre. Even before the show started, I could tell this was no regular rock show. Fans filled the lobby of Algonquin Commons, with many dressed in ’80s glam-metal attire, replete with zebra pants, wigs, and inflatable guitars that reminded me of the days when Aquanet hairspray and general excess were the norm. Heck, I even spotted someone wearing a full Spider-Man costume at coat check (not sure what he would have had to check, though).
Opening the show were Kentucky rockers Black Stone Cherry, who wasted no time exerting their dominance on the stage, tearing through an energetic opening set of songs like “Me and Mary Jane,” “Burnin’,” and “Blame It On The Boom Boom.”
After the stage changeover, the lights dimmed, and the crowd roared as Steel Panther prepared to take the stage. Known for their homage to the ’80s glam-rock era of metal music, Steel Panther make light of the era of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, and the band kicked off their set to uproarious applause from the capacity crowd.
Make no mistake: the members of Steel Panther can play—each of them is incredibly skilled at what they do. The band has been around in various incarnations since 2000 when they started as Metal Shop, and they were known for pulling plenty of celebrities out of the L.A. crowd to join them onstage to sing along with ’80s metal classics.
Their set included songs such as “All I Wanna Do Is F#$% (Myself Tonight),” “Just Like Tiger Woods,” “Weenie Ride,” and “Death to All But Metal.”
Some of the most enjoyable moments of the show came from the witty comic banter between songs. Guitarist Satchel said to the crowd, “We’re an educational band. We’re on a school campus, and we’re educating you about heavy metal. Now chug those beers!” which was all the encouragement many in the audience needed, and they happily obliged.
Their set was punctuated by a tip of the hat to several different ’80s era legends, such as former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth when they played portions of “Runnin’ With The Devil” and “Yankee Rose.” At one point, in the middle of a humorous and very NSFW anecdote about getting vocal training from Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, singer Michael Starr feigned microphone problems and left the stage. Steel Panther then jumped into the classic opening riff of “Crazy Train,” only to have Michael Starr return to the stage, except this time, doing his best Ozzy impression, hunched over, clapping and wearing Ozzy’s trademark round sunglasses and slicked back hair. He even tore the head off of a stuffed bat, referencing Ozzy’s much-maligned concert mishap from the ’80s.
Any fan of ’80s arena rock knows that no show is complete without a big guitar solo, and Satchel did not disappoint, wowing the crowd with an extended flashy solo medley with nods to Eddie Van Halen, The Scorpions, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns n’ Roses, and Black Sabbath. True to the form of that era, by the end of the set, the band was joined on stage by various eager female fans pulled from the crowd to dance and party with the band. They closed out their set and then finished off with an encore that included a couple more tunes, including one of their popular songs, “Community Property.”
Even though Ottawa is sometimes known for being a sleepy government town, local Steel Panther fans showed them we can hold our own when it comes to rockin’ out at a metal show!
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