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Live Reviews : Steel Panther, Buckcherry & Fozzy @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne 08/12/2013

By on December 10, 2013

Images: John Raptis
Words: Amber Rose

Click here to view the full Steel Panther, Buckcherry & Fozzy gallery.

Let me start by saying that the Sidney Myer Music Bowl is a kick arse venue. Granted when the heavens looked like they were about to open up, I was comfortably under cover but I’m not the kind of girl that’s opposed to getting wet under the right circumstances. And Steel Panther are definitely the right circumstances.

Fozzy

Fozzy

Atlanta heavy metal band Fozzy were the first to grace the stage, and even though the seats weren’t filled yet, these guys played like they were playing to a packed house. Fozzy score some definite points for stage presence and enthusiasm. When your lead singer is a pro wrestler, your stage presence is bound to be top notch. But that’s not all this band have going for them, they are also awesomely talented musicians. Now at this point I’d really like to pretend I knew a bunch of their songs, but I didn’t. So I’m probably going to disappoint some die hard fans by not doing a play by play of their setlist. What I can tell you is that they played ‘Sandpaper’ and they rocked the absolute the balls off it. I’m also fairly confident that they played ‘Spider in My Mouth’ and ‘Enemy’. Regardless of exactly what songs they slammed out, their entire set was immaculate. When Chris Jericho said, “if Metallica and Journey had a bastard child, it would be Fozzy”, he was spot on. These guys hammer out solid chords and wield melodic riffs like nobody’s business. They’re the total package.

Buckcherry

Buckcherry

Next up were Californian hard rockers Buckcherry. Are these guys old rock n roll or what? And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. When I say I love dirty Hollywood, this is what I’m talking about. They possess something that is sorely lacking in much of contemporary music; grit, passion, sweat, sex, drugs and rock n roll. I had planned to sneak off and grab another whiskey during their set but I was infatuated, no way was I walking away from this. Even if I’d tried, I’m pretty sure I would have tripped over my panties, which had instantaneously dropped to floor. I’m speaking metaphorically of course. But metaphorical or not, it’s not easy to get my panties to drop, so Buckcherry were doing something so incredibly right. Probably rather fittingly ‘Crazy Bitch’ and ‘Gluttony’ are by far my favourite tunes and being blessed enough to witness these front and centre and in the flesh was more than I could have asked for. I do also enjoy a well placed cover, and Buckcherry’s rendition of Icona Pop’s ‘I Love It’ went down like a spoon full of Fireball Whiskey: sweet, delicious & full of revenge. If you’ve never seen these guys live, do your self a favour and make it a priority.

Steel Panther

Steel Panther

Look at me getting all flushed, and I haven’t even reached the pièce de résistance. Steel mother fucking Panther! It’s not the first time I’ve seen these guys live and they keep stepping it up each and every time. This glam metal quartet is the ultimate panty dropper. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen so many boobs in the one place at the same time, and I watch a substantial amount of porn.

Steel Panther opened the show with a video feed of the band playing strip Battleship with a harem of hot chicas, after which they bounded out to ‘Eyes of the Panther’. You can’t beat this band on entertainment. These stone cold foxes provide nothing but utter perfection from their music to their comedy. They played all the crowd favourites: ‘Asian Hooker’, ‘Just Like Tiger Woods’, ‘Tomorrow Night’, ’17 Girls in a Row’, ‘Community Property’ and one of my favourite songs of all time ‘Let Me Cum In’. Drummer Stix Zadinia hit the keys of a gorgeous grand piano for ‘Weenie Ride’ and they showcased the video for their new song ‘Party Like Tomorrow is the End of the World’. My love of porn came in handy in spotting a handful porn stars and their partners in the video, one of whom, the beautiful Lindsay Hearts, makes some of the raddest metal studded leather vests and jackets you’ll ever lay your eyes on. Lexxi Foxx was rocking out one of her pink vixen numbers last night, which unquestionably brought out the polka dots on his hot pink bass. I just can’t fault Steel Panther. Their performance is always flawless. Satchel’s riffs are the stuff of wet dreams and Michael Starr’s falsetto is the envy of many a metal god. I can’t give enough praise to these guys, they are my favourite band to see live, there isn’t another I’d recommend more highly. I’m still retrieving red confetti from my boobs the following morning. But for now I’m going to go out the same way that Steel Panther did last night, with a mammoth ‘Death to all but Metal’!

About

Amber has been a writer and photographer for 2020 BMX Mag, Reverb Street Press and 3DWorld. She has booked and managed hardcore bands and takes an interest in anything from hardcore to hair metal, particularly if it screams dirty Hollywood. Amber is also the author of a sex blog. You can follow her on Twitter Twitter or check out her blog.