Live review: Steel Panther at Cyprus Avenue

[rating]4[/rating]

“My dad is over there,” a young woman, draped in head to toe in black, informs her friends, gesturing to a gentleman wearing a ‘Death To All But Metal’ T-shirt standing a couple of feet away. “It’s a whole family affair,” she adds with a shrug.

As unlikely as it seems, Black Panther, the lascivious and bone-headed preening LA rock degenerates whose songs and stage banter celebrate all manner of wanton behaviour, are a band that fathers and daughters can enjoy.

There’s a joke in there, I’m sure, and perhaps it might not be too improbable for me to speculate it’s one that’s been suitably essayed in the band’s oeuvre.

Despite titles like ‘Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)’, ‘It Won’t Suck Itself’, and ‘She’s On The Rag’, female metal fans are also in on the gag. The 19 or so ladies invited onstage for ‘17 Girls in a Row’ sing along lustily to all the words.

Steel Panther navigate a thin line between loving homage to and ironic pisstake of a whole lineage of glam metal acts from Van Halen to Mötley Crüe.

In an often misunderstood genre not appreciated for its humour, Steel Panther give metal fans the chance to let their hair down and laugh at themselves, and the Cork audience is in party mood.

Before the show prophylactic balloons are being tipped around in the air in the mosh pit. Phones are raised to capture the moment for posterity. Someone in the front row is brandishing a green inflatable guitar.

Like most metal, this is pure theatre, right down to the between song routines. Contrary to popular opinion, metal is known for its subtlety, and it must take a lot of depth to be as shallow as Steel Panther. A highlight is an impromptu version of Iron Maiden’s ‘Run to the Hills’ inspired by an audience member’s t-shirt. There is a joke in there alright, and everyone is in on it.