Steel Panther Delivers Raunchy Holiday Cheer to St. Louis Fanthers
–by Carrie Zukoski
Thanks to K-SHE 95 for yet again sponsoring another classic Steel Panther concert at The Pageant in St. Louis. It’s almost become a traditional early Christmas gift to heavy rock fans from across the region. It might have been bitterly cold outside, but it was steamy hot inside on this December night, beginning with the appetizing The Violent Hour warming up the room for the main course.
Kicking off their 2.5-week Christmas tour in St. Louis, the men who make up Steel Panther brought their all to the stage for 90 minutes of tongue-in-cheek raunchy wit and glam-hair metal for a rocking good time. Their schtick has been perfected to a tee during the 25 or so years they’ve been performing. Do the jokes go too far sometimes? Sure. Do any of the fanthers (fans) mind? No. This is not a PC event, and that’s what people love. The night is bawdy, silly, and full of teenage boy humor in the lyrics sung and the jokes told on stage.
Early on, lead vocalist, Michael Starr, quipped that St. Louis is a hub for heavy metal, “and the way you act tonight is gonna matter for future generations…or at least until next month.” Amid hoots and hollers, some women and men fanthers bared their breasts throughout the night with very little cajoling needed.
The NSFW songs included “Let Me Cum In,” “Friends with Benefits” (from their 2023 album, On the Prowl), “Poontang Boomerang,” and the holiday-themed “The Stocking Song.” The feverish night ended with “Gloryhole.” These lads might never grow up, and when it comes to keeping hairbands alive, that’s a good thing.
The all-female band, The Violent Hour, opened the night with 30 minutes of their heavy metal/rock blend. The newly-formed outfit is on their first formal tour together, although none of the members are new to the scene. The band is the outcome of lead vocalist Carla Harvey’s desire to create a new project after 14 years with Butcher Babies. The Violent Hour brought their head-banging best to the packed crowd full of heavy riffs and powerful vocals with their newly released songs that included “Screenager,” “Hell or Hollywood,” and their most important song, ‘The Violent Hour.”
May your holidays be warm and bright and full of good cheer, however that may look. We hope you “get love-drunk on…eggnog” and your stockings are, ahem, stuffed.
See all photos from the concert here: https://bit.ly/SteelP25cz
Steel Panther setlist https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steel-panther/2025/the-pageant-st-louis-mo-434ebf3f.html
The Violent Hour setlist https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-violent-hour/2025/the-pageant-st-louis-mo-3b4c18e4.html
