Date: Saturday, October 16, 2021
City: Bloomington, IL
Venue: Castle Theater
Opening act(s): Midnight Dice
Headlining act: Steel Panther
Steel Panther Setlist:
Eyes Of A Panther
Party Like Tomorrow Is The End Of The World
Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)
Ten Strikes You’re Out
Turn Out The Lights
Asian Hooker
Wrong Side Of The Tracks (Out In Beverly Hills)
Weenie Ride
Community Property
Party All Day (Fuck All Night)
Death To All But Metal
———————
Gloryhole
Notes:
- Ninth time seeing Steel Panther live, which moves them into sole possession of second place for most times I’ve seen a band headline. First time seeing them outside of St. Louis or Chicago.
- Lexxi Foxx left the band in July 2021. For this show, he was replaced by Rikki Dazzle.
- First time seeing “Wong Side Of The Tracks (Out In Beverly Hills)” live.
- The band introductions before “Fat Girl” included a snippet of Def Leppard’s “Photograph.”
- Satchel played a guitar solo featuring classic rock riffs after “Asian Hooker.”
- Shortest set by song total to date.
- Show #3 at this venue; first since June 30, 2017.
Videos:
Review:
An interesting phenomenon has developed in recent months: a severe reluctance to do things, including go to concerts.
The pandemic shutting everything down in early 2020 was a huge shock and a massive disruption of day to day life as well as my favorite past times like going to concerts, movies, and baseball games. But as the months went by, it became a bit normalized and I had plenty of other things to focus on like moving into my first house and my wife having our first child.
By the spring of 2021, things were looking up thanks to the rollout of the vaccines and decreasing COVID cases. The concert industry basically flipped a switch and it seemed like tours were being announced every damn day. It felt quite rushed to me, but I was excited to finally get out and see some live music and purchased tickets to several shows scheduled for the summer and fall. When things were good, I started slowly by seeing a few tribute bands in small venues through June & July.
By August, the progress we had made in the pandemic was slipping and my optimism was fading. Still, I was able to see a proper, full scale rock show courtesy of the Foo Fighters on August 3. I had two more shows scheduled for August, but both ended up getting canceled thanks to the rapidly increasing number of COVID cases. That further disrupted my own excitement to go to concerts, as despite being vaccinated, I was hesitant to put myself at risk of bringing anything home to my daughter or parents.
And so, the great reluctance began.
I had three shows on my schedule for September 2021: Myles Kennedy in St. Louis on September 13, Garbage & Alanis Morissette in St. Louis on September 18, and Rolling Stones in St. Louis on September 26. The Myles Kennedy show ended up being canceled. I did go see Garbage & Alanis after much debate, as I ended up making the decision to go and buying tickets on the day of the show. And I’m glad I went! On the flip side, I had severe regret about not going to the Rolling Stones show, which I missed out of hesitation to go to such a large, indoor show and the inconvenience of being on a Sunday night. That one in particular is one that I very likely would have been at if I didn’t have a kid, but an overnight babysitter is a tough sell on a work night.
Peak reluctance set in on October 2. I had tickets to see Last In Line at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles, IL that day. I purchased those tickets way back in December 2019 when the show was originally scheduled for September 11, 2020. Of course it was postponed a little over a year. By the time the new show date arrived, I had little interest in going. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to see the band (especially Vivian Campbell) play live. But I did not want to spend seven hours in the car (round trip) on what is a terrible drive for a show that featured nothing I hadn’t seen before since their recent sets were identical to what they were playing in 2019. Plus it was at a small, indoor venue where safety measures were likely to be lacking.
I opted to save myself a shitload of driving time and gas money by not going. I had spent the money on tickets so long ago that I didn’t even care about losing out on it. That money was long gone and I didn’t feel bad about it.
By October 2021, most promotors & venues had put requirements for proof of vaccination or negative tests in place. Which I completely agree with and it made me more comfortable with the idea of going to a concert. But the motivation was still lacking for several reasons. No safety measure will be perfect, so there will always be a little hesitation at being part of a big crowd right now, especially indoors. Plus over the last year and a half, I’ve gotten quite used to not doing anything or spending money. So now, it takes more for me to put forth the effort and spend the money. Not to mention having a kid adds another degree of difficulty in going to any events.
The next show on my radar was one of my top 10 favorite bands that was a regular fixture of my concert schedule from 2012-2019, Steel Panther. I had seen them live eight times in that time span, including my second to last concert before the pandemic shut everything down. I’d missed a chance to see them on June 3 in Chesterfield, MO since it had sold out and was on a night I had other stuff going on anyway.
Much to my surprise, they announced a show at the Castle Theater in Bloomington, IL for October 16.
It was as good as it gets for a show in that it was on a Saturday only an hour away at a venue I was somewhat familiar with, having been there twice before. I had a babysitter arranged and was happy that the venue was requiring proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test upon entry.
And yet… Part of me was still reluctant.
The day before the show, I decided I had to stop the lack of motivation and I knew I would regret not going to this show since it was a best case scenario for one of my favorite bands. So on October 15, I confirmed all of the plans and bought the tickets.
The wife and I made a bit of a day of it, heading up to Bloomington a little early to visit a few stores and eat at Potbelly, one of my favorite restaurants that has no locations in our home town.
Once all that was out of the way, we headed to the Castle Theater for the first time in over four years. Both of our previous visits to this particular venue were to see variations of the third incarnation of the band Fuel. If that sounds confusing, please see the lineup chart on this page. We caught Fuel 3.0 on February 2, 2012 in a show that was memorable for a few good reasons and even more bad reasons. They snuck TWO unexpected opening bands onto the bill that night, so the crowd was bored stiff by the time Fuel FINALLY hit the stage. My wife was so bored during one of the opening bands that she yawned and the douche bag singer jumped off the stage, into the crowd, and came over to sing directly in front of us. A punch in the face would have been justified. We returned to the venue on June 30, 2017 to see Fuel 3.2 in what was a more enjoyable overall experience but the cracks were starting to show in my patience with one of my favorite bands from my youth being a revolving door of ever changing members.
I was 25 and 30 years old, respectively, for those shows and my patience for general admission concerts has only worn thinner in the years since. Which likely played a part in my hesitation to return to this venue. I’m now 35 and at venues that have both general admission and reserved seating, I always pay extra for reserved seating. That was not an option tonight, so we arrived at the venue shortly before the doors opened to get in line.
Standing in line made another reason for my reluctance to do things apparent… Security was making their way down the line to check people’s proof of vaccination, which had been very clearly advertised all over the venue’s website, social media pages, and most importantly, on the actual ticket buying page. But that didn’t stop the boomers around me in line from complaining or acting ignorant about the requirement.
As sick as I am of the pandemic, I’m even more sick of people bitching about it.
In this case, I couldn’t be annoyed at the people for not being vaccinated. Because they were! Showing proof of it was not some huge inconvenience and if that’s what it takes for us to be able to go to concerts, then just do your part. It’s quite simple, so why they just had to bitch and moan about it and give grief to the security guards just doing their goddamn jobs was mind boggling.
Yes, it’s more frustrating when people decline vaccination and then get mad about not being able to do things. You want to be a fucking moron and make your choice to not get vaccinated, fine. But then you have to live with it and the consequences including that you don’t deserve the freedoms that those actually taking steps to try to end this thing get to enjoy. If you get sick or die, so be it, just don’t take any of the smart people I know or love with you.
I have no desire to subject myself to idiots like these, which only adds to my reluctance to go out and do things. Because it’s not shitty enough that we have an infectious disease preventing me from things I enjoy, now other people’s ignorance is almost just as bad. At this point, it is what it is and we are ALL affected by it. Some idiots just love to pretend it’s only happening to them or that they should be exempt from the reasonable measures we’re all subjected to in an effort to, you know, have fewer people get sick and/or die.
Ignorance and arrogance. Two things that have made people unbearable over the last year and a half.
Anyway.
The doors opened at 7PM and we made our way into the venue. We ended up in almost the exact same spot as where we were in 2012, which was on the right side against the bar on the first raised level of the floor. There were seats in the balcony, but it later became clear that the balcony was closed.
No opening band had been advertised for this show, but my 2012 experience had me paranoid about several being shoehorned into the evening. Thankfully there would only be one: Midnight Dice, a four piece band from Chicago. The bassist was wearing an Iron Maiden shirt and it soon became very clear that Maiden was a huge influence on this band.
It also became clear why I’ve never been a huge fan of Maiden, as the songs tend to run together very easily for me. Not to say Midnight Dice’s songs were on the same level of Iron Maiden’s, but the style was similar. This band was musically proficient but the songs never really held my attention. I enjoyed the first couple, but there was a lack of variety as their short set went on. I couldn’t tell you how many songs they performed because after the first two, everything sounded the same.
They were as engaging as an opening band can be. The drummer was fun to watch, the guitarist mostly kept to himself, the bassist had the most interaction with the crowd, and the singer did justice to the songs. For the most part.
The stage was set for Steel Panther and the lights went down at 9:00. Now that I was in the moment, I was quite excited to be seeing Steel Panther for the first time since December 11, 2019. This show would be my ninth, moving them into sole possession of second place for bands I’ve seen headline. But it was also bittersweet, as this would be my first Steel Panther show since bassist Lexxi Foxx left the band in July. I have no idea what the (real) reason was and not only hated that he was gone, but regretting missing the band’s show in Chesterfield back in June when he was still in the band.
I had actually seen Steel Panther without him before, as he was absent from their December 9, 2018 show in St. Louis. That was only a temporary absence though, so this one felt much worse. I had no idea who would be performing in his place for this show and only found out when the lights went up and the new (temporary?) bassist was revealed. He looked the part and performed well, which is all we can ask for I suppose.
For the fifth consecutive show, “Eyes Of A Panther” was the opener and sounded as good as ever. It was strange to be seeing Steel Panther at this venue, having only seen them in St. Louis or Chicago before. But I was just happy to be enjoying one of my favorite live bands for the first time in 22+ months.
“Party Like The End Of The World” followed and by that point, everything felt right again.
With the first two songs out of the way, frontman Michael Starr started the always entertaining band introductions. At this point, it was revealed that the new bassist is named Rikki Dazzle, but it was clear that he doesn’t necessarily have the job permanently. Still, he fit in and the band had a good time poking fun at the new guy.
Once again, drummer Stix Zadina’s introduction included a snippet of Def Leppard’s “Photograph,” which he played with one arm and closed with Satchel saying “If you’re not clapping for Stix you better BE the drummer from Def Leppard.”
I had cheated and checked out some of the band’s recent sets and had hopes for the return of one of my favorite Steel Panther songs, “Tomorrow Night,” which I haven’t seen them play since 2015. Sadly it didn’t make the cut tonight. The classic “Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)” got things started back up before they revisited “Ten Strikes You’re Out” from my second favorite album of theirs, All You Can Eat. I had seen the song live once before, but not since December 15, 2015.
Next up was “Asian Hooker,” and then Satchel was left alone for his guitar solo that once again included snippets of several classic rock songs that he simultaneously played on guitar and the bass drum.
Once the full band returned, they dove a little deeper into 2017’s Lower The Bar and performed “Wrong Side Of The Tracks (Out In Beverly Hills)” for only the fifth time ever. I’m always happy to see something I’ve never seen before so I really enjoyed it.
Stix emerged from the drum kit and took his place at the keyboard set up at the front of the stage, which meant they’d be performing the Balls Out closer “Weenie Ride” next. Normally during this point in the set, the band brings up a girl from the audience. This time, however, they brought up one of their roadies since it was his birthday.
Watching Michael Starr sing the song to a guy who turned the band’s own schtick on them made it even funnier, and everyone enjoyed some birthday cake during the performance.
The home stretch had arrived, kicking off with “Community Property.” Surprisingly, the band still invited a bunch of girls on stage for the next song, which I expected to be “17 Girls In A Row.” Instead, they did “Party All Night (Fuck All Day)” while the… How do I say this… Most age advanced collection of girls I’ve seen at one of their shows danced behind them. Let’s just say St. Louis & Chicago tend to be a little more diverse in their age groups when this part of the show occurs.
“Death To All But Metal” closed out the main set and “Gloryhole” was the lone encore song.
Once again, it was a great time and I was really glad that I mustered up the will to attend. I definitely missed Lexxi Foxx and would have been happier with a longer and more diverse set. This was the shortest set by song total I had seen the band play and they neglected a large section of their catalog, playing just a single song each from Balls Out and Lower The Bar while ignoring Heavy Metal Rules all together. Thankfully we did get three songs from All You Can Eat, but more from that album would have been welcome too.
It’s not unusual for Steel Panther to be my final concert of the year, as that usually happens at The Pageant in St. Louis in December. It doesn’t look like that will happen this year, but there’s a good chance this will wind up my final concert of 2021. If it was, then Steel Panther was a great way to finish a very odd but necessary ‘year’ of concerts.
Links:
TurnToDust86 