Steel Panther @ Jannus Live – March 11, 2023

Lets get an embarrassing fact out of the way in the beginning: I hadn’t heard of Steel Panther until fairly recently when a friend mentioned them, I saw that they were’ playing at Jannus Landing here in St Petersburg, FL… and I feel like I’ve lived an incomplete life until now. From start to finish, the show was an explosive and unforgettable experience!

Tragedy opened up the show. I had looked these guys up before the show so I was loosely familiar with what they’d play but I hadn’t actually listen to them. Hot damn! They’re right up my alley. Everything they played was fun, energetic and completely ridiculous! Their cover of The Weather Girls “Its Raining Men” opening up with Slayer’s “Raining Blood” caught me completely off-guard. And while I expected their cover of The Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” to be fun, I had no idea how much they’d absolutely kill it! 

Crobot followed them with a highly energetic set. Brandon Yeagley’s vocals and absolutely massive stage presence immediately drew me in. Their sound is kinda like Wolfmother meets Queens of the Stone Age but hard leaning on the Rock side of the sounds.  

Ok, Steel Panther… I don’t even know where to start. As soon as the lights dimmed and the crowd could make out the dim outlines of the band taking the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers and screams. Steel Panther wasted no time getting right into the music, launching into their signature brand of raunchy, high-energy rock and roll that had the audience bouncing and headbanging along.

The band’s musicianship was top-notch, with tight rhythms, blistering guitar solos, and soaring vocals that showcased the full range of their talents. But the main highlight was the consistent humor. Both in the song’s lyrics, and the band’s banter between songs. The comments they were throwing out about the inflatable sex dolls they had bouncing around the audience had me almost in tears. 

They played a bunch of their most popular songs that I expected to hear, like “All I Wanna do Is F**k”, and “Death to All but Metal”. But the most memorable song was when they pull up someone named “Mikey” from the crowd come on stage to play drums during their cover of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”.  I mean, thats an absolutely perfect song for these guys to cover. And whomever “Mikey” was, he killed it!

This show exemplified why Steel Panther is renowned for being one of the most entertaining acts in rock. I can’t wait to see them again! 

Crobot

Tragedy

Steel Panther

A Quick Pic from New Zealand

There was so much natural beauty in New Zealand and the people were some of the nicest that I have met anywhere! I’m planning to go back there on holiday sometime soon.

While I was in Auckland I went on a day trip to Rangitoto Island. It is an island that is only 600 years old and has no top-soil, everything there grows in the volcanic rock and sand. It was amazing and beautiful and rugged, … and I got sunburnt. I wanted to share a quick photo from my excursion there. Theres many more that I still have to go through…

Pohutukawa Tree, Rangitoto Island, New Zealand

Shot with: Nikon d700 16mm @f8 1/640 iso200
HDR: 5-1stop brackets. Edited in Lightroom & Photoshop.

Trip Photos: Dublin

Recently, I had the opportunity to fly to Dublin, Ireland for work. Once I took care of my responsibilities, I had the majority of the afternoon to head out and do some sightseeing. I went to check out the Jameson Distillery and walked around town some. As is typical for Ireland, it was raining off and on. Fortunately, it’s the kind of rain that is just enough to be annoying, not the monsoon-like deluge of afternoon showers that we get in Florida.

Besides the distillery tour, I got to experience Aer Lingus’ Business Class product. It was nothing truly spectacular, but it was nice to experience something different from the major carriers on which I typically fly. And, fwiw this was the first trip where I used my Olloclip for most of the photos (all photos shot on my iPhone).

Portraits of Kasondra Rose

Local St Petersburg singer and a group fitness instructor, Kasondra Rose and I had been discussing doing some portraits for her marketing material. So we seized the moment while I was in town recently, and the evening sun was good, to run out and catch some beautiful portraits of her. Our shooting time was a little limited by Florida’s indigenous mosquito population but we still managed to get some great shots. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.


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Photos of Fifth On the Floor @ Crum’s Bar

Last night I went out to hang to Crum’s Bar to hang out with AutopsyIV of NineBullets.net fame and see Fifth on the Floor play. Some great sounds from the band and Matty Rodgers (guitars, mandolin, harmonica, vocals) was killing it with some really unexpected chops on the guitar. They’re playing again tonight. If you’ve not been to Crum’s Bar (65 craft beers on tap) and are looking for something to do, go check it out. In the meantime, check out some photos…

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