Michael Monroe, Electric Eel Shock & Tyla  

Hitting Glasgow on the 6th night of a 10-date UK tour in support of new album ‘One Man Gang’, the Michael Monroe Band came to town and proved that rock music is still very much alive (if anyone ever seriously doubted this).

If I’m honest, as a fan of live music I’m not a great fan of triple bill line-ups. When a gig is midweek, fans might have to travel after work and there is an early curfew for the venue, this can all too often lead to early starts with thin audiences. Initially tonight was no different, but those who did arrive early were rewarded with a Glasgow-only additional acoustic support slot from Tyla (with London treated to the full band earlier in the tour). As seasoned troupers, Tyla, along with Matty on bass, took this in their stride and started to warm up the gradually growing audience. During a short set they treated us to acoustic versions of a number of Dogs D’Amour classics, opening with ‘Billy Two Rivers’, followed by ‘Last Bandit’, a medley of ‘Satellite Kid’ / ‘I Don’t Love Anyone’ / ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’, then ‘Bottle of Red’, ‘How Come It Never Rains’ (a song which a self-deprecating Tyla seemed pleased some of the early crowd actually knew) and set closer ‘Errol Flynn’. As sets go – this was short, but definitely sweet.

It’s not often I’m lost for words, but the main tour support act, Electric Eel Shock achieved this. Trying to describe their set and sound is not easy. Heavily ‘80’s (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) influenced Japanese punk ‘n’ roll might give you an idea. As a band, they clearly don’t take themselves too seriously and throw themselves into their set, straddling the monitors as often as possible, and encouraging crowd participation while their four stick wielding drummer engaged in a personal homage to The Red Hot Chilli Peppers while wearing only a sock to cover his blushes throughout the set. With songs including ‘Bastard’ and tongues firmly planted in cheeks, they carried a willing and growing Glasgow audience with them.

As the lights dimmed, the Michael Monroe Band took to the stage and without pausing for breath dove into an 80+ minute set spanning their singer’s illustrious career. For setlist afficionados I’m not going to provide a song by song review here (but those interested in this can check this out at the bottom of this review). Instead, I hope I will provide you with a flavour of what an outstanding evening of top class musical entertainment this was.

Few artists would have the confidence to open their set with a five song run off of a new album and the ability to get away with it. If they did try, they might risk losing an audience or be seen to be out of touch with what fans are wanting to hear. But not so the Michael Monroe Band who know that the quality of their studio albums in recent years has been such that they have raised the bar higher with each release. Fans not only sang along joyously with the new numbers, but also greeted them as well as they did classics from throughout the band’s career. With new songs of the quality of ‘One Man Gang’ and ‘Last Train to Tokyo’ this was never in doubt.

Want to hear something off of their previous three studio albums? Look no further than the modern day classic ‘Balled of the Lower East Side’, with Michael joined centre stage by Steve Conte as he strummed THAT intro, ‘Old King’s Road’, ‘’78’ and ‘This Aint’ No Love Song’. Want some Hanoi Rocks? How about the storming ‘Motorvatin’’, an emotional ‘Don’t You Ever Leave Me’, ‘Malibu Beach Nightmare’ (if there is any finer sight than the Michael Monroe Band rocking out in full across the stage of a sweaty club to this classic 36 years after it’s release as Michael plays the solo on his red saxophone, I’ve yet to see it) and their cover of ‘Up Around the Bend’. Some 80’s solo material? – main set closer ‘Dead, Jail or Rock’n’Roll’. Demolition 23? – raucous encores of ‘Nothin’s Alright’ and the glam punk anthemic majesty of ‘Hammersmith Palais’. The set had it all. And more.

And as for the band? There’s not much left to say that hasn’t already been written by myself or others. As a band, they define professionalism – playing their trademark tight, but loose sound underpinned and held together by Karl Rockfist’s solid drumming and Sami Yaffa’s punchy bass lines, with Steve Conte and Rich Jones as brothers on guitar showing that there is so much more to their respective musical ability than the down strokes which we know and love. Fronted by Michael Monroe, they have one of the most captivating, enigmatic and energetic singers in the business. Restrained by a smaller venue, he paced the stage like a caged tiger desperate to break out, regularly climbing the crowd barriers and being held aloft by fans as he sang. On this occasion the venue ceiling was too low to climb the speaker stacks. Eventually seizing the chance to break free, he climbed his way along the side wall of the venue, like a glam punk Spiderman, until he reached the bar and sang to fans from his new stage before returning to where he came from.

As befits a band which defined and influenced a generation of rock acts, it seemed only fitting that the gig closed with the band paying homage to a band which inspired and influenced Hanoi Rocks themselves, with a blistering cover of The Stooges’ ‘1970 (I Feel Alright)’.

As gigs go, they don’t get much better than this with the Michael Monroe Band demonstrating once again why they are one of the hottest live acts around, anywhere. If you’ve got a ticket for one of their remaining gigs as they move towards their sold-out headlining, end of tour, slot at Hard Rock Hell this weekend you’re in for one hell of a show.

GMcA

Setlist
One Man Gang
Last Train to Tokyo
Junk Planet
The Pitfalls of Being an Outsider
Wasted Years
Ballad of the Lower East Side
Old King’s Road
‘78
Black Ties and Red Tape
Motorvatin’
Hollywood Paranoia
This Ain’t No Love Song
Don’t You Ever Leave Me
Malibu Beach Nightmare
Up Around the Bend
Dead, Jail or Rock’n’Roll
Nothin’s Alright
Hammersmith Palais
1970 (I Feel Alright)