Michael Monroe - Bristol Review

The last couple of weeks have felt like a bit of a slog, even for a seasoned gig-goer like me. I do not regret it, of course, as each of the six gigs I have been to during the past three weeks has been great - but the many hours spent on trains and in hotels has started to catch up with me, and being such a bit-part player at work for an extended period is never ideal. I am actually looking forward to a quiet couple of weeks before a busy week in June which will see me catching Savatage live for the first time - but it is now time to reflect on the last of what May had to offer and, Bruce Springsteen aside, it was likely the best of the month. The reason for yesterday's trip to Bristol was to catch Michael Monroe live on his latest UK tour - on board the Thekla which is a venue that always seems to generate a great atmosphere. I had seen Monroe and his band live a few times over the years, but last night was my first time seeing them headline. I had been wanting to get to one of his headline shows ever since I first got into him back in 2011, but his tours always seem to clash with other plans or just fall at inconvenient times. I got into him in advance of seeing him at the 2011 iteration of the High Voltage Festival in London - and since then I have also seen him opening for Alice Cooper, Guns N' Roses, and Black Star Riders. Even as a support act, Monroe always delivers. He has been doing his thing for years at this point, with Hanoi Rocks having formed back in 1979 and Monroe being active in music ever since. Whilst Hanoi Rocks have their place in music history, particularly for their influence on the hair metal movement of the 1980s, I would argue that Monroe's best work has come more recently - particularly since re-launching his solo career proper with his current band after Hanoi Rocks broke up for good in 2009. With guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffi, and drummer Karl Rockfist having been on board since this rebirth - it is only the second guitarist slot which has changed, although Rich Jones has filled it since 2014. Monroe's current band has been together for 11 years at this point, then, and is responsible for his last three albums - although the two which came before are also seen as part of the set, and make up a five-album run which is as good as anything he has done in the past. In truth, I tend to prefer his solo work to those classic Hanoi Rocks albums from the 1980s - and the sole Demolition 23. album from 1994 is also a bit of a lost classic of the genre. I was pleased, then, when the dates for his latest UK tour were announced and there was a Bristol show I could make easily. I had considered seeing him in London last year as it would have tied into other plans, but I ended up deciding not to - so I was lucky that this more extensive tour was announced. The Thekla was a good choice for him, too. I have never been to a bad gig there, and the quirky nature of the venue suited the upbeat and relentless energy of Monroe and his band. I had not been there for about a year, so it was good to return, and it was also great to see a strong turnout on a Wednesday night for the glam/punk icon.

Before Monroe took to the stage, though, the growing crowd was treated to a powerful set from CJ Wildheart and his band. I have been a Wildhearts fan for a while, but it was not until last year when I started to take notice of CJ as solo artist - and it was his announcement of a gig in Plymouth which prompted me to check him out properly. I enjoyed the albums of his I heard and the gig was excellent - so I was looking forward to catching him live again despite not having gotten around to picking up his latest album Slots. Half of the new album featured throughout his 45 minute set, but the fact that I did not know the songs did not matter - as they, as is the case with much of CJ's catalogue, were the sort of songs which stick with you quickly. He is not a writer of complex and especially layered material, but that is not what his fans want, and his knack for a big riff and a hooky chorus has not dulled over the years. Three tracks from the latest album opened things up, with the angsty Beg kicking things off - whilst the single The Baddest Girl in the World particularly stood out thanks to its big chorus and pop-punk energy. CJ and his band had very little room to move on the stage, with drummer Craig Mackay's drumkit sat to the side facing the band - with Mackay himself looking at danger at toppling backwards off the stage at points. CJ's usual sardonic humour regarding the situation, and touring more generally, was very much in place, though, and there were plenty of CJ and Wildhearts shirts on display in the crowd - meaning that he had to do little to evoke a decent reaction. Despite this, though, the atmosphere definitely rose as his set went on. The new songs certainly went down well, but detours through his previous bands The Jellys and Honeycrack certainly delighted the older fans in the room. The anthemic Go Away from the latter was a mid-set highlight - although I also really enjoyed the slightly more low key You Got the Best Part of Me from Slots which was a slight moment of respite in what was generally a high-energy set. With limited time to play with, there was little standing on ceremony, too, and perhaps knowing that The Wildhearts is what he is most known for he opted to close his set with three anthems from that band - and two of them were more 'well known' than the songs from the band's canon he tends to play as a solo artist. As a support act you sometimes need to give the people what they want, though, with Stormy in the North, Karma in the South hitting the spot before the fan-favourite I Wanna Go Where the People Go saw CJ trading vocals with guitarist Dean McCreadie. An anthemic O.C.D closed things out - and I think it is fair to say that CJ's set was great. I am looking forward to seeing live again later in the year with Ricky Warwick. The setlist was:

Beg

Another Big Mistake

The Baddest Girl in the World

Lemonade Girl [The Jellys material]

Go Away [Honeycrack material]

Coma

You Got the Best Part of Me

Sitting at Home [Honeycrack material]

Stormy in the North, Karma in the South [The Wildhearts material]

I Wanna Go Where the People Go [The Wildhearts material]

O.C.D [The Wildhearts material]

Following what seemed like a pretty speedy changeover considering how much gear needed to be cleared from the stage, the lights went down and Monroe and his band took over - and for the next 90 minutes they really rocked the boat. It is almost as if Monroe agrees with me that his recent material is some of his best work, as newer cuts really dominated the first two-thirds of the set - with older numbers from his previous bands and some covers coming later on. He did turn the clock back as things got underway, though, opening with the evergreen Dead, Jail or Rock 'n' Roll from one of his older solo albums. The song is usually used to close out his shows, but it worked really well an opener - with Jones peeling off the big riff to huge cheers, and the large crowd later shouted the chorus back at the band. It was also one of the songs which featured quite a lot of harmonica playing from Monroe. His bluesy additions to some of the songs, alongside the occasional burst of saxophone, always ensure a touch of class is entrenched in the scrappy punk of his core sound - but generally he leapt around the stage and interacted with the crowd, despite the band all appearing quite cramped on the stage. The recent favourites came thick and fast early on, then, with anthems like I Live Too Fast to Die Young, TNT Diet, and a particularly rip-roaring Last Train to Tokyo set the crowd alight during the early part of the set. There was quite a lot of focus on 2013's Horns and Halos, with five songs culled from it, but there was generally a good mix of material throughout - and when Yaffa laid into the iconic bass intro of Motorvatin' the old-schoolers in the crowd went wild. Vibe-wise, this was one of the best atmospheres of the year so far. It helped that the band sounded clear, with every nuance cutting through, but each song was greeted like an old friend - and everyone around me sang along to every word. Even the occasional slower number like Man with No Eyes and Stained Glass Heart did not dampen the mood. These little moments of respite were welcome, and showcased a different side of Monroe's songwriting - showing that not everything he does is three-chord punk. There was plenty of hard-driving rock to be enjoyed, though, with Old King's Road and the bouncy Trick of the Wrist, complete with saxophone, also being highlights. It was left to his current era anthem Ballad of the Lower East Side to round out the two-thirds of the set largely dedicated to solo material - and the singing from the crowd was louder than ever, whilst Conte laid down a melodic guitar solo. Hanoi Rocks and Demolition 23. songs followed, with the semi-ballad Don't You Ever Leave Me providing another brief break - but it was the duo of Nothin's Alright and Hammersmith Palais which really hit the spot for me. There was a humorous moment during the former as Conte's guitar briefly stopped working and he proceeded to sing his guitar part whilst the issue was being fixed - this is a band that just rolls with the punches. More saxophone was then included throughout Malibu Beach Nightmare before the main set came to a close with Hanoi Rocks' rendition of Up Around the Bend. Huge cheers brought them back out for a couple more following a brief change of clothes, though, and Monroe sat behind the drums for the first number - a rendition of the punk classic Blitzkrieg Bop, which the rest of the band sung whilst he bashed away. A lengthy version of another punk classic I Wanna Be Loved closed the whole night out, though, with lots of jamming, big guitar solos, and lots of banter. It was a suitably trashy end to the night - and the cheers as the show came to an end were loud. The setlist was:

Dead, Jail or Rock 'n' Roll

I Live Too Fast to Die Young

TNT Diet

Eighteen Angels

Last Train to Tokyo

Motorvatin' [Hanoi Rocks material]

Young Drunks & Old Alcoholics

Man with No Eyes

Soul Surrender

Stained Glass Heart

Old King's Road

Trick of the Wrist

'78

Ballad of the Lower East Side

Don't You Ever Leave Me [Hanoi Rocks material]

Nothin's Alright [Demolition 23. material]

Hammersmith Palais [Demolition 23. material]

Malibu Beach Nightmare [Hanoi Rocks material]

Up Around the Bend [Creedence Clearwater Revival cover]

-

Blitzkrieg Bop [Ramones cover]

I Wanna Be Loved [The Heartbreakers cover]

Seeing Monroe and his band last night will likely end up being one of 2025's most memorable gigs. I am glad that I finally got to see him as a headline act following missing out on so many previous tours - and he also showcased that great vibes can still be created by bands who largely focus on newer material. Everyone enjoyed the classics of course, but the newer material, which dominated, was received just as well. Monroe's energy and stage presence has not faded at all over the years - and he remains one of the great frontmen of an era that produced so many.