Buckcherry/Michael Monroe - Torquay Review

After two fairly quiet months, despite those two months including four very enjoyable and different gigs, 2026 is about to really kick into gear from a gigging perspective. I have mentioned on this blog before already this year that March was going to see things change - and from now until the end of the year gigs tend to come at a pretty regular pace. I do not think that 2026 will be quite as busy as 2025, but I will be seeing some very notable shows this year - and there are bands old and new that I am very much looking forward to seeing. I am next away at the weekend, but a busy March got underway yesterday relatively locally - with a post-work drive from Plymouth to the Devon town of Torquay, which is fast becoming, outside of the Bristol, the South West's premier gigging hotspot. Both Plymouth and Exeter, much bigger conurbations with student populations and history when it comes to live music, should hang their heads in shame - but their loss is currently, seemingly, Torquay's gain. With The Foundry gaining prominence over the past few years, and the recent opening of the Arena Torquay, which are a stone's throw from each other, alongside the more formal Princess Theatre for an all-seated experience, Torquay's music scene is starting to thrive. In the past couple of years alone I have seen Kris Barras and his band, Cradle of Filth, and The Wildhearts all tread the boards in the seaside town - and later this year I will be seeing both Steve Hackett and Black Stone Cherry. Other bands of note have played the town, too, and that has pleased us South West gig-goers - even if the town takes longer to get to than it should due to the state of some of the roads which link it to the A38. I am sure that I will continue to make semi-regular trips to the town, though, and the drive is generally worth it - with the venues in easy reach of plentiful on-street parking and, perhaps more importantly, a Wetherspoons. The reason for last night's trip to the seaside, then, was a co-headline show featuring the California-based sleazy hard rockers Buckcherry and the Finnish Godfather of Glam Michael Monroe. Like most tours that both acts tend to undertake here in the UK actually, it was quite extensive - with a number of dates to choose from. Torquay was the obvious choice in this instance - and it was a show that I had had the ticket for for quite a while. Whilst I am only really a casual fan of Buckcherry, despite listening to both 2005's 15 and 2008's Black Butterfly quite a lot during my teens, I am a pretty big fan of Monroe. Expect a review of his latest album Outerstellar to follow shortly, and his show in Bristol last year was memorable for all the right reasons. I first saw him back in 2011 at the final iteration of the High Voltage Festival, and had seen him as a support act a handful of times since - but that Bristol show last year was the first time I saw him as a headliner. The energy that he and his excellent band brought to the Thekla made for a memorable evening of punk and proto-hair metal that had everyone singing along - and he is now one of those acts that I will see as often as is possible. As such, a fairly local show, even a co-headline affair, was a no-brainer - and with Buckcherry on the bill it gave me an opportunity to catch up with some of their newer albums and see them live for the first time in a number of years. Given the post-work traffic, the drive to Torquay took longer than usual - but I was still there in plenty of time and, following dinner in Wetherspoons, soon took my place on The Foundry's balcony ready for the night.

Unlike some shows I have been to recently, this was a snappy evening. The two co-headliners played for an hour each - with the sole support act afforded half an hour. The change-overs seemed smooth, too, so there was little waiting around - and the evening flew by as a result. Opening the show were the Boston-based alternative rockers Rubikon - a slightly strange band who seem to have been around for a few years at this point. Sound-wise, I thought Rubikon had plenty of that American post-grunge sound of the 1990s/2000s in their sound, but perhaps with a little more of a funk edge thanks to some busy bass playing and the occasional Alice in Chains-esque vocal harmony. Despite some decent riffs, though, Rubikon did not do all that much for me. Visually, the band were quite a mish-mash of different styles, so they did not look like a very coherent band, and their overall sound was a bit too leaden for me - lacking in big hooks and melodies. Some of the choruses did pop to an extent thank to the aforementioned vocal harmonies, with the drummer adding quite a bit of vocal weight, but nothing really stuck in the brain - whilst the riffing was largely all of a type I had heard a number of times before, with a handful of decent guitar solos. The band were certainly soldiering on through some difficult circumstances, though. The bass player was having issues with his instrument during the first couple of numbers - and the frontman was suffering from food poisoning. He did not look all that well at all in truth, and probably should not have been on stage, but got through the set without incident - and everything seemed to be approached in good humour. Despite this, though, the band did not really garner much of a reception. The venue was still filling up whilst Rubikon played, and there was not much an of an atmosphere during their set. From my balcony view I could see a handful of people singing along, but there was not a huge amount of energy created during the night - and it seemed that the band left the stage without making much of an impact. With only half an hour to play with, though, the band did not outstay their welcome - and I have certainly seen worse over the years.

The overall levels of quality were about to shoot up, though, and after only around 15 minutes a percussive intro tape started to play and Monroe appeared up on the balcony - climbing down to the stage as his band joined him in a more conventional manner. They proceeded to rip through 14 songs in an hour, kicking off with the shout-along Dead, Jail or Rock 'n' Roll, delivering another excellent set. The show was not as good as the Bristol one last year, as it was shorter and the overall sound mix was not quite as clear, but Monroe and his band never disappoint. It was good to hear some different songs, too. Three songs from the new album were featured, whilst a few different numbers from his days with Hanoi Rocks were included this time. It was a more familiar Hani Rocks number in Motorvatin', opening as ever with Sami Yaffa's (bass guitar/vocals) busy playing, that followed the harmonica-led barroom rock of the opening number, though, and by this point the atmosphere in the room had raised significantly. Given the nature of the tour, there was perhaps less focus on his solo stuff - with Hanoi Rocks material accounting for around half the set. There were likely to be a few casuals in attendance, but no-one seemed to mind the song choices - with plenty down on the floor singing along or just getting swept along with the performance. Monroe's music is hard to ignore - and the short nature of each song means that melodies, riffs, and hooks are constantly coming. Some of the highlights for me, though, were actually the new songs. The new album is both familiar and different, mixing punky hard rock with some smoother power pop vibes - but the three songs culled from it were all high-energy rockers. Rockin' Horse came fairly early on, but it was perhaps Shinola that stood out the most - with another big shout-along chorus and plenty of snappy riffing from both Rich Jones (guitar/vocals) and Steve Conte (guitar/vocals). Big favourites from Monroe's solo catalogue including Last Train to Tokyo and the ever-present Ballad of the Lower East Side, the latter of which came later in the set, kept things pretty up-to-date, then, whilst a nice moment saw the band take a break to wish one of the members of their crew a happy birthday. The atmosphere did lift even further during some of the older Hanoi Rocks cuts, though. It was nice to hear I Can't Get It live, a song I am perhaps less familiar with, but tracks like the sugary ballad Don't You Ever Leave Me and the hard rocking Malibu Beach Nightmare, complete with an excellent saxophone solo, had everyone singing along - as did the sole cut from Monroe's 1990s band Demolition 23., Hammersmith Palais. The hour was very much just a whirlwind of energy from start to finish, then, which is typical of Monroe's shows. He climbed all over the amps and speakers, getting up close and personal with the crowd, and by the time he ended with Up Around the Bend he and the band left the good-sized crowd wanting more. The setlist was:

Dead, Jail or Rock 'n' Roll

Motorvatin' [Hanoi Rocks material]

Old King's Road

Rockin' Horse

Last Train to Tokyo

I Can't Get It [Hanoi Rocks material]

Shinola

Hammersmith Palais [Demolition 23. material]

Disconnected

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

Boulevard of Broken Hearts [Hanoi Rocks material]

Ballad of the Lower East Side

Malibu Beach Nightmare [Hanoi Rocks material]

Up Around the Bend [Creedence Clearwater Revival cover]

The changeover between Monroe's set and Buckcherry was a little longer - but it did not feel all that long. As such, it was not long before the lights went down and Buckcherry, led by sole original member and frontman Josh Todd, took to the stage - and the five-piece filled the next hour with lots of riffy, sleazy hard rock. I had seen the band live twice before - both of which were as an opening band in half-full arenas. As such, I do not feel that I had ever really had the true Buckcherry live experience before - and I found myself really enjoying the full hour despite only ever really being a casual fan of the band. Todd was much better vocally than I remember him being previously - and the band's songs are certainly made for busy clubs like The Foundry rather than half-full arenas. A few had left after Monroe's set, which is typical of co-headline arrangements, but there was still a healthy crowd in attendance - and there was plenty of singing and dancing during the band's groovy and, often, lewd, songs. The golden oldie Lit Up got things underway, with Billy Rowe (guitar/vocals) driving the song both in terms of his riffing and his brief solo - but largely it was long-time guitarist Stevie D. that took the lead in terms of soloing. The snappy chorus of Lit Up had plenty down on the floor singing - and the next hour took in a fair amount of the band's catalogue. Four songs from last year's Roar Like Thunder made an appearance, with the title track coming up after Lit Up, whilst other relatively newer cuts like So Hott and Good Time sat alongside oldies like Ridin' and Gluttony. Despite the band's sleazy and loose sound, the band felt tight and powerful throughout. The riffing of D. and Rowe was just loose enough to bring the songs to life, but not so much so that the set felt sloppy, and the hard-hitting drumming of Francis Ruiz added a metallic edge at times - with a surprising amount of double bass drumming. Todd is a strange frontman, but he had the crowd going from the off. His shuffling, grooving movements give him an off-kilter and edgy vibe - and he was strong vocally, which differs from some of my previous memories of Buckcherry shows. The rest of the band added harmonies and gang vocals when needed, especially during the punchy Say Fuck It, but Todd was really the focus throughout - save for D.'s brief guitar solos. Rowe added some strong slide guitar licks and rhythms, too, adding to the band's bluesy edge - with this vibe coming together nicely on groovy tunes like Good Time. Fan-favourite ballad Sorry was also wheeled out, towards the end of the set, but before long the hour was almost up and Buckcherry launched into a lengthy version of their signature tune Crazy Bitch - complete with band introductions and snippets of many other songs. The medley brough the curtain down on another strong evening of live music - with Buckcherry impressing as a live act more than I expected them to. The setlist was:

Lit Up

Roar Like Thunder

So Hott

Ridin'

Let It Burn

Come On

Say Fuck It [Icona Pop cover]

Gluttony

Sorry

Good Time

Blackout

Crazy Bitch/Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine [James Brown cover]/Bad Girls [Donna Summer cover]/Irresistible Bitch [Prince cover]/Proud Mary [Creedence Clearwater Revival cover]

Monroe and his band were certainly the act of the night for me, as expected, but Buckcherry were also very good. I thought that they might struggle to follow Monroe's energy, but they had their own vibe and enough in attendance who were fans to ensure that they took the spotlight for themselves - and their pairing worked well overall. It was good to get out for the night, too, and it was another successful night in Torquay as a result.