No such disappointment with Michael Monroe though – lest we forget this is the guy who pretty much wrote the book on Scandinavian sleaze rock three decades previously and, as he sings on previous single “’78″, “You can take the boy out of ’78/The style’s gonna change but the sentiment ain’t”. Tonight is a good mix of standards from Monroe’s Hanoi Rocks days (“Motorvatin’”, “Back To Mystery City”), his ’90s solo albums (“Dead, Jail Or Rock ‘n’ Roll”), his criminally overlooked Demolition 23 album (“Hammersmith Palais”) and his all-guns-blazing comeback “Sensory Overdrive” from earlier this year (“Trick Of The Wrist”, “Got Blood?”).
Make no mistake, sleaze rock bands may come and go but Monroe’s been carving out a career at it for this long for a very good reason, namely that he pretty much napalms 90% of the competition without even breaking a sweat. Thirty years on from Hanoi Rocks’ debut, this is still a man very much at the top of his game.
One unfortunate side effect of this is that it leaves Wednesday 13 with a very hard act to follow and, though it’s through no lack of effort on his part, he doesn’t quite manage to pull it off. Make no mistake, I’m a big fan of Wednesday’s solo stuff and he’s still scarpering around the stage snarling the lyrics to “Morgue Than Words” and “Buried With Children” like Marilyn Manson’s bratty punk kid brother but Monroe’s left him with a very big void to fill and for all the snotty attitude of “Home Sweet Homicide” and “Happily Ever Cadaver”, he just can’t quite manage it unfortunately.
All in all, a good night though. I just wish they’d swapped the top two bands round, that’s all.
Words by Andy James Close, photos by Sophie Garrett (view more in the gallery)
