Sometimes I wonder who I am writing this blog for. Is it just me to make sure my photos and experiences get documented? To document history? Is it for friends and people I meet who see me taking pictures and want to see them? To relive past glories? Is it for new people who want to learn something? In reality, it’s probably all the above. But you all should know who Michael Monroe is.
What he is, is a living legend. And at his age, has 3 times the energy and 10 times the flexibility of anyone a third of his age. He was friends with Stiv Bators. Is friends with Little Steven. He even guested on a Johnny Thunders album! As the lead singer of Hanoi Rocks, his picture was plastered on magazines worldwide. And they basically influenced the look of all of Hollywood. You want to know where Axl Rose got his look in 1986-1988? Motley Crue? Poison? It was all from Michael Monroe and Hanoi Rocks. And that’s just the look! Their music was just as influential.
This is a bold thing to say, but it’s my personal opinion that Michael Monroe is one of those musicians where his solo career (as a whole) is at least as good, if not, better than the band where he got famous from. He has some good help with Rich Jones (of the Black Halos) and Steve Conte (of the new New York Dolls) on guitars and songwriting.
Having played onstage in front of tens of thousands of people and certainly not a stranger to getting injured onstage, you’d think he’d tone it down a bit for a show which was basically in the middle of nowhere. And a show that was probably the only night of the tour that didn’t sell out. But that’s not the kind of person Michael Monroe is. Nor the band he has backing him up. They were all over the place and played this show as if it was their last. Monroe is a danger to microphone stands. It was like they were his nemesis today, falling all over the place, being thrown around, tripping him up, and landing on guitar pedals. His mike stand even went into the audience and hit a girl on the head. He checked a few times to make sure she was ok (she was), apologized, sang to her, and then started knocking himself on the head a few times with the stand to show that it’s ok. Heck, I even almost got hit with one when he went onto a table in the audience and decided to throw the stand to the stage like a spear! Steve also blew up his amp and they had to stall a bit while the amp head was replaced.
Song selection was excellent. They played stuff from his solo albums, Hanoi Rocks, Demolition 23, and a few covers (“Up Around The Bend” from CCR and “I Feel Alright” from the Stooges). All played with a lot of heart and a lot of fun and a whole lot of energy. Highlights for me were “Last Train To Tokyo” (which every time I hear it, it’s in my head for days which is a great problem to have!), the hard driving catchiness of “’78” and “Trick Of The Wrist”, and the excellent 4 part harmonies of Hanoi Rocks’ “Boiler (Me Boiler ‘n Me)”.
There are a few more dates left on this tour (Vegas, Orange County, Los Angeles) and most are sold out. Damn, are these people in for a treat!
I took so many decent pictures, I’m putting this post into 2 parts. I’ll post the rest of the pictures later in the week.
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