By Lisa Burke
February 12th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: On Friday February 12th, 2016 I made my return to the Whisky A Go Go where I believe I have spent most of this month, since they have a variety of great shows still to come. On this night it was the second night of the co-headlining tour of Michael Monroe and Hardcore Superstar with opening acts Se7en Reasons Why and Kings Of Jade. On the previous night I believe Michael Monroe was the headliner but on this night it was Hardcore Superstar. Interestingly it seemed the majority of attendees were only interested in Michael Monroe as the crowd thinned for Hardcore Superstar, yet it was still a full room.
I arrived in time for Se7en Reasons Why but if you are curious about Kings Of Jade I saw them about a week earlier at The Aviators show at Whisky and reviewed them then so check it out. I was impressed with Se7en Reasons Why as they were a little unique in the style of old school rock mixed with a punk attitude, and folk instruments bringing in a somewhat mellow vibe that can still kick your ass. From the female drummer to the violin to the acoustic guitar you get a party pack of serenity that can only be topped with the lead singer’s vocals and his old school punk rock antics. There was a charming little drum solo that happened with some help from the vocalist on another drum and I found that the guitar player’s vocal back up harmonizing worked very well for their style at all the appropriate moments. One feat I wasn’t sure was really necessary but was certainly interesting was the moment the singer ran up the stairs to the balcony and after climbing over he teetered on the edge of the ledge while singing. For as much bravery as this ensued, I also found myself scared for the possibility of a sudden plummet to his death. Michael Monroe attempts a very similar feat during his set but actually goes from the stage to climbing on a frame on the wall to pulling himself up to the balcony without using the stairs and makes it look much more like a badass entertaining acrobatic move and less like a failed suicide attempt. He also got down the same way he came up which was pretty damn impressive as well. So not to discredit the first attempt but perhaps leave this kind of crazy to the man who acts like he was born on a stage, Mr. Michael Monroe.
For some reason, at this show there was an extra long gap lasting about an hour between Se7en Reasons Why and Michael Monroe. The original rumor was he was to go on at 9 PM but that quickly turned into 9:45 PM and he was spotted running down the street around 9 on some extravagant mission. The point here is I died of extreme boredom during that hour and then it was nothing but a good time once Finland-born Michael Monroe finally hit the stage. This man’s solo work is fun and enjoyable, and glam punk to the max. He actually only played two songs from Hanoi Rocks and also a couple from Demolition 23 while the rest was his solo tunes, but I wasn’t minding it in the least. My absolute favorite tune besides ‘Dead, Jail, or Rock N Roll’ was ‘Ballad Of The Lower East Side’ which was very nostalgic for me growing up as a New Yorker and having lived in the city for three years. Surprisingly he also did a fun rendition of a CCR song ‘Up Around The Bend’ that had the audience in a state of happiness for its entirety. Michael Monroe definitely portrays similar antics to that of David Lee Roth as he twirls the microphone stand and the microphone and jumps around quite a bit. At 53 years old he pulls off a 20 year old’s grace, charisma, and charm and with his customized vest with the giant M logo on the back, to his black rocker pants with the flames shooting up the cuffs, you can bet you’ll be in constant entertainment. If that’s not enough, he plays a bright red saxophone and uses a red microphone cord for extra fun, and the best part was when he tried to sing and play the sax at the same time. It obviously didn’t work out too great and he realized a touch of slowing it down would be key for the night. I really enjoyed his new solo works and the song ‘Goin Down With The Ship’ was some seriously catchy fun. Of course the whole set ends with some more acrobatics of him standing on the drumset balancing and jumping off. This man has some amazing energy and fills a room with love and fun and the lyrical stories are a great time as well.
Set List:
01. This Ain’t No Love Song
02. Old King’s Road
03. Trick of the Wrist
04. ’78
05. Ballad of the Lower East Side
06. Man With No Eyes
07. Oriental Beat
08. Horns and Halos
09. R.L.F.
10. Nothin’s Alright
11. Hammersmith Palais
12. Got Blood?
13. Goin’ Down with the Ship
14. Tragedy
15. Up Around the Bend (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
16. Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll
Next up it was time for Sweden’s glam rockers Hardcore Superstar, and they were everything I thought they would be and then some. I’ve been trying to see these guys perform for years now but for whatever reason I kept missing them live until now. In my opinion these late 90s glam rockers are underrated perhaps due to the name that sounds like a bad American mallcore band if you didn’t know better. Of course nothing could be further from the truth, as these guys have some of the best mixes of metal and glam that is not only catchy but also pretty badass for lack of a more appropriate technical term. With tunes like ‘Wild Boys’, ‘Into Debauchery’, ‘Moonshine’, and ‘Last Call For Alcohol’ you have your guarantee that the party will continue on till the end of the show. The singer was wearing a little leather pouch in a cod-piece style fashion and red and black striped stockings peeked out of his ripped up jeans for the win. Europeans always know how to dress themselves for the record and these guys are no exception. They also play a sexy black and white Gibson guitar with at times the almost Slash-esque riffage happens that really enhances the mood, and while there is mild usage of backing vocal echo enhancement I don’t have any problem with it and the overall vocals were just simply great. For some reason during this particular set the roadie/set technician was giving himself a workout running across the stage during the performance and at one point stopped to crouch behind the vocalist to ‘adjust his butt’ or fix some clothing in that general area or whatever other more logical senerio you can dream up. The singer himself was confused as well and made an uncomfortable joke about it, and between a friend and it was then decided that no band should go on tour without their personal ‘butt roadie’. They pulled a few girls on stage at one point ‘Steel Panther’ style but no debauchery ensued from it unfortunately. As far as glam metal goes I hold them in high standard and find their ballads beautifully fun and see some similarities to White Lion in terms of riffs and style. I happen to love White Lion as they were another underrated favorite of that era for me.
I’m pretty sure I liked Hardcore Superstar as the headliner this evening just because it was the heaviest of all the bands and I enjoy leaving a venue wired on metal as I head to the after hours shenanigans where I caught up with some of my friends who chose the Lamb Of God and Anthrax show that evening. While the crowd at the Whisky was dominated by one too many girls wearing fur in summer weather and older rocker dudes glammed out to the max, I sort of realized I may be in a minority to have been just as happy at either of these shows, yet chose this one because I’d never experienced either co-headliner live and I’m happy with my decision. If you get a chance to catch this tour I definitely recommend it, and it must be said that even just Michael Monroe himself makes it all worth it.
Set List:
01. Sadistic Girls
02. Guestlist
03. Touch The Sky
04. Medicate Me
05. Wild Boys
06. Dreamin’ in a Casket
07. Into Debauchery
08. Run to Your Mama
09. Don’t Mean Shit
10. Moonshine
11. Last Call for Alcohol
12. We Don’t Celebrate Sundays
13. Above the Law
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