So we went down the stairs that lead to the dark cellar of the Duchess, eagerly waiting to see not only the main act Michael Monroe but also the audience he would draw to the venue. Sometime after the doors had opened, it became clear that his fan base in York was fairly equally divided between young hard rock and metal aficionados with leather jackets, and longtime fans from the older generation. One of them was Heather, who told me she had already seen Michael twenty times and was thrilled to have the opportunity to see him again.
The evening commenced with a warm-up act, local five-piece theFALLEN, who surprised with an energetic hard rock set. Their dynamic playing and the confident stage performance of the lead singer JohnnyFALLEN make them sound great live, and their most memorable song ‘Dirty Little Dead Girl’ sounded rougher and better than on record. Despite the moshing and calls for hand-raising, most of the evening’s audience remained somewhat cautious and made it clear that they knew exactly what they wanted. And they got it.
Michael Monroe came to the stage with their latest album’s title track ‘Horns and Halos’ sporting a black and red leather vest and tight leather trousers. It was an impressive start with the catchy guitar riff escalating into a full-sounding guitar-banging chorus. This was followed by newer tracks such as ‘TNT’, ‘Eighteen Angels’ and ‘The Ballad of the Lower East Side’ which attracted some of the audience to join the ”Hallelujahs” in the testimony of the old times in NY when it wasn’t “squeaky clean”. It was clear from the beginning that Michael Monroe was in top form. Having already passed his young adulthood some time ago, it’s remarkable how much energy he has on stage. Not stopping for a moment, he hurtled between flinging his microphone and stand or hanging from the stage rigging; at one point we were even treated to a split.
With such antics in mind, it almost needn’t be said that the spotlight was his. However, the cool New Yorker guitarist Steve Conte, could’ve come forward more. His more restrained attitude contrasted with that of the rest of the band, not necessarily in a bad way, but a bigger role musically would’ve been appreciated. He mainly stayed in the background with riffs and short solos, even though there was room for more guitar virtuosity to level Michael’s energy and to bring more variety to the music. Indeed, one banging up-tempo track after another started to feel a bit too much. The setlist had continued with older material and covers from The Damned and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers among others, and the tracks ‘’78’ and ‘Dead Jail Or Rock N Roll’ made the crowd go a bit wilder. But what was missing from the gig was suspense. The continuing stream of expeditious loud guitar tracks is definitely Michael Monroe, but from the audience’s perspective the lack of variety seemed a little relentless. As the night was drawing to a close, they performed an encore of five songs, the most memorable of which was ‘Mellow Down Easy’ with Monroe mastering the harmonica amidst a jam. Even though the loudness and the energy can sometimes seem to be too much, that’s exactly why Monroe is worth seeing. He is there to give all he’s got, and you can feel that.