By Chris Rockson

 

Ok, it's November, it's fuckin' freezing outdoors, it's dark by four PM, and I need a drink! But, it's also time for the annual visit by long-term noise merchants, Motorhead, who are playing their 35th Anniversary show just up the road at the Apollo. Time to drink up, we gotta catch the support acts, Skew Siskin and the recently reformed and revived, Michael Monroe Band, featuring his old Hanoi Rocks bass playing buddy, Sami Yaffa, Ginger from the Wildhearts, Carl Roqvist [rock-fist] and former New York Dolls guitarist Steve Conte.....whoah! What a line-up!!! You betcha!

The Motorhead crowd is a hard nut to crack, they like what they like...errmmm, Motorhead, nothing more, nothing less, so both supporting acts have a job on their hands tonight [ and every night of the UK leg of the tour ], the Motorheadbangers want it LOUDER, FASTER and HEAVIER than last year, and the year before... ad infinitum.

Lemmy, so one of his 'disciples' tells me in the venue bar, ''is God...he's fucking amazing...he's been around for years...he is the baddest....blah de blah de blah..''Yeah, I know....

Skew Siskin? What the fuck is that? Well, making our way down to the front of the almost empty arena, I find that it's a fuckin' great, rockin' band with a good looking and great sounding singer. She's trying hard to win over the 'Pint-clutching', 'War-Pig' tee-shirt wearing-statues that are present and to be honest, she's kinda struggling.

They blast through a set that keeps my interest and I have to say, they can rock out with the very best of them, although, the obvious 'it's first support' mix they got from the soundboard didn't help, I thought they were kickin'!!!

The only gripe I had with their set was, you DO NOT finish a warm-up show with that tired out old 'Can you join in with the Whoooooaaaaahhhh, whooaaah, whoooaaahh' routine as your last song....it's more than dated, it's pre-historic!!! What a fine way to kill your performance? I can't even begin to think....yet, they deserved their applause at the end of it...just went on a little bit too long for me.

Anyway, next to hit the stage and eagerly awaited, is the Michael Monroe Band.

Michael has put together an all-star line-up for his recently created band, and oh boy! is it a line-up ???...

He rocks like he always has, swinging that mic stand like he was born with it in his hands, pouting, preening, high-kicking, high-fiving, hand-jiving motherfucker that he is....and tonight, in Manchester, I am gonna finally witness them live.

Back in town, and with one helluva job on his hands, Michael struts across that stage like a 3rd Street hooker! He knows where it's at! The band are firing on all four cylinders too, the perfectly tuned back-beat of Roqvist, Yaffa and Ginger is a formidable one, under-pinning the brilliant addition of Steve Conte, taking the lead role. This is rock n roll as it should be....snotty, aggressive, tuneful and fun!!

The Motorhead fans, are actually warming to them as each song passes...Job Done!

Highlights of the show were the V-twin matching of the Damned's 'Love Song/Machine Gun Etiquette', killer performance of both songs, and the Thunders' 'I Wanna Be Loved'. I got to sing a chorus of 'Dead, Jail or Rock n Roll', and the show went on...time for Motorhead...

What can you say about this band, that hasn't already??? It's November, it's Motorhead time! Same old, same old? You bet!

See you next November for some more?

 

 

Chris