30/10/2019 Michael Monroe Band & Electric Eel Shock @ Islington Academy

I didn't think I'd ever get to see tonight's opening act again as I thought they'd packed it in a few years ago - it's Japanese mentalist metallers Electric Eel Shock.

I am pleased to say these guys are still crazy! Their huge love of 1980's heavy metal seems a bit tongue-in-cheek - or is it? A bit like Anvil or The Darkness you are not sure if you should take them seriously or not but you can't help but be drawn in by their sheer enthusiasm and obvious love of what they are doing.

I saw this band a few times back in the day and they were always amazing! They are still enormous fun.

They look like they aren't taking it seriously, but they are actually very good musicians. Like Judas Priest or The Darkness they know what they are doing is ridiculous - but it is ridiculous fun. Sometimes it's good just to be entertained, and lets face it - a lot of heavy metal is rather silly isn't it? But it's fun - and who doesn't like fun? OK - some people don't, but that's their problem. Electric Eel shock are a celebration of all that's ridiculous and all that's fun in heavy metal. Deal with it. Or go to the bar and be miserable and moan to your mates about how some people don't take heavy metal seriously enough. The thing is, this band do take heavy metal seriously - but that doesn't mean you can't have fun while you are doing it!

However seriously (or not) you choose to take Electric Eel Shock they are enormously entertaining as long as you want to come along for the ride. I very much enjoyed seeing them again and was thoroughly entertained.

Now in the best Monty Python style "And now for something completely different".

It's only Dogs D'Amour innit? Well actually it's 'Tyla's Dogs D'Amour' - probably for legal reasons. It's actually Tyla and whoever he can rope in to play a set of classic Dogs songs. But through various lineup changes over the years and completely changing every member of the band more than once it's all those great songs that keep people coming back to see them. Tyla is maybe the last great rock 'n' roll poet and the sleazy debauched tales he tells in his songs draw you into his dark rock 'n' roll world. This is a band with a loyal following who will sing along to every song - and they really do have some great songs.

And so onto the headliners. Ex-Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe has been doing this a long time now, and he's got pretty good at it. In fact he was pretty good at it back in the early 1980s with Hanoi Rocks, and then with his own solo career after Hanoi folded - and reformed years later. He's still sticking to the same formula now - but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Michael has a really great band, including his former Hanoi bandmate Sami Yaffa on bass, latter day New York Dolls guitarist Steve Conte, and Black Halos/Amen guitarist Rich Jones.

The setlist contains some Hanoi Rocks classics as well as a load of stuff from Michael's other bands like Demolition 23 as well as his solo stuff. Naturally his current band's latest album 'One Man Gang' is featured as well. This guy is still one of the best frontmen out there and puts a huge amount of energy into the show - including jumping off the stage and taking it out to the people singing while standing on the bar. See how far he is from the stage!

A top night of rock action from some 'blast from the past' acts who can still cut it today.

25/10/2019 The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing @ The Macbeth

Yes, the Scottish pub - it's a while since I've been and the place hasn't got any better. Quite the opposite in fact. Well I say 'pub', but what sort of pub sells no other beer other than Red Stripe. In tins. To call the place a dive would be an insult to divers. The place is maybe half full - unlike most shows by this band which normally sell out. However, they did also play at the Black Heart recently so... Unfortunately I couldn't get to that gig so here I am in Hipsterland. In spite of the trendy location beards are in short supply - apart from centre stage where Andy the singer manages to look far cooler than any hipster. Which isn't difficult to be honest

This gig see's this band playing in their spiritual East End heartland - appropriate as the have a song about ghosts - and how they don't actually exist.

Steampunk is alive and well - well at least it is in Hoxton tonight. The music is good and the songs are fun - even if most of the subject matter is pretty grim. And that's without even going into what the band's name actually means - something with a strong but grisly historical East End connection....

Musically, the band cross between extremely heavy death metal riffing and those lovable mockneys Chas & Dave - enhanced tonight by the band actually playing a Chas & Dave cover 'That's What I like'.

I think there is more comedy and banter in the set tonight than usual, but the band do have a professional comedian as their guitarist and a lot of the between songs banter is very funny! This is a highly entertaining band.

The band's original material is funny and inventive, but we also get another cover tonight - The Kinks 'Victoria' (also covered by The Fall) which is a terrific sing-a-long.

The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing are a very English band, but like Chas & Dave and The Kinks they are also a very London band - with a strong sense of history (especially the Victorian era) - both good and bad.

I spend some beer money on a CD from the band's merch stall instead of at the bar on overpriced tinned lager. As the beer selection at this place is so utterly shite I decide to go without and slake my thirst at another pub on my way back to the station instead....

24/10/2019 Saint Agnes @ Dingwalls

It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes a band comes along who manage to build a strong underground following with virtually NO radio play or media attention - ignored by even the 'rock' press. One such band is Saint Agnes. No advertising budget or media hype, but all their London shows sell out in advance. This one was no exception. The modern day Dingwalls is much larger than in used to be the 1970's and '80's, but tonight it is full. The atmosphere is electric before the band take to the stage - a Saint Agnes gig is more than just a show - it's an event.

In the gloom a shadowy figure with a large round head appears on the stage in silence. The tension builds - there is menace in the air. The figure's 'head' is pulled off to reveal the head of the band's bass player - and then it all kicks off! There is a distinct air of darkness in the room, but this is no Goth band. Not exactly anyway - this feels like something far more creepy and dangerous. The band explode into life - or is it death? This is rock 'n' roll at it's most dark and primal - satanic even. But not in a Black Sabbath way. Yes, the music is heavy, but it's not heavy metal. There is a strong blues feel, but darker and heavier than Led Zeppelin at their bluesiest, although there is a definite Led Zep vibe. There is also a very dramatic and theatrical feel, but without being as obvious and 'showbiz' as Alice Cooper - there is something darker and more sinister afoot here.

They say the Devil has all the best tunes, and tonight the evidence is clear for all to see. Songs like 'The Witching Hour', 'Move Like A Ghost', and 'Diablo, Take Me Home' give you a pretty good idea where they are coming from.

Singer, and sometimes guitarist and keyboard player Kitty Arabella Austin is no shrinking violet femme  - more femme fatale. She'll take no shit, but she'll dish it out - and you really wouldn't want to be on her shit-list. Not for nothing do the band call their fans 'The Death Or Glory Gang', as well as using that as a song title. Much of the band's recent debut album 'Welcome To Silvertown' gets an airing, along with some newer stuff - this band don't believe in standing still. As well as being heavy the sound is also dirty - in fact downright filthy - you'll probably want to jump straight in the shower as soon as you get home.

If you get a chance to see Saint Agnes - take it. You will remember that night for a long time...

12/10/2019 Mikabomb + Lucy & The Rats @ The Finsbury

The Finsbury is a good venue - if you like waiting a long time at the bar to buy highly overpriced but very mediocre ale. Ale issues aside it is actually a good music venue though, and in a good location almost next door to Manor House tube station. I'm here on this occasion for Mikabomb, but first I see Lucy and the Rats.

I seem to have stumbled across this band a few times in support slots over the past couple of years or so. The lineup seems to change a bit and a couple 'the Rats' look familiar - think they are the guitarists from Johnny Throttle - a terrific rock 'n' roll band I have also seen at this venue. Lucy and the Rats are more of a punk or alt-rock band than pure rock 'n' roll, but they turn in a spirited performance.

Mikabomb shows are very rare these days - I think the last time I saw them was at The Garage around 2006, and I don't think they've played in London since then.

It's great to see the band back again, although the lineup has changed a lot since the band formed in 1999. One thing that hasn't changed is that Mikabomb are still great fun!

Mika Handa is the founder, driving force and sole original member of the band, having moved to London from Japan with the intention of starting a band.

Guitarist Mel Roxy is a more recent addition to the band and used to play bass with Girls On Top.

Mikabomb are still an entertaining live act with some catchy pop/punk songs and two albums under their belt.

Hopefully they won't leave it as long before their next gig...

4/10/2019 Bermondsey Joyriders, The Outbursts, Johnny Seven + The Filth @ The Dublin Castle

Punk night at one of Camden's best venues. Amazingly, I manage to get to the legendary Dublin Castle in time to see The Outbursts.

This lot are always good fun. Excellent musicians with some decent songs and a large dollop of humour thrown in - always entertaining!

The next two bands are new to me. First were The Filth - a Teeside punk band from 1978.

This lot are tight, tuneful, and punchy - definitely worth seeing.

Next is Johnny Seven - also from 1978, but from Middlesborough. A bit more aggressive and in your face but very good at what they do.

It's a while since I've seen the headliners the Bermondsey Joyriders. There seem to have been some changes since I saw them and frontman Gary Lammin is now the only original member.

Gary Pearce (also to be found playing guitar in The Vulz) has recently taken over bass duties, but the two guys at the front of the stage still look as well dressed as ever - the gangster theme of Flamboyant Thugs also being the title of their latest album. It's not just the image that's striking - the music grabs you by the wide lapels and gives you a good shaking too! Like the other bands on tonight's bill this is very much punk rock attitude, but given a different twist. The often strict punk rock rulebook is thrown away by this mob - you can't dress sharp if you are punks? Think again. You can't play slide guitar if you are in a punk band? Oh yes you can. The songs are good too, but the band seem to moving away from the earlier rough and ready roots of their first album and you aren't likely to hear old favourites like 'The Cafe Racer' or 'Who R Ya' these days. The second album 'Noise And Revolution' is better represented with songs like 'Rock Star', 'Proper English', and 'Rock N Roll Demon'. Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the songs on their latest album yet, but I hope that will change soon...