Michael MONROE // BUCKCHERRY // NORTHUMBRIA UNI, NEWCASTLE

⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

Michael Monroe @ Northumbria Uni, Newcastle

Photocredit: John Hayhurst

There’s always something faintly chaotic about a “co-headliner” tour. Two bands, two legacies, two tribes of fans crammed into one room with a shared mission: sweat it out and sing themselves hoarse. On paper, pairing Hollywood sleaze merchants Buckcherry with glam-punk royalty Michael Monroe might feel like an odd cocktail. In practice? It’s a night drenched in mascara, melody and mayhem.

That said, let’s be honest – I was here for Monroe, having seen him many times both in Hanoi Rocks and later solo projects. Buckcherry were the added bonus; Michael was the headline etched in glitter across my internal bill poster.

Northumbria Uni’s student union hall is packed but not suffocating, the kind of room that feels like it could erupt at any moment. From the first snarling chords, Monroe is in perpetual motion – a blur of peroxide, leather and kinetic energy that refuses to be contained by something as trivial as a stage.

The beauty of a co-headline slot means no one’s short-changed. Monroe leans heavily into the classics, delivering a set that feels like rifling through a battered, beloved record collection. A fistful of Hanoi Rocks cuts land like firecrackers, each one greeted with the kind of roar usually reserved for returning heroes. There’s something magical about hearing those songs in a room like this – sweaty, intimate, alive. It reminds you of where you heard them first - inside a hot club hall like The Marquee.

Monroe himself is a masterclass in controlled anarchy. One minute he’s wrangling a harmonica, the next he’s blasting out sax lines like a delinquent Clarence Clemons. He prowls and stands on the monitors, tangles himself in mic leads, disappears into the pit and re-emerges grinning like he’s just robbed a bank, a man of many different glittering and shiny hats. A long-suffering tech hovers nervously in the wings, ready to rescue equipment and untangle mic stand wires from whatever acrobatic whim strikes next. At one point Monroe is found dancing on the merch stand table.

Behind him, the band operate with razor-sharp cool. Sami Jaffa in his trademark hat, anchors everything with effortless swagger, barely breaking a sweat while locking into groove after groove. The twin guitars of ex New York Doll Steve Conte and Rich Jones flash and snarl, trading riffs with the kind of telepathic chemistry only road-worn veterans possess. It’s tight without ever feeling sterile – a high-wire act that could unravel at any second but never does.

Newer solo material sits comfortably alongside the old warhorses, proof that Monroe isn’t just living off former glories. The crowd doesn’t dip; if anything, they push harder. He doesn’t waste time on lengthy speeches. The songs do the talking, and he has a lot to get through, the message is simple: Rock ’n’ Roll is supposed to feel like this. Unpolished. Unpredictable. Unapologetically alive.

By the time the closing cover of ‘Up Around the Bend’ explodes into its euphoric, chant-along finale, the entire hall is bouncing. It’s communal, chaotic and completely joyous. Monroe has left glitter scorch marks behind on stage where he almost managed to do the splits at age 63.

After that? Buckcherry have the unenviable task of following a hurricane.

Buckcherry @ Northumbria Uni, Newcastle

Photocredit - John Hayhurst

To their credit, they don’t flinch. Opening salvo and original single “Lit Up” is an immediate jolt, frontman Josh Todd all sinew and snarl as he commands the stage. Where Monroe is glittering chaos, Buckcherry are muscle and momentum. They lean into the riff-heavy, California-bred hard rock that’s kept them ticking for nearly three decades, mixing older crowd-pleasers with a healthy dose of newer material.

Tracks from their latest record ‘Roar Like Thunder’ slot neatly into the set, showing a band comfortable in their own skin, and Todd in particular strips to the waist early to show of that lean torso and tatts. There’s a raw, buzzing energy to their performance – like a firework that never quite explodes but keeps spitting sparks. The rhythm section locks into a thick, driving groove while the guitars slash and soar overhead. Bass player has a good strong gurning skill while Todd works the crowd with practised ease, coaxing singalongs and clapping sections like a seasoned ringmaster.

The inevitable high points land hard. ‘Crazy Bitch’ sends the room into delirium, stretched and teased until it becomes a near-epic, complete with playful snippets and extended breakdowns. It’s brash, loud and undeniably fun. You can’t argue with the reaction – half the room seems to have been waiting all night for that riff.

But as the final chords ring out and the house lights flicker back on, it’s Monroe’s manic charisma that lingers. Buckcherry delivered exactly what they promised: big hooks, big riffs, big attitude. Yet it was Michael Monroe who turned Northumbria Uni into a living, breathing time machine – proof that glam punk’s beating heart is still very much alive and kicking.

Co-headliners they may be. For me? There was only one king in this glitter-drenched castle

Words - Chris Hayhurst // Photos - John Hayhurst