Buckcherry
- Rock Metal Machine
- 13 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Artists: Buckcherry, Michael Monroe, Rubikon
Venue: Kentish Town Forum (London)
Date: 7th March 2026
"It’s not often you get this kind of sustained intensity throughout the night. It’s a heady brew! These bands command attention and as I headed into the Kentish Town night it felt like a post coital experience."
Rubikon from Massachusetts are purveyors of Heavy Blues Rock. Their bass player threw a lot of shapes on stage and was totally passionate about everything. This boosted the energy on stage, so that the singer and guitarist follow suit. They reminded me of Lynch Mob, although they have Doom-y leanings, rather than eighties Metal ones. It’s their second time in London and their frontman said they’re here as “the best way to move things is in the UK”. They curried favour by telling people they can get their new album for free from the merch desk! That’s one way to get people listening – as Joel Hoekstra would say, “Free shit”!
© Dawn Osborne
This is really a co-headlining tour and someone had to go first. Although Michael Monroe is on next, he is most certainly a headliner band not a support, so it’s amazing value to get him and Buckcherry on the same ticket. And although the band have nothing to prove, it would only be human nature to give the headliner a run for their money. With that, they hit the ground running with arguably Monroe’s most loved song ‘Dead, Jail, or Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ending with the splits; incredible given Monroe’s recent knee injury! No sign of anything slowing these cats down! Monroe had been along the barrier, lain across the monitors, and he and Sami Yaffa had done the Rock ‘n’ Roll one-legged hop across the stage before the photographers have even left the pit!
It’s the first UK tour since the new album ‘Outerstellar’ and the band played three from the new record, ‘Rockin’ Horse’, ‘Shinola’ and ‘Disconnected’. They went over really well live. The band have always loved and been loved by Japan and Monroe declared, “It’s so good to see so many beautiful people, good times like in Tokyo!”.
The setlist is still shaped a little by the last tour and the anniversary of ‘Two Steps From The Move’ and there are still a fair few Hanoi Rocks tracks in the set. Once again, with nothing left to prove about ability to succeed as a solo artist, it is simply good sense to give the crowd a few songs from the well-loved original band, including the deep cut ‘I Can’t Get It’ (Steve Conte making the most of its clarion call riff at the beginning).
Kneeling down in emotion to the crowd, Monroe followed this up by climbing the PA at the right-hand side of the stage and posing like a Pierrot doll. Wearing a black peaked cap with “Monroe” written in diamante for the indispensable ‘Hammersmith Palais’, he climbed over the other side of the stage onto the twenties style staircase. It took the venue a little time to react, but a few songs later, they issued a written warning to him that if he climbed up the sides of the stage again, they would stop the show. He shrugged and said “I understand”, but he’s already climbed everything he could possibly climb. The band just smile. I guess this must have happened before.
On ‘Don’t You Ever Leave Me’ Rich Jones did the speaking parts and sounded remarkably like Razzle did on the record. We all remember Monroe crying on the video for this song when Razzle’s death was still fresh. Now they celebrate his memory and Monroe ended the song with more splits. On the home straight the band picked up the pace again with ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’ and ‘Ballad Of The Lower East Side’ (for which Monroe wears a black patent police hat). To roars from the crowd, they finished with ‘Malibu Beach Nightmare’ and ‘Up Around The Bend’, Monroe jumping from the drum riser.
© Dawn Osborne
Buckcherry are also an amazing live band, but in a different way. Such, that it is not a competition, just two fantastic live events. Just like the Michael Monroe band, they have a highly charismatic frontman, Josh Todd, who is a Rock ‘n’ Roll phenomena in his own right. On he stalked with his typical bandana around his head for the first song. It didn’t take him long to literally let his hair down. They too have a catalogue of major songs and went in hard from the beginning with ‘Lit Up’, a full-on party song!
They are supporting their new album and up next was the title track ‘Roar Like Thunder’. Going on after the legend Michael Monroe concentrates the mind! Todd certainly brings the sex appeal and he has said in interviews with me that he does not believe Rock music discusses sex enough. When he sings the lyrics to ‘So Hott’ you can see he means it!
By contrast we got the angry shouty rap song ‘Somebody Fucked With Me’, fists aloft and a lightning fast solo from Stevie D! From ‘15’, ‘Onset’ is next, giving him a chance for a Rock ‘n’ Roll solo, while Todd who is an incredible dancer got on down. By ‘Ridin’’ Todd was jumping and twirling and shaking his hair free of sweat, like a dog getting out of a bath. Luckily for the photographers this uplift in core body temperature means Todd took off his shirt to show us those incredible tattoos for ‘Come On’ from the new album. Meanwhile, Stevie D ramped up the crowd, using both arms to gesture up repeatedly to get a roar. More jumping and gyrating followed in ‘Say Fuck It’. One lady took the message to heart as she removed her top. The hysteria ramps up to ‘Gluttony’ and as Todd chanted “I want it!” he jumps with his mouth open in a totally visceral, tribal way.
Huge Power Ballad ‘Sorry’ was a change of pace and got everyone singing. Referring to the great line up with Monroe, Todd told the crowd enthusiastically that they intend to take this double bill worldwide. Todd confessed to the crowd that he used to be a blackout drinker as he sang the song from the new album on that subject. He told me in an interview how personal ‘Blackout’ is to him. “I had to embrace my suffering to get in the light” was a rap ad lib he inserted in the middle.
The final song is, of course, ‘Crazy Bitch’, which is a medley with ‘Sex Machine’/‘Bad Girls’/‘Irresistible Bitch’ and ‘Proud Mary’. The band introductions and their slide side to side and pause dance finished up the show!
Two bands that truly bring it, play from the heart and inspire insane devotion from their fans. It’s not often you get this kind of sustained intensity throughout the night. It’s a heady brew! These bands command attention and as I headed into the Kentish Town night it felt like a post coital experience.
© Dawn Osborne
Review: Dawn Osborne
Photos: Dawn Osborne
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