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HANOI ROCKS London Astoria 2, 7 March 2008

Opening band Soho Dolls feature a stand up bass and female vocals- they play Garbage like electro rock, at times Duran Duran like, and they sound great live- well worth checking out if you get the chance.

However, when it comes to Hanoi Rocks, I may come across as bias- they are one of my favourite bands and tonight they were awesome- ask any one who was there and I doubt you will hear any different.

Front man Michael Monroe moves with the energy of a man half his age (stage diving and doing the splits like a teenager!!), the band has really gelled with this line-up (featuring Conny Bloom and Andy 'A.C' Christell of the Electric Boys- on guitar and bass respectively)- Andy McCoy playing guitar like it is still 1983.

Tonight though belongs to drummer Lacu - who has been with the band since they reformed in 2001, as this is his last gig with the band (I spoke to someone in the queue outside who has travelled from Helsinki just to see this moment), and he looked like he was loving every moment.

The set list featured most of the latest album 'Street Poetry' - this is no bad thing as the songs fit nicely alongside classic Hanoi tracks like 'Motorvatin’', 'Malibu Beach' and 'High School'. Highlights in the set include 'People Like Me', 'Fashion', 'Don’t You Ever Leave Me', 'Taxi Driver' and 'Up Around The Bend'.

With this renewed energy and new found fan base (there are kids in the crowd that were not even born when the band were at their peak), let’s hope that the band continue playing for years to come.

Review by Nikk Gunns, photos Noel Buckley

Album review