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Hanoi Rocks + Silverjet

Glasgow Cathouse, 4th November 2008

The start of Hanoi Rocks' last ever Scottish gig is not propitious, the band unceremoniously bumped down from the spacious Garage to the narrow confines of the Cathouse. Thanks to a magical mystery tour of the city's one way system, we missed openers Dear Superstar but manage to catch good time rockers Silverjet, a band who've graduated from the old school of early Aerosmith with flying colours, and who offer up a rousing set of engaging, upbeat rock'n'roll standards that are just what we need to warm us up on a chilly Tuesday night.

But now the end is near; and so we face the final curtain. Twenty years ago, when I first fell for the fabulous, fragile charms of the greatest glam band that never were, I never dreamt I'd ever see them live – even in a stripped down format. The last few years have been great, but times they change and we must rearrange our lives with it, and Mike and Andy have, sadly but perhaps inevitably, decided to call it a day.

If Mike Monroe is the glittering, beautiful soul of the band then Andy McCoy is its beating rock heart, but as usual it's Mike who grabs the limelight, joking with the crowd, swinging from the rafters and cracking his head on the ceiling, tying himself up in knots with the mic cable and generally endearing himself to everyone with his crazy, bug-eyed sincerity. This is not a man who's sick of performing live, and I'm sure we'll see him solo in the none-too-distant future.

The set is great as ever, the new songs starting to sound almost as strong, quirky, uplifting and familiar as the old classics, particularly the punchy opener 'Back In Yer Face', adrenaline fuelled 'Highwire' and my out and out favourite of the new material, 'A Day Late A Dollar Short', a song so heartfelt and resonant you could cry. But then again, you can't beat the buzz of hearing the likes of 'High School', 'Oriental Beat', 'Don't You Ever Leave Me' and 'Malibu Beach' live, and it's gutting to think that this is the last time I ever will.

Ah, Hanoi Rocks: gone (again) but not forgotten. I do believe in, that one day you'll rise again. I'll always keep on believing…

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