by Charmagne De Veer, eye, February 6, 1992
Monte Forte rules. Made up of members of the Pursuit of Happiness with femme fatale singer Roxy at the helm, Monte Forte is a rockin' band that knows how to hump a mike stand, make the effin' A sign and bang their heads - all at the same time!
They rocked out on CanClassics like Trooper's "Raise a Little Hell," Loverboy's "Working for the Weekend" and Chilliwack's "My Girl" - the last of which received an inspired, out-of-tune twist on the backing vocals.
At the end of every song, guitarist Vicky Sleaze (head TPOH man Moe Berg) would jump into the air and land on a final heavy note. Didn't matter which song it was.
But Monte Forte showed us that every new song on the radio is really a hard rock song in disguise. They smoked on Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach," with Roxy patting her stomach and bassist Brad and Vicky doing choreographed back-up moves.
Ex-Moxy lead singer Blair Packham joined Roxy for a crunch'n'roll version of "Islands in the Stream," the Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton classic. And a good time was had by all when the boyz screamed "I Want Your Sex" like they really meant it.
But Monte Forte also displayed a tender/tough side with the power ballad, "Angel of the Morning" featuring Roxy's anguished vocals against Vicky'n'Brad's headbanger moves.
These guys are no posers. When a member of the audience asked Brad what kind of underwear he wore he wasn't afraid to admit they were about five years old and the elastic was shot in the legs.
Nothing scared these guys, not "You're the One that I Want" from the Grease soundtrack, not Flashdance, not even Fame.
After packing out the dance floor with Deee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart" and Kiss' "I Was Made for Loving You," they ended the show with an audience sing-a-long of "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers.
Awright, Monte Effin' Forte!