For anyone who grew up in the Rock scene around the North of England in the early ’80s, the sound of Y&T was everywhere. Whether in the legendary Rock clubs of The Mayfair or The Rowing Club or across the airwaves on The Hot and Heavy Express, there was no escaping the sound of Y&T.
It comes as no surprise therefore that almost 25 years later the pull of Y&T in the region is still significant. How many of their peers could fill the Academy in 2007 and return less than a year later and repeat that feat? It is perhaps testament to the ability of Dave Meniketti and Co. to pen some cracking songs combined with top class musicianship that has seen the popularity of Y&T last well over a quarter of a century.
Right from the opening number, “Hurricane”, it’s easy to see their appeal. Their brand of highly melodic Rockers have plenty of bite and punch yet have tunes with hooks you can hang your coat on.
Y&T have a large catalogue to plunder and over the course of over two and a quarter hours Newcastle were treated to balls to the wall Rockers such as “Meanstreak” and “Black Tiger”; the more commercial Rock of “Don’t Wanna Lose You”, the Pop-tastic “Summertime Girls” and the Lizzy-esq harmonies of “Midnight in Tokyo” and the dramatic, brooding numbers such as the knock out set closer “I Believe In You” and “Winds of Change.”
In Dave Meniketti, Y&T don’t just have a damn fine vocalist in the vein of Sammy Hagar but a guitarist of true class who stands out as one of the finest to emerge from the late ’70s and 80s. Take any Y&T song and Meniketti literally bursts into life during the solo taking the song onto a higher level. The solos on the likes of “Dirty Girl”, “Forever” and the diamond encrusted classic “Rescue Me” are a joy to hear and the passion in Meniketti’s playing is clear on his face.
The setlist is crammed full of great songs yet Y&T are not content to rest on the laurels of their three most popular albums, Earthshaker, Black Tiger and Meanstreak and pull out a few more obscure songs showing that their later albums also feature material of some merit with “Looks Like Trouble” from Down For The Count and the Hendrix inspired “Fly Away” and “Pretty Prison” from Musically Incorrect being well worth a listen.
Y&T have a history of great gigs in Newcastle dating back to their triumphant support slot with AC/DC on their Back in Black tour and tonight was no different. A quality performance by a quality act who still play with the same enthusiasm and energy that they had in their early days. Let’s hope for a speedy return next year.
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