Time has not diminished Dave Meniketti’s enthusiasm for music. After almost four decades on the road with Y&T his passion for his craft still inspires.
Few bands tour the UK as often as Y&T while still commanding such large crowds who return year after year. It’s easy to see why. Y&T deliver exactly what their fans want with such commitment and energy. In Newcastle, one of Y&T’s UK strongholds, all the classics were present and correct (“Rescue Me”, “Black Tiger”, “Forever” and “Meanstreak”) along with some from deep within their back catalogue (“Don’t be Afraid of the Dark”, “Contagious” and “Straight Through The Heart”). It was not all nostalgia though with a healthy quota from their latest Facemelter opus keeps things fresh with “I’m Coming Home”, dedicated to the Newcastle crowd and “How Long” fitting seamlessly into the set.
Meniketti remains the star of the show with his vocals still packing a punch after all these years and his guitar work at times left jaws firmly dropped to the floor with his playing on “I Believe In You” being worth the price of admission alone while the Blues instrumental “I’ll Cry For You” was simply beautiful.
It’s not all about Meniketti though as long-time guitarist John Nymann shines alongside his band leader providing a foil for Meniketti to feed off while new bassist Brad Lang more than ably fills the shoes of the much missed Phil Kennemore.
Highlights came thick and fast with a much welcome return for “Open Fire” into the set and a cool reworking of the opening to “Midnight in Tokyo” highlighting the versatility of the band with some spot on vocal harmonies adding a touch of class.
Y&T’s brand of melodic Hard Rock never grows old but matures like a fine cask of scotch whiskey becoming more enjoyable with age. As long as Y&T continue to producing stirring performances as this they can be guaranteed that the fans will continue to return to see them time and again. Roll on next year.
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