Event:
The Monsters of Rock 2003 Venue:
Telewest Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Date:
23 May 2003
After the fantastic time we had at last years Monsters Of Rock 2002 show
it didn’t take much persuading for us to part with our hard earned penny’s
once more to watch it again this year. We’d heard the rumours that
Queensryche were supposed to be joining the line-up this tour but sadly
for whatever reasons it wasn’t to be.
Instead we had to make do with just three rock legends on this bill this
year. Those being Y&T, Gary Moore, and Whitesnake.
Having been a long time fan of both Y&T and Whitesnake but for one reason
or another never actually getting to see them live, I was really looking
forward to seeing the show. The only band, or should I say artist, that I
wasn’t bothered about seeing was Gary Moore.
Like many I remember the hits
he had in the 80’s and loved them all. However he’s one of those artists I
never really thought I would enjoy listening to for any specific period of
time. Indeed we had already agreed on the way to the venue that we’d watch
the first couple of songs and then go off to the bar until Whitesnake came
on.
Y&T
First band to hit the stage was Y&T who came on at 6.50 pm. The sun was
still shining outside and most people had just rushed straight in from
work without any tea. Many people thought that Y&T should have been the
second band on the line-up, with Gary Moore doing the opening slot. Within
minutes of saying a quick hello to the crowd the band burst into action
with a blistering version of ‘Meanstreak’ which not half blew the cobwebs
away and got the stragglers rushing to their seats.
The venue was nicely filling up by the time the band went into their
second song ‘Eyes of a Stranger’ and a fair number of punters were up
front pressing against the bars and singing along for all they were worth.
One young fella waved frantically at the band and held up a huge Y&T flag
which was obviously an original from way back as it had definitely seen
better days. The band soon spotted it and beamed with delight as they
played on. Once finished they gave mention to the chap and his flag and
both fan and band looked positively made up by this occurrence.
Then came my own personal favourite, ‘Rescue Me’. One of the few songs to
still get played in the clubs and one that had the whole room singing
their lungs out for all they were worth. Although it was great to hear it
again somehow the vocals didn’t sound too good. Dave Meniketti’s voice
seemed to be struggling a little bit when he tried to hit the high notes.
It came across a little strained and even croaky. I guess after such an
exhausting tour his vocal chords must have been about ready to pack their
bags and head off home. Such a shame and a bit disappointing to be honest.
Amends were soon made though when they sang a very rousing version of
‘Dirty Girl’. Much improved from the last song, perhaps the lower range
were more suiting to Dave’s own vocal range? Not content at just singing
he went on to do a guitar solo in the middle of the song. Surely it was a
bit early in the night to be launching into one of them? This was swiftly
followed by another one by Stef Burns.
The band said that tonight was very special to them because it was the
last night of the tour. Each band member in turn was introduced and as it
turns out they were all the original members which was quite fitting for
such a grand occasion.
The strongest song of the whole set was ‘Summertime Girls’ which was as
fresh and as good as it was when they first released it. After that the
songs rolled on and the band played on through their back catalogue of
hits. Each and everyone of them greeted with cheers and applause from the
crowd.
The down part of the show for me was that there were way too many guitar
solo’s going on in the middle of the songs. I can’t remember the songs
ever having that many solo’s in them. If the band toured again then I
would definitely go to see them again. They did a good show and although
‘Rescue Me’ wasn’t particularly strong, the rest of the songs were and
they were very entertaining to watch.
I think perhaps next time if they tour on their own they should consider
somewhere a bit more intimate, perhaps the City Hall? They would have
brought the house down to it’s foundations in a venue like that if they
played the same set again. The band thanked us all for coming along to see
them and the drummer, god bless him, said that Newcastle fans were the
best in the world. Aw shucks, I bet he says that to all the fans.
Their 40 minute set, for all it was action packed, still seemed far too
short. The lights came up and I couldn’t help but snigger to myself when a
forty-something rocker sitting behind me started complaining how the bands
these days never seemed to come back on for an encore.
Setlist included:
1. Meanstreak
2. Eyes of a Stranger
3. Rescue Me
4. Dirty Girl
5. Summertime Girls
6. I believe in You
7. Falling
