Artist:  Y&T - Monster Of Rock 2003

Venue: Telewest Arena, Newcastle

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: Meanstreak, Eyes of a Stranger, Rescue Me, Dirty Girl, Summertime Girls, I believe in You, Falling

 

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