Y&T 

Dave Meniketti must be one of the best preserved rock icons of the early 80s - you won’t find him wandering onto the stage half way through a gig. In an era where some of his contemporaries have faded from the scene or are delivering diminished performances, he’s still bringing it full throttle from the start and he sings and plays wonderfully well tonight. And he’s still got great hair, tan and teeth (unlike most of us in the crowd, sadly).

This is billed as Y&T’s 45th anniversary tour and, to their credit, the band do full justice to their illustrious back catalogue by playing at least one song from every album. By my estimation, we get 22 songs from 12 different albums during the two and a half hours they’re on stage. That includes the 1976 track ‘Earthshaker’ from the ‘Yesterday & Today’ album and the title track from ‘Struck Down’ from that incarnation of the band’s 1978 album.

Other rarely played standouts that the crowd enjoy include ‘Lonely Side of Town’, ‘Face Like an Angel’ and especially ‘Anytime at All’. They’re not so much deep-cuts as over-looked classics and it’s great to hear them and appreciate how consistently good this band has been over the years. ‘Contagious’ from the 1987 album of the same name gets an airing mid-set and it’s also the name of a Chardonnay available from Meniketti Wines! ‘Black Tiger’ is another grapey treat that gets played tonight (it’s a Syrah). We also enjoy two cuts from ‘Facemelter’ but sadly that album does not seem to have an accompanying wine selection – maybe they’re saving that title for a strong Cider?

I first heard Y&T’s music in the early 80s at a rock ‘disco’ at The Nite Club above The Edinburgh Playhouse (that’s also where I first saw ‪Twisted Sister‬, ‪Marillion‬ and Little Steven play live). The DJ played ‘I Believe in You’ and I had to go and ask what it was after it blew my mind. It’s arguably their finest piece and Dave still rips through the solos with taste and precision tonight. It’s timeless.

Because they play for so long, none of the classics are missed. You still get ‘Hurricane’, Mean Streak’ and ‘Rescue Me’; ‘Summertime Girls’ is also there even though it’s freezing outside. I had thought that ‘Dirty Girl’ might have fallen victim to the Snowflake Stasi but it was still one of the options for the audience-choice encore slot. Ironically, it was beaten off in the clapometer by ‘Open Fire’ whose Love Gun-esque lyrics might also be a bit less age-appropriate these days. As an aperitif, we get ‘Forever’ (a Pinot Noir) which is bookended by the iconic ‘From the Moon’ refrain and that wraps it up very nicely.

Y&T have been regular visitors to the UK around this time of year for around 15 years and never let their Scottish fans down. They are like a fine wine – maybe not exactly getting better with age but they’re definitely a fine vintage and always good value. Maybe one year they’ll come over a few weeks later in November and enjoy some Ayrshire sea air? I would drink to that – and I’ll have what Dave’s having because that stuff must have some elixir powers.
IM