I shall resist the temptation to make puns about the fireworks on stage from the veteran American rockers on Bonfire Night, when Britain invariably flouts all smoke regulations for one night of the year with fireworks and bonfires across the country. The band always tour Europe and the UK at around this time of year and for the second year in a row, they stopped off at Liverpool. This time around they were supported by Bournemouth hard rockers Voodoo Vegas, and I was in the hall early to catch them as they went through their paces before a sparse attendance. The quintet, fronted by vocalist Lawrence Case were a traditional hard rock outfit, he in particular had a strong tenor voice and although most who were coming to this show were still in the pub during this band’s set, he got the early attendees nicely warmed up. They boast a twin lead guitar team in Jon Dawson and Merylina Hamilton; even in 2017 you rarely see females in mixed-gender bands who are not lead singers so this old rocker was pleased to see that attitude starting to change (of course, Stone Broken’s Robyn Haycock is also breaking down barriers with her powerhouse drumming for that band).
By the time Dave Meniketti and his troupe hit the stage the attendance had swollen somewhat, though it still wasn’t quite the packed house the crowd were nonetheless noisy and enthusiastic. Opening with ‘Black Tiger’, it was another run through of the group’s back catalogue focusing on their hit albums of the early-to-mid 1980s. So out for another airing were the likes of ‘Mean Streak’, ‘Dirty Girl’, ‘I Believe In You’ and ‘Winds of Change’ (dedicated to the members of the original band, with the loss of guitarist Joey Alves earlier this year only Meniketti himself remains from that line-up). Despite the fact that there has still been no more new material since 2010’s ‘Facemelter’ they can still change things around from year to year. This year they performed two songs from the Meniketti solo albums of the mid-90s (‘Lay Me Down’ and ‘Storm’), ‘when grunge took over and the likes of us didn’t get much of a chance’ according to the frontman. This set included many of the favourites though, with their only legitimate UK hit ‘Summertime Girls’ being restored alongside ‘Lipstick and Leather’, and ‘Contagious’; both of these featured Aaron Leigh on the bass, who took over the four-string from Brad Lang last year. ‘Squeeze’ was also performed late in the set, guitarist John Nymann took on Phil Kennemore’s vocal for that number. Other treats were ‘Barroom Boogie’, ‘Masters and Slaves’ (pertinent in these times) and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Gonna Save The World’, before they encored with the traditional ‘Rescue Me’ and ‘Forever’.
Y&T’s John Nymann
Dave Meniketti of Y&T
There’s little new I can say about this band; they come around every year, play a long set packed with great songs and always get their crowd fired up however many turn out. As was the case last year, they didn’t pack the room out but did draw a decent turnout for a Sunday night, made up of many fans who knew the songs and sang them back at Meniketti with gusto. As I’ve observed before though, they seem to be ‘preaching to the converted’ as the people who come always do so, yet you’d think a band of this calibre should still be attracting new people. They have the songs, they have accomplished players, great vocals, fine harmonies and Meniketti is still one of rock’s greatest lead guitarists, up there with Gary Moore in my humble view. Why they’re still playing clubs when others of their ilk went up to arenas and have become more revered by the masses, remains a mystery. Possibly it is that they always were a more down-to-earth outfit even during their 1980s heyday; they weren’t featured in gossip columns or embroiled in scandals like some other rock bands of the day, but always had that hard-working, professional attitude.
So long as they continue to come over to the UK and play though, I will be going along to see them. They’re a throwback to when rock bands did it all live; no samples, no backing, no trickery – just good honest playing. That’s still something to be commended in this era when technology seems to be taking a bigger role in all forms of music, including rock. They played for two solid hours and still couldn’t fit in classics like ‘Hurricane’ or even ‘Midnight In Tokyo’, but no doubt they’ll be back next time around. As will I!
4 – Deserving
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