Y&T Takes Over Southern California on the 40th Anniversary Tour
It’s been 40 years strong and Y&T has had their share of trials, but on the 2014 World Tour, Dave Meniketti shows that what started as a ground breaking effort four-decades ago continues to be the leader in what makes American Hard Rock the legendary sound fans clamor to witness live on stage. Y&T has pulled out all the stops and is packing venues across the USA and around the world!
With the scheduled dates shown on the band’s website at www.yandtrocks.com, the band has performed over 600 shows in all the prime locations major market rock bands have performed in the past decade, including the past three Monster’s of Rock Cruises, and they continue to sell albums from their recorded history with 28 releases and nearly half a dozen DVD’s showcasing what makes the band’s music a fan favorite in the hard rock genre. Songs penned by the band have been placed in film; national commercial spots and they continue to play on FM radio and across the Internet on a vast array of rock stations that keep Y&T in rotation year after year. So one may ask, how does a band classified as “hair metal” continue to thrive in today’s pop driven market? The answer is revealed in the band’s 40-year history.
In 1974, an Oakland, California based cover band rearranged their line-up and put pen to paper to write original material that spoke of rock and roll interests and featured hard driving guitar licks, straight forward drum beats and lyrical content that fans could sing along to as the band performed. It’s true, rock and roll existed and the band wasn’t re-inventing the wheel – but Y&T were driving that wheel harder and faster. The result would eventually sign the band to A&M Records where Y&T would produce 8 anthemic hard rock albums that would secure their name as a cornerstone in the market that would later bring out bands including Motley Crue, Cinderella, Skid Row and even Metallica! It’s a proven fact, written in black and white; throngs of successful hard rock artists cite Y&T as an inspiration that led them to write and perform the music they do, offering that Y&T paved the way for the So-Cal hard rock explosion … from far up north in Oakland, CA a decade earlier than bands like Guns n’ Roses, Bon Jovi and Poison started popping up on MTV.
Re-launching the 2014 tour after a two week reprieve, Y&T took the stage at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA just before 9:00pm announcing to the audience that they were granted a full two hours to perform and would be extending their live set to accommodate the time allotment. Opening the show with a recorded track of ripping guitar leads as the lights went down, the band walked on stage to a thundering applause. Interacting on a personal level from the stage with stories from behind the music and an extreme showing of gratitude to fans that have supported the continued success of the band since their inception, Dave Meniketti and the band even spent well over an hour after the show meeting fans and taking photos, signing albums and CDs and reminiscing with fans that told their favorite stories from seeing the band perform over the years.
The band’s line-up since the untimely passing of founding bassist Phil Kennemore in 2011 has included Dave Meniketti (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar), John Nymann (Rhythm Guitar and Backing Vocals), Brad Lang (Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals) and Mike Vanderhule (Drums/Percussion and Backing Vocals). On stage during the May 8th show, the band offered a 20-song set that covered their musical history, as follows:
01. Open Fire (1982)
02. Mean Streak (1983)
03. Lipstick And Leather (1984)
04. Don’t Stop Running (1984)
05. Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark (1990)
06. Dirty Girl (1981)
07. Midnight In Tokyo (1983)
08. Black Tiger (1982)
09. Winds Of Change (1982)
10. I’m Coming Home (2010)
11. Eyes Of A Stranger (1987)
12. I Want Your Money (2010)
13. Contagious (1987)
14. I’ll Cry For You (1987)
15. Rock & Roll’s Gonna Save The World (1984)
16. Rescue Me (1981)
17. Summertime Girls (1985)
18. I Believe In You (1981)
Encore:
19. Barroom Boogie (1982)
20. Forever (1982)
Upcoming tour dates for Y&T’s 2014 world tour as well as the incredible 2013 Box-Set release titled “Earthquake,” featuring nearly 70 songs from the band’s illustrious career can be found online at www.yandtrocks.com.
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