Y&T, Spitfire, Live @ Kyttaro Club 15-09-2012, Athens, Greece

Y&T, Spitfire, Live @ Kyttaro Club 15-09-2012, Athens, Greece

Finally! I don’t wanna know how or why it happened, but the announcement of the mighty Y & T in Greece was more than enough for me to look forward to a concert of epic proportions! Dave Meniketti and the rest of the gang were Armed and Dangerous and ready for one helluva night. The historical Greek Heavy Metal band Spitfire were also on the bill, with a brand new lineup and a tons of energy!

I arrived a little later than usual due to heavy traffic (Saturday night), but just in time to see more than half of the Spitfire set. The new lineup was very tight and all the songs were played perfectly. The new keyboard player also boosts certain songs a lot and their new singer seemed very relaxed with the Spitfire stuff and on stage. I believe that he is a very good replacement for Alex Balakakis, their previous singer, and his on stage performance left no doubt about it. The set was getting better and better and the band ended the show with probably the best version of “Explosion” that I’ve ever seen. The bad thing with Spitfire is that I’ve seen them sometimes with very bad sound and I didn’t enjoy the gig very much. But this one was definitely among the best, perfect sound and a band full of energy. What more can you ask?

Spitfire setlist:

Streetfighter

Gates Of Fire

King Of The Mountain

Taste the Fire

Evil Thoughts Around

Die Fighting

Ready to Attack

Lead Me On

Guilty Dreams

Explosion

Almost 20 minutes after 22:00 and after a few beers and chatting with the gig-buddies (buddies you only see at gigs) it was time for a journey from Yesterday until Today. Dave and the gang were on stage and most of the crowd could hardly believe it. I can say a lot about Dave Meniketti and his story, but I’ll stick to this. The guy is like good old wine, he only gets better. Sometimes you do have a certain amount of caution when you see a classic rock band on stage, but this was not the case here.
During their performance you could only see people hugging each other, bowing, screaming, even crying… I really can’t explain it with words; it’s one of those magic things that you have to see it to believe it. Dave Meniketti is living rock n’ roll history and the rest of the band played like wild maniacs as well. I’m still somewhere between the crazy poses of the drummer and the bass player, completing each other, in a tribal dance which took the whole show into a new level. This definitely was an once in a lifetime experience and I’m very glad that I had the chance to witness such great performance. Y & T played stuff from most their discography plus Summertime Girls, a song which wasn’t normally on the setlist. The highlight of the gig was without a doubt, the epic performance of Midnight In Tokyo, one of the most classic songs of the band, which instantly turned most grown men into babies. Dave also mentioned his long-time friend and music companion, the late Phil Kennemore, and dedicated I Believe In You, to his memory. The show ended with a superb version of Forever and Rescue Me.
The band was more than willing to talk to the fans, sign stuff and take photos. Still carrying the magic in our eyes and in our smiles, we slowly started to leave the club, leaving part of that magic in the atmosphere… if I wanted to describe the Y & T performance with a single word I’d say: Monumental.

Y & T setlist:

Black Tiger

Hard Times

Dirty Girl

Rock & Roll's Gonna Save the World

Mean Streak

Rhythm or Not

Midnight in Tokyo

Shine On

Blind Patriot

Winds of Change

Don't Bring Me Down

I'm Coming Home

Summertime Girls

I'll Cry for You

25 Hours a Day

Hurricane

Drum Solo

Eyes of a Stranger

I Believe in You

Squeeze

Encore:
Forever

Rescue Me

Also on Burst.gr - http://www.burst.gr/live/reports/item/1851-yt-spitfire-live-kyttaro-club-15-09-2012-athens-greece