ne:one at Telewest Arena, Newcastle, Saturday 3rd March 2001 reviewed by Tony Cummings.

Yfriday

A giant leap of faith was needed by Newcastle Youth For Christ to put on this day of music and evangelism and though the truly huge Telewest Arena was far from full, all of the 5,000 young people who attended will tell you it was a big success both creatively and spiritually. The recently renamed The Tribe kicked us off at 3.00pm and did well, though noticeably it was the band's WWMT classics like "Jumping In The House Of God" which wrenched the crowdinto hyperdrive. Clearly the new line up are a band in transition and although ex-MIC's George and Quintin blend in well, it remains to be seen whether the move away from dance towards a more R&B/urban sound will work for them, particularly as they don't now sport one of those powerhouse divas which made previous WWMT lineups so vocally arresting. Having made such observations, their beautiful ballad of devotion to Christ was a perfect closer to bring on Andy Hawthorne to preach a powerful, straight-down-the-line Gospel message. The young people who responded must alone, have made the day's activities worthwhile for YFC. Later, after a fleeting appearance from Dependance, Yfriday strode onto stage to a tumultuous welcome worthy of local heroes. Their wiley mixture of classic worship evergreens and material from their breathtaking new album showed that the band have improved immensely with Ken Riley's gustily impassioned voice soaring over a veritable wall of howling guitars to make a thrilling vehicle in which to give our all to God. I watched a hugely fat boy dancing by himself, lost in worship as Ken Riley sang "All over the world they're praising." It was a moving sight Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards came and brought a word and everyone was struck by his Bible-based reality. Then at 8.00pm came the highlight of the evening with Delirious? showing that they are still reaching new peaks as a live band. Their dazzling renditions of oldies (including "Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble", "Holy War" and "History Maker") were interspersed with heart-stopping renditions of songs from 'Glo'. The sheer, dazzling dynamics, where wistful passages of delicate tenderness intercharged with thunderous segments of cacophonous power, demonstrated they're at the top of their art, while throughout Martin was in exultant mood. A dazzling end to a spectacular day.