To set the scene then ... I've been a Meat Loaf fan since about 1993, when Bat Out Of Hell II was released. yes, it was "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" that got me hooked. Until then, I'd always dismissed Meat Loaf as being heavy metal. Where I got that impression from, I really don't know, but I'd actually never even heard any of his songs - not even "Bat Out Of Hell", so I didn't even have anything to base my opinion on.
Until a year ago I'd never been toa concert, so although Meat Loaf had toured over here before, I'd always just thought "Oh, I wish i could go ..." but never given serious thought to actually buying tickets and going! Over the past year I've seen several concerts - Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Westlife, Shayne Ward, Michael Bolton, Robbie Williams, and for me, last night was the chance to see the final act of my three all time musical favourites - Bon Jovi being first, and Bryan Adams second, just a couple of weeks ago.
I happened to mention a couple of months ago at work, that I'd like to see Meat Loaf, and one of my friends and workmates, Clare, piped up that she'd come with me. Needless to say, I rushed home that day and booked tickets. They were right at the back of the floor seats at Wembley Arena, but I had a ticket, and that was all that mattered.
I booked the day off as holiday, partly because I wanted to be sure of having the late afternoon and evening free, and partly because today and tomorrow are one of my fortnightly weekends off, so it would also give me a three day weekend. I spent yesterday afternoon checking, and re-checking that I had the tickets in my bag, making sure my camera battery was charged, and the memory card was empty, stashing spare bottle tops for my Diet Coke in my bag, in case security made us remove bottle tops like at the Bryan Adams concert, and generally waiting until it was time to meet Clare at the railway station at 4:30pm.
We met up, and went to get our tickets. When we got them, having asked for returns to London, with One Day Travelcards, we found that we had three-part tickets, instead of the normal one part. We had Out, Return, and a separate Travelcard for the Tube, but thought little of it at the time - after all, the station staff know what they're doing, right? Wrong ... but more of that later.
The train to London wasn't too packed, considering it was 5pm on a Friday evening, and we arrived at Victoria at around 6pm. We were both starving, so made ur way up to the shops and food court, for KFC, then headed straight for the Tube station, for the next segment of the journey. It was only one stop up the Victoria line, to Green Park, and we then had to change onto the Jubilee Line, for the 25 minute journey to Wembley Park. We got there at 7:15, and this was where things went slightly wrong. As we tried to exit through the ticket barriers, both of our tickets were rejected, and on showing the guy manning the Assistance barrier, he checked our tickets and informed us that the Travelcard element had only been issued for Zones 1 and 2 - Wembley Park is in Zone 4! We had to queue for about ten minutes to buy an extension ticket, which was only 60p each, but it was a minor hitch that we didn't need! Problem sorted, and we walked to Wembley Arena, where we went straight in at the South East entrance, after having our tickets scanned, and bags checked very briefly. We didn't have to remove bottle tops, and they didn't even check bags closely enough to see if we had cameras.
We stopped to use the ladies, and for me to buy a programme (sorry, "Tour Book") which is large - bigger than A4, and good quality, with interviews with meat Loaf throughout, great photography, and a bio of each member of the backing band, The Neverland Express. Mind you, it did cost me £15! My most expensive concert programme so far ....ah well.
We made our way to the main floor of the concert hall, and were shown to our seats, which were a good distance away, but with a straight-on view of the stage, so no craning to the right or left from the side tiers, unlike the last two times I've been to Wembley Arena! We had a section of about 12 seats in front of us empty, which was nice ...
We'd barely found our seats when the house lights went down, and the supporting act came on stage. Marion Raven is 23, and Norwegian, and is not only opening for Meat Loaf on the Bat Out of Hell 3: Seize The Night tour, but is the firl who duetted with him on "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", the first single from the album. (Interestingly, "It's All Coming Back To Me Now", which was a massive hit for Celine Dion in 1996, was written by Jim Steinman especially for Meat Loaf, in 1986, but Meat didn't feel it was the right time for him to release it then.)
Although I'd heard Marion Raven on the duet, I'd not heard any of her solo material before, and was very pleasantly surprised. She has a very strong voice, and I really liked the songs that she sang> i'll probably buy her album soon. Both Clare and I commented that her songs are perfect chillout music, with a nice rock 'edge' to them.
A short interval followed Marion Raven's performance, during which she went to the merchandise stands to meet fans and sign copies of her album for them, which was a nice touch. Then at 8:22pm, the lights dimmed again, and the crowd stood, as if as one, which was both nice, and a complete pain! As usual, the pople in front of us were taller than me, and although our seats were slightly sloped, and the people in the row ahead still hadn't arrived, those two rows ahead were tall enough that what had been an unobstructed view of the stage and both video screens, suddenly became less so. Of course, ten seconds later, the seats in front of us were filled, by two couples, who not only blocked even more of the view, but spent the next two and a half hours leaning towards their respective partners, to hug, kiss, or otherwise show their eternal devotion to one another. For the first five minutes it was almost sweet, but after that? I just wanted them to go get a room ....
Ah yes, Meat Loaf came on stage ... to the opening chords of "Paradise By The Dashboard Light". For this tour, he has been wearing a long wig that almost makes him look the same as he did almost thirty years ago, and the wig has a starring role in the song ... I say role, because it's much more than just a song. It's a full blown mini-play, lasting nearly fifteen minutes. Lead singer on this tour is Aspen Miller, who is, quite frankly, drop dead gorgeous, with the voice, acting skills, and attitude to make her the perfect choice. She's a tiny thing, maybe 5' 4" and 100lbs, and that makes her an almost comical contrast to Meat Loaf, but it works. About halfway through the song, when the boy and girl who are the main characters are arguing, Aspen replies to one of Meat's jibes with "Oh yeah? Well, you know what I think is *really* embarrassing? Old men, in cheap wigs ..." The look on Meat's face is wonderful, as he pretends to think for a moment before retorting "I'll have you know, this is *not* a cheap wig. A cheap wig costs ... what? £20? I paid *£32* for this wig!" The crowd were in hysterics by this point, and it was the cue for the second half of the song. I was in awe already, and wondering how Meat loaf copes with a tour such as this worldwide one, with a concert every two days, given how much energy he had to have expended already!
I can't remember the exact set list, but in the first half of the concert, songs performed included "You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth", "Out of the Frying Pan (And Into The Fire)", "Life Is A Lemon (And I Want My Money Back)" and the massive Bat II hit, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)". Those are all favourites of mine, especially "You Took The Words Right out of My Mouth" and I felt quite emotional at some points, especially a little later when Meat sang "Rock And Roll dreams Come Through" and "Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are". Much of "Objects ... " deals with growing up with an emotionally, verbally and physically abusive father, and is Meat Loaf's real life experience, making it a song that he sometimes still finds hard to sing, and although my own father was never physically abusive, I can certainly identify with the verbal and emotionsl abuse. Although I like the song, it's not the easiest to listen to, and I found even less so, live.
After that, it was time for a short interval, during which a montage of clips from Meat Loaf's film roles was played on the screens, over a couple of his songs - I'm sorry to say that I can't remember which ones! They were certainly less well known ones, and may have even been instrumental versions ... I really can't recall. After six or seven minutes, Meat Loaf and the rest of the NLE were back on stage, this time for songs from his most recent album, the third in the Bat Out of Hell set, predictable titled "Bat out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose".
Starting with "Break It", the second half was a little less perfect for me, thanks only to the fact that I haven't yet learned all the lyrics to the album, so wasn't able to sing along with the same enthusiasm as I had done in the first half of the concert. Other songs included "In The Land of the Pigs The Butcher Is King", "Alive". and the soaring power ballad "Blind As A Bat", as well as another old song, "Bad For Good", with the last three being highlights for me. The next two songs though, were really special, with "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" being up next. Marion Raven returned to the stage to duet with Meat Loaf on this, and the performance was nothing short of stunning. I think the fact that the song was actually written for Meat Loaf really shows, and he makes a far better job of the song than Celine Dion did, though doing it as a duet does, I think, work in the song's favour.
Next up, the song that I, and probably twelve thousand other fans had been waiting for. *The* song that catapulted Meat Loaf to fame. Nothing short of a mini-rock opera, and showing off both Meat Loaf's stunningly powerful voice, as well as Jim Steinman's sheer songwriting genius, "Bat Out of Hell" had the crowd singing along as one, and it was during these precious minutes that I really realised what a special thing I was experiencing. I *adore* BOOH, for the vocals, melody, lyrics, the emotions it invokes, and so many other things as well, and to see and hear it live, was incredible. All too soon it was over, and not long elapsed before the band and Meat himself returned to the stage for the encore, which consisted of "Mercury Blues", "Black Betty" and "Gimme Shelter", none of which I actually knew, but which were nonetheless great.
After two and a half hours of wonderful, emotional, performances from Meat Loaf, Marion Raven, Aspen Miller, and the rest of the Neverland Express, it was over, and with one final command from Meat Loaf to "don't *ever* stop rocking!" it was time to leave, and to start processing everything I had seen, heard, and felt.
For me, the concert clarified some things, and brought some current concerns and questions, as well as past issues to the front of my mind. I came away with the realisation that despite having been going through a very low period recently, I'm not as disillusioned or numb as I thought I was. In fact, to quote a lyric from the latest album, "I'm still alive". And planning more Meat Loaf concerts in the future.
Photos here - only the best 12 though.
