Meat lacks beef but he can still entertain
The weather might have been atrocious, but several thousand did just that for Meat Loaf at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park stadium on Friday night. It wasn't a sell-out – far from it – but the old showman blazed through a two-hour set of old and new for fans of all ages.
The gig was the first of a European tour and Meat's first in the UK since cancelling tour dates last autumn after suffering vocal chord cysts.
It's fair to say this might have contributed to his voice lacking some of its traditional beef, but he was ably assisted by a tight band and the fantastic backing vocals of CC and Patricia Russo. The latter had her own starring role in the crowd-pleasing Paradise By The Dashboard Light, throughout which a be-wigged Meat hammed it up outrageously, playing out the theatrical nature of Jim Steinman's lyrics.
The set was a smorgasbord of old favourites such as Dead Ringer – a Top 5 hit in the UK – and newer standards such as Bad For Good, from Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Back, and Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back and Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through from Bat II.
The hardy crowd even got its karaoke moment with I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That).
Of course, the real reason we were all there was to catch anything from Meat's 31-year-old masterpiece Bat Out of Hell – and he didn't disappoint.
As well as Paradise... we got an epic For Crying Out Loud and the title track itself – enough to send most home wet but happy.
So a good night if not a great one. But we can all say, when the icon that is Meat Loaf came to town: “I was there”. Because at 60, and with his vocal powers on the wane, we might not see him again.
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