Meat Loaf is an entertainer in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The guy knows how to work a crowd, something that was readily apparent during last night’s two-hour show at the State Theatre. The performance wasn’t a terrific one — Meat Loaf didn’t select his best songs and often sounded out of sync with the band. But thanks to pure showmanship, he appeared to have the near-capacity crowd enthralled for most of the night.
During the middle of “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth,” for example, the guy went on a tangent about how his grandfather once told him to “give you everything you got.” That, in turn, inspired him to approach his live performances in that manner. “When I walk onto this stage, I am willing to die for you,” he said rather dramatically as he then chastised the patrons sitting in the upper deck of the venue for not standing during his performance like the fans sitting on the lower level. The fans that were sitting instantly got to their feet — Meat Loaf has that uncanny ability to inspire people.
This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2012.
He always sits for two out of three, its a ballad. I think sitting for it is appropriate.
I think MeatLoaf can do whatever he wants….
He’s earned it….
We’ve just been to see his final tour in Scotland and about 10% of audience left before the end. He padded out his show with old video interviews and sometimes his singing was so off tune we only knew the song by the words, the tune was unrecognisable. He appeared old and tired, out of breath when speaking and struggled through the show. Love Meatloaf and have seen him many times but that was a shadow of the showman!