Sad Meat Loaf fan
by StorageGeekGirl on 6/20/16Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium - EdmontonRecognize he was unwell, but man! what a disappointment! His voice is terrible, he missed cues. Band was amazing! Lady singer awesome! Waste of $$
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Some people think big. Some people think huge. And then there's Meat Loaf.
For the past 35 years, the man born Marvin Lee Aday has been a towering monument on the musical landscape. His legendary 1977 album Bat Out Of Hell transformed this former high school football player, nightclub bouncer and stage actor into one of the great American rock 'n' roll icons. That record, with its staggering operatic sound and impassioned vocals, has sold more than 43 million albums worldwide - still one of the biggest-selling records ever.
Meat Loaf's reputation as one of music's greatest artists was underlined by such masterpieces as Dead Ringer (1981), Bad Attitude (1984) and the Bat Out Of Hell sequels Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell (1993) and Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006). Other artists might have tried to match his scale and copy his sound, but no one has come close.
Now, more than 30 years after he exploded onto the world stage, Meat Loaf is back with a new record, Hang Cool Teddy Bear (a title taken from a line in the classic Russ Meyer trash movie Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls). From opener "Peace On Earth" to closer "Elvis In Vegas," its 13 tracks drag the classic Meat Loaf sound kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
"I wanted it big, I wanted it dramatic, I wanted a rock record," says Meat Loaf. "Yes, it sounds like a Meat Loaf record. But it sounds different too - it sounds new, it sounds fresh. It speaks to you in a different way."
Much of this newfound energy can be put down to Meat Loaf's working relationship with his new collaborator, producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance Paramore, Fleetwood Mac). For the singer, it was a chance to work with one of the hottest producers around. For Cavallo, it was an opportunity to work with a childhood hero and a proper rock 'n' roll legend.
"Rob is the Number 1 rock producer in the world because he leaves his ego out of the equation and gives an artist his voice, making it sound better than the artist could even imagine," says Meat. "I was like a fisherman looking for a big mouthed bass. I put on the right worm. The first song I played to him, I hooked him. The second song, I nailed him."
The pair hit it off immediately, and this electrifying creative partnership immediately raised the bar several feet. Meat Loaf brought more than 40 songs to the table, which the duo whittled down to the 13 that appear on the final record, including the furious "Living On The Outside" and hilarious first single "LosAngeloser."
But there was one other piece to the jigsaw: Los Angeles-based screenwriter and director Kilian Kerwin, a long-time friend of the singer. As with every classic Meat Loaf album, Hang Cool Teddy Bear has a bigger concept. It was one of Kerwin's short stories that inspired the singer to come up with the album's striking narrative.
"It's the story of a soldier," reveals Meat Loaf. "He's been in battle and he's lying face down on the ground. He can't move, but he turns his head and starts to see blood run across the ground, and so he thinks he's going to die. They always say you see your life flash backwards you when you're about to die. But his life flashes forward - into what possibly could happen. He sees what his life could be - the good and the bad. The songs are the different scenarios he finds himself in. It's not always the same time or the same place - but it's always the same woman. But I don't want to give too much away - I want people to work it out for themselves."
To flesh out his vision, Meat Loaf enlisted a set of elite musicians to play on the album, including guitarists Tim Pierce, Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins (who co-wrote two songs for the album), Paul Crook and Randy Flowers, legendary bass players Chris Chaney and Kasim Sulton, genius keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac and the world's greatest rock drummer (just ask Rob Cavallo) John Micelli. Hang Cool Teddy Bear also features a stellar array of big-name guests, including Steve Vai (who appears on "Love is Not Real"), former Queen guitarist Brian May (who appears on "Song Of Madness" and "Love Is Not Real"), American Idol presenter Kara DioGuardi (who co-wrote and sings on "If I Can't Have You") and Hollywood star Jack Black, who duets with Meat Loaf on "Like A Rose."
But the most surprising guest is Hugh Laurie - the English actor famous for starring in Blackadder and hit US TV show House. It was while making a guest appearance on the latter that Meat Loaf met Laurie and discovered that he was a classically-trained pianist. What else could he do but ask the actor to play piano on the song "If I Can't Have You?"
"He was really nervous at first," recalls Meat Loaf. "It was strange seeing someone so confident on a TV set walk into the studio like he's a quivering mess. But he nailed it. He's talking about playing it with us if we ever go on American Idol."
"What I love about Hugh, Jack and Kara," says Meat Loaf, "is that sometimes you get people coming to the studio, and they have their manager and a bodyguard and an entourage - it's this endless stream of people. The three of them, they just drove up to the studio in their own cars, no bullsh*t no fronts, just real people. And I love real people."
But for all the star guests, Hang Cool Teddy Bear is Meat Loaf's album - his own dirty little secret. More than four decades into his career, the man - and his voice - is as big, bold and important as ever.
"How do I keep the fire burning?" he asks. "I don't know. I just do. I'd bet in advance that if I sat with somebody in a room and said to them, 'I'll give you five pounds if you don't go 'Whoah!' after the first song', they'd forget about the five pounds and they'd go 'Whoah!' You can't help it. And it's like that across all the songs. This record is spectacular!"
Rating: 1 out of 5 Rating: 1 out of 5 Horrendous Experience
by BJ6450 on 6/20/16Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium - EdmontonMeat Loaf was likely the poorest concert that I have been to - and I go to a lot of concerts! The Jubilee Auditorium was obviously NOT the venue for this performer - there are NO screens and the entire middle section on the main floor stood up, making it impossible to see the stage when one is height challenged. I am VERY aware that people stand up at concerts but not in a venue such as this one that is not equipped with screens. The middle section was NOT the place to be! Meat Loaf himself should NOT have been performing! Either the sound quality at the Jubilee was lacking or he was lacking - many of the words coming from his mouth were garbled and not recognizable. He didn't 'sing' anything - he 'talk shouted'. Not acceptable. The entire evening was unacceptable - especially for $300!
Rating: 5 out of 5 One of the greatest
by JanitorofLunacy on 6/17/16MTS Centre - WinnipegMeat Loaf is one artist who gives his all in every performance. At 68 years of age, he performed for 1 hr 45 mins, and exuded more energy than I have seen bands in their early 20s capable of. It was an unforgettably incredible performance by a true legend.
Rating: 5 out of 5by Anonymous on 6/13/16MTS Centre - Winnipeg It was an awesome show, I loved every moment of the show
Rating: 4 out of 5 Meat Loaf was great!
by hmk828 on 6/13/16MTS Centre - WinnipegThe show that was put on was fantastic! I am a big Meat Loaf fan and thought the songs that were played were amazing. Wish he would have played more songs, because there are SO many great ones, but very happy with the ones I heard. The sound wasn't the greatest... some of the songs were very hard to hear him singing, but he still has a great voice. Also loved the fact that there was no opener... They started pretty much right at 8! I would definitely go see him again, and I'm sure hoping I get the chance to!
Rating: 1 out of 5 Meat Loaf was painfully bad
by CoachKG3 on 6/13/16MTS Centre - WinnipegI attended the first 40 minutes of the Meat Loaf concert in Winnipeg, MB. It was the worst concert I have ever been to (have attended close to 100 concerts). For starters, he has lost his voice and now relies on a forced vibrato. Next, he was forgetting the lyrics and much what he was able to sing was either unintelligible or consistently behind beat of the music. In addition, he has a distracting palsy in the hand in which he holds the microphone and has trouble merely crossing the stage. Finally, his hiring of a nubile 20-something as his female backup singer not only places Meat Loaf's deficiencies in a spotlight, but also adds a creepy-old-man vibe to the show. This was the first concert I have ever walked out on in 20 years of attending concerts. Time to hang it up.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Meatloaf burnt
by Archangelwarren on 6/12/16MTS Centre - WinnipegNot bad besides he is getting on in age he try's realy hard to please his fans but his sound guy sucks royaly voices fading in and out and the feed back omg just tarable. I say save your money unless you are a realy die hard fan then injoy
Rating: 1 out of 5 Time to retire
by Wineaavvy on 6/8/16Hamilton Place - HamiltonI have seen Meatloaf 10 times since 1993 and the majority of the concerts have been fabulous. That said, in 2014 I saw him in Vegas and there were definitely cracks then. Well, the recent show in Hamilton is proof positive that he needs to retire. His voice was horrible, he couldn't keep with tempo and his band did most of the work. It was a complete waste of good money.
Rating: 1 out of 5 Meatloaf in Toronto
by liagmaster on 6/7/16Massey Hall - TorontoMy wife and I last saw Meatloaf when we were engaged in 1989. During the last 27 years, Meatloaf left his voice somewhere and forgot to bring it to the show. We were very upset that we drove 8 hours to Toronto and invested a lot in a vacation in Toronto around this event and this event was a complete waste of money. Meat should not be performing any longer.
Rating: 5 out of 5 A night to remember
by Lea79 on 6/7/16Massey Hall - TorontoMassey hall was a delightful old building in the middle of Toronto great sized venue for everyone to get a great view, the show its self was amazing the NLE band sounded great and with a good mix of the big hits and a few slightly newer songs were fantastic Meat Loaf as ever when I've seen him put in 200% and he was clearly enjoying the audience joining in which sounded amazing!!! Meat Liaf actually stopped to applaud the audience for raising the roof on paradise by the dash board! There was also a very moving tribute to Mohammed Ali who had sadly past away that day.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Meatloaf
by grampablue on 6/2/16Hamilton Place Theatre - HamiltonGreat venue great concert. Meatloaf gave a great concert.
Rating: 1 out of 5 should have skipped this concert
by jmichmd on 6/2/16Hamilton Place Theatre - Hamiltonsome people/groups don't know when to retire - he couldn't carry the tunes, muffled at best, female singer helped restore some dignity. I could not interact with audience and most words he sang were undiscernable. Too bad as he has some of my favorite songs. He could barely hold the microphone and wasn't able to hit notes in most songs and pronounciation of most words was terrible
Rating: 1 out of 5 Huge Disappointment
by Congertgoer on 6/2/16Hamilton Place Theatre - HamiltonMy expectations were low going into the concert, given the quality of performances I had seen in recent videos of Meatloaf, but I thought that the band and back-up singer would be able to carry him. That was not the case. He spoke more than he sang the lyrics, his melody seldom matched the original song, his voice cracked and was uncontrollable, he didn't address the crowd, and some of the classic songs were barely recognizable. This was a huge disappointment. His making out with the back-up singer during Paradise by the Dashboard Light, and the gestures and name-calling that followed were classless and bordered on being offensive. I wish I hadn't gone and instead had only the great memories of the Meatloaf of my youth to remember him by.
Rating: 5 out of 5 MeatLoaf was at his best!!
by Den1954 on 5/31/16Rogers K-Rock Centre - KingstonConcert was fantastic. MeatLoaf was awesome. Audience was a dud. How can you just sit and not get up and dance. Audience showed no appreciation. Felt really bad for Meat as he put 110% into his performance.
Rating: 1 out of 5 Meat Loaf --Overdone?
by Karl7 on 5/31/16Sands Bethlehem Event Center - BethlehemI was very disappointed at the concert performed at the Sands Event Center. This was a make up performance for one which was previously cancelled due to illness. I don't know if that affected the performance given, like lets hurry up and get this done so we can get back on schedule. I think the sound engineer was sick for this performance.The music was set too loud, which drowned out most of the vocals. Even when a few members did their solo instrumentals, it sucked! The music just did not compliment the instruments. I seen Meat Loaf before, and know many of his songs. Some of the songs had the audience guessing which song was about to be played due to the quality, it did not help the vocals when you can't hear them due to the sound levels.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Meat Loaf was super fantastic!
by Shadow22demon on 5/30/16Sands Bethlehem Event Center - BethlehemWhat a fantabulous time we had, listening to Meat Loaf sing all those great songs. And what a band he has accompanying him. They were absolutely terrific. We had a great time singing along with him and laughing with him. It was a great night!!!
Rating: 4 out of 5 Meatloaf
by Maillaro on 5/29/16Sands Bethlehem Event Center - BethlehemI just seen meatloaf at sands casino pa... He was awesome and still has it.
Rating: 4 out of 5by Browneyedbabes on 5/29/16Sands Bethlehem Event Center - Bethlehem Awesome concert, sound was great. The staff was very courteous and helpful. We would absolutely love to come back and see Meatloaf again!!
Rating: 5 out of 5 Meatloaf was Great Once Again
by bklynbill on 5/29/16Sands Bethlehem Event Center - BethlehemGreat Show will do it again want to do a meet and greet with meatloaf and the band for sure would be great
Rating: 4 out of 5 meat loaf
by 8743 on 5/29/16Sands Bethlehem Event Center - BethlehemMeat was pretty bad. We didn't know if he was going to make it through the whole show... good for him to be out there trying though.