Bat man belts them out

Reviews

Meat Loaf, Odyssey Arena, Belfast

Friday, June 01, 2007

By Damien Murray

As part of his Seize The Night World Tour, featuring songs from Bats I, II & III, the 'mighty one' hit town again last night like the proverbial 'Bat Out Of Hell'.

The Texan, with a voice as strong as ever, provided an amazingly entertaining show that was big on lights, sound, musicianship, showmanship and - running to almost three hours - was also big on value for money for the capacity audience.

The new, slimmer-cut Loaf may have lost some weight, but this musical heavyweight proved that he hadn't lost his theatricality or his massive appeal.

Having kicked-off with a 15-minute version of Paradise By The Dashboard Light, it was clear that this triple-bat night was going to be a musical marathon.

Meat Loaf is simply 'the king of performance' when it comes to staging concerts in which every song becomes an event in its own right.

In true Meat Loaf style, each song is a richly-layered musical tapestry of epic proportions.

Anyone who believes that Mr Loaf is past his sell-by date, think again . . . for this was one of his best concerts yet.

Although the show may have been too long for some, especially as it dipped a bit during lesser-known songs from the current album, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster's Loose, anthemic rock classics and evergreen rockers like You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), Rock'n'Roll Dreams Come Through, It's All Coming Back To Me Now (a stunning duet with Marion Raven) and, especially, Bat Out Of Hell won the night.

This 'big on production' spectacular boasted five screens, an inflatable band, fireworks and an eight-piece band as hot as the explosions of real fire which probably melted the ice below the arena's floor.

Even after two exhausting hours on stage, all managed a rocking encore of cover songs, including Black Betty and Gimme Shelter.

Meat Loaf eventually finished by saying: "Belfast will never stop rocking!"

Let us hope that the same is true for the 'Mighty Meat Loaf'!