Review: Meat Loaf, LG Arena, Birmingham
Rock legend. Check. An enviable back catalogue of classic hits. Check. All the ingredients to create one hell of a show, right? Well, not quite.
There's no denying Meat Loaf is an icon of the rock world and his thousands of fans at Birmingham's LG wanted nothing more than to see him go out with a bang when he brought his Farewell Tour to the region.
But what they were handed was something quite uncomfortable to watch.
Now 65, the superstar failed to hit even a handful of notes in any of his songs and he stumbled around on stage like, well, a man of 65 would.
Some members of the crowd visibly grimaced as he attempted to recreate his classics - including the entire Bat Out of Hell album which formed the second half of the show.
There is no denying that his repertoire has stood the test of time, with each one of his theatrical classics able to stand proudly alongside any hits that the wannabes of his rock crown have produced during his time in the music game.
When the piano or guitar chords for each song started playing, the crowd erupted knowing that another musical classic would follow.
And there were plenty of hits to comfortably fill the two-and-a-half hour show - Bat Out of Hell, Dead Ringer For Love, Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are, Two Out of Three Aint Bad to name but a few.
But there is something almost tragic about watching a former heavyweight of the rock world stumbling around on stage so clearly past his best.
The superstar himself is not naive to the fact his vocal talents are not what they used to be, and more than once he sat down overcome with emotion.
He thanked his loyal fans countless times for their unwavering support over the years and joked about texting music producer Jim Steinman - the genius behind a number of his classic hits - to tell him that he had struggled to perform some of the material as a 29-year-old, never mind at 65.
It was almost an admittance that this farewell tour was years overdue.
Following an encore of the epic I'd Do Anything For Love and a musical medley allowing the crowd to applaud the incredible band and super talented support singer Patti Russo, the star and his backing musicians gave a bow.
The audience cheered. For the show they had just witnessed? Maybe not.
But to say thank you for an amazing musical legacy and decades of timeless hits.
Victoria Nash
