It was obvious from the start that these Dream Engine performances are meant to be love-ins for Jim Steinman. The crowd at this show on the 24th was noisily pro-Jim, as I imagine the 25th will be also, whether or not Jim intended that result. He sat at a table near the rear of the main table area in front of the tiny stage, and there was little question that the stroke he had affected him still, as he sat heavily and did not leave that seat for the entire performance.
Joe’s Pub is a small eating pub with a supposed capacity of 150. This number of people would have to be jammed everywhere to fit. The place was not full – I’d say about 75 or so were there. I didn’t hear any gossip or comments; it was definitely as I mentioned a love-in for Jim – and later, Bonnie Tyler. There was an announcement about no photographing, and I saw no flashes go off.
My motivation in attending the Dream Engine performance came from a couple of angles: as an intense Meat Loaf admirer who wanted to hear the works of the composer who created Bat1, and as an unbiased (try to be, anyway) listener hearing how the singers performed with my history of six years of classical voice training kicking in an analytical viewpoint (yes, I like American Idol, OK
).
The first song got me started quickly: ‘Is Nothing Sacred’ was performed well by Rob Evan. This is the first time I’ve heard Rob in live performance and I could see why he has been successful on Broadway. His light to medium tenor was pleasant enough. This was a tough song with which to begin the evening – vocally, it would be like Meat starting his show with FCOL
He did do it well, the end better than the beginning, but I definitely missed Meat’s heavier, more intensely passionate voice.
The setlist is different from the February shows (evidently). I am not familiar with any of Jim’s work outside of Bat 1, Bat 2, and the hits from Air Supply, Bonnie Tyler and Celine Dion, so please bear with me if I mess up some titles. Adrienne Warren next beautifully sang ‘Is there Anything Left to Hold Onto’ (title?); she is quite popular with the crowd, and deservedly so.
There was a short instrumental selection next, then all the soloists went into ‘If It Ain’t Broke (Break It)’, an interesting, emotional piece. Then ‘Only When I Feel’ came next. The arrangements to “Is Nothing Sacred’ and ‘Only When I Feel’ are, of course, quite different from Meat’s and it made comparisons more difficult to make. Steve Margoshes evidently did all the arrangements for these shows and they were tailor-made for the soloist involved.
Rob and Elaine Caswell next did ‘There were Times We Had It All’; it was well done, but I couldn’t help thinking how that would sound with Meat and Patti. Adrienne sailed through ‘When It Comes to Loving You’, and then a familiar band introduction started: ‘Objects’ was next. Neal Coomer did the first part, and Rob did the second part. It was very different to hear it done this way. Neal’s voice type is a lot like Russell Hitchcock’s from Air Supply; Rob’s voice is definitely heavier and without so high a top. Comparing these two different sounds and timbres to Meat’s…Meat wins but it was still interesting to hear other voices and arrangements with this song.
Rob then read a poem that was definitely anti-war, ‘Mamma, Tomorrow We Learn To Die’ and then the group did ‘We Always’ (title?), with an ending ‘Say A Prayer’. It was quite effective; looks like Jim is still philosophically in the 60’s and anti-war again.
Elaine Caswell next did Celine Dion’s hit, ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me’, and according to Caswell’s bio, she originated this song before Celine got it. Her familiarity with it was apparent. A rousing rendition of ‘Not Allowed To Love’ by Neal, Adrienne and Elaine followed, and then Bonnie Tyler was introduced.
The crowd went crazy when she came out. (Makes one wonder what would have happened if Meat had been a surprise guest!?) She looked great – long blonde hair, slim, face done well (oops, a little meow here
) and she launched into ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ with tons of enthusiasm. The crowd moved with her. She wisely doesn’t try for the super-high notes anymore, but did amazing well on the ones she did. I expected her voice to be far worse than it was at this show.
Rob next did ‘What Part of My Body Hurts the Most’. He did it well, so I tried to listen with the recent forum debate about this song in mind: how does it suit Meat? Being an emotional, passionate ballad, it of course suits him well, but I still think FCOL is a better ‘fit’, with ‘Left in the Dark’ a close second.
I was quickly spooked-out with the band intro to the next song, ‘Two Out of Three…’.
I was very surprised that this was selected without Meat, although I feel it would have been far worse to have brought out ‘Anything For Love’. The arrangement was different and quite suitable for Rob, but I was still very uncomfortable with its use.
Rob then introduced Stephen Rinkov and then Jim. The crowd really went nuts with Jim’s intro, and were on their feet yelling. He nodded but did not get up.
The show ended with ‘We’re Still The Children (We Were Then)’, a harmonic emotional song done by the entire group. This was introduced as one of Jim’s latest compositions.
I noticed a line of people waiting to see Jim at his table. I saw him talking and smiling and easily shaking hands. He is getting the praise he deserves for his great compositions.