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MBrevard · 22 Oct 2003, 17:44

Hi! I hope you guys don't mind my jumping in here to go back to the earlier discussion that the same setlist, jokes, etc. for a Meat Loaf tour means a half-hearted performance. I'm in a very different time zone, so I'm just catching up on the thread.

Now, I realize that going to a live concert and that experience is different for each of us. So, I can't speak to how any of you feel or what you see when you're there. I can only speak to my own feelings. If people want to agree or disagree, that's okay with me.

Before I thought I was ever going to get to see Meat perform live, I began to collect every live performance that I could get my hands on, including audience recordings. I figured this was my best and only chance to hear what his concerts were like.

Over a period of time, I have collected a lot of them. Some are from the exact same tours and so they have the same set lists.

But what I found, when I listened to them for the first few times, was that they were NOT the same. We all know that it is not "Meat" up there singing to us, but the characters he creates, who come forward to sing the songs. And we all know that he describes himself as an actor--NOT a singer because this is his technique for performing.

These characters have something different to say to us every night or they choose to say what they have to say in a different way.

I've got to give an example here and I hope everyone won't mind.

Here is a small part of Bat, as it was performed in Cologne early in the year and broadcast on German radio: Please, everyone listen to it before going on to the next part of the post.

Bat out of Hell: Cologne

No matter how many times Meat sings that song, that section of Bat will NEVER be sung in exactly the same way!!!! This is what the character wanted/needed to say to us that evening!!

Now, if you don't believe me, or have never listened to the subtle (sometimes NOT subtle) differences before, here is the same section performed in 2002 in Leeds:

Bat out of Hell: Leeds

It will never again be sung THAT way, either!!

And so, this is how I, personally, came to truly appreciate Meat and his way of performing. And once you move to watching an actual Live performance, well, the differences between shows are enormous!! Same songs in many cases, but the way Meat and the band perform them is different every single time!

The jokes don't bother me. I have never heard an audience which did not laugh at them!! Jokes are jokes; comedians do the same ones again and again and they're still funny. It's the delivery which makes the difference and that's never the same.

Banter with the crowds is certainly always different. It HAS to be. None of us ever know what he's going to say to some heckler or when something unusual happens during the course of a show...

But as for the songs, I can never be bored listening to these recordings. No matter how many times I hear them, I always find something new that I had not heard before. And I certainly was never bored or dissatisfied at either of the 2 concerts from the Friends tour we got to see, nor the 4 shows from this Final World Tour we were fortunate enough to attend last summer!! Every single one was different, although the playlist per tour, was very much the same!!

And yes, there are songs that Meat MUST sing every time, because people love them so much, they demand it!!! Bat, Paradise, AFL, Took the Words, Two out of Three--people would be extremely unhappy not to have heard their favorite songs performed!! It's that way with every performer, who has a following and has songs which have become big hits.

I think it is a testament to Meat's creative genius (and I don't use those words lightly) to be able to keep a song like Bat, for instance, fresh and different each and every time he's sung it for OVER 25 YEARS!! (Can you imagine how many times that must be by now??! Amazing!) That doesn't just happen by accident. And I think it's phenomenal!!

Anyway, these are my thoughts on why I've never found Meat's shows to be half-hearted, no matter what the set list is. The ones I've seen and heard, he's always given everything he has--and more!!

Thanks for listening.

Love and peace,

MB
xxx

22 Oct 2003, 17:44	#72
MBrevard Super Loafer Join Date: 06.02.2003 Location: Deceased Posts: 761	Hi! I hope you guys don't mind my jumping in here to go back to the earlier discussion that the same setlist, jokes, etc. for a Meat Loaf tour means a half-hearted performance. I'm in a very different time zone, so I'm just catching up on the thread. Now, I realize that going to a live concert and that experience is different for each of us. So, I can't speak to how any of you feel or what you see when you're there. I can only speak to my own feelings. If people want to agree or disagree, that's okay with me. Before I thought I was ever going to get to see Meat perform live, I began to collect every live performance that I could get my hands on, including audience recordings. I figured this was my best and only chance to hear what his concerts were like. Over a period of time, I have collected a lot of them. Some are from the exact same tours and so they have the same set lists. But what I found, when I listened to them for the first few times, was that they were NOT the same. We all know that it is not "Meat" up there singing to us, but the characters he creates, who come forward to sing the songs. And we all know that he describes himself as an actor--NOT a singer because this is his technique for performing. These characters have something different to say to us every night or they choose to say what they have to say in a different way. I've got to give an example here and I hope everyone won't mind. Here is a small part of Bat, as it was performed in Cologne early in the year and broadcast on German radio: Please, everyone listen to it before going on to the next part of the post. Bat out of Hell: Cologne No matter how many times Meat sings that song, that section of Bat will NEVER be sung in exactly the same way!!!! This is what the character wanted/needed to say to us that evening!! Now, if you don't believe me, or have never listened to the subtle (sometimes NOT subtle) differences before, here is the same section performed in 2002 in Leeds: Bat out of Hell: Leeds It will never again be sung THAT way, either!! And so, this is how I, personally, came to truly appreciate Meat and his way of performing. And once you move to watching an actual Live performance, well, the differences between shows are enormous!! Same songs in many cases, but the way Meat and the band perform them is different every single time! The jokes don't bother me. I have never heard an audience which did not laugh at them!! Jokes are jokes; comedians do the same ones again and again and they're still funny. It's the delivery which makes the difference and that's never the same. Banter with the crowds is certainly always different. It HAS to be. None of us ever know what he's going to say to some heckler or when something unusual happens during the course of a show... But as for the songs, I can never be bored listening to these recordings. No matter how many times I hear them, I always find something new that I had not heard before. And I certainly was never bored or dissatisfied at either of the 2 concerts from the Friends tour we got to see, nor the 4 shows from this Final World Tour we were fortunate enough to attend last summer!! Every single one was different, although the playlist per tour, was very much the same!! And yes, there are songs that Meat MUST sing every time, because people love them so much, they demand it!!! Bat, Paradise, AFL, Took the Words, Two out of Three--people would be extremely unhappy not to have heard their favorite songs performed!! It's that way with every performer, who has a following and has songs which have become big hits. I think it is a testament to Meat's creative genius (and I don't use those words lightly) to be able to keep a song like Bat, for instance, fresh and different each and every time he's sung it for OVER 25 YEARS!! (Can you imagine how many times that must be by now??! Amazing!) That doesn't just happen by accident. And I think it's phenomenal!! Anyway, these are my thoughts on why I've never found Meat's shows to be half-hearted, no matter what the set list is. The ones I've seen and heard, he's always given everything he has--and more!! Thanks for listening. Love and peace, MB xxx