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Post Info TOPIC: CASA de CARNE Blickling Hall 13 July


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CASA de CARNE Blickling Hall 13 July




Just a marvellous and wonderful night ..

We stand waiting in the cooling summer evening, with some sun still showing through the scattered cloud cover, and for once I reckon we could run up a couple of pairs of trousers from the patches of blue sky for our new, trim Meat Loaf ..

Pearl has delivered a rousing opening set to huge applause, her opening song "I'm a rock child" summing up her performance to perfection. She has thanked her father for giving them this opportunity and told us how he means so very much to her, and thanked his band who are her rock family .. overcome with emotion she has tears in her eyes and flaps her slim hand, blinking as she works to push down the tide of genuine feeling and continue her set. So talented and as gracious as her father to those who support her. She surely has a great future .. and when the crew are clearing the stage for the main event and a copy of her set list which was taped to the stage is retrieved, we see she has written two simple words in a gap between songs .. Thank Dad ... 

The standing mics (each with a small flash of colour) are ranged across the stage for the opening number and someone goes along checking them for sound ..  "Yellow, yellow, yellow" ..  "Green, green, green" "Red, red, red" .. and when he gets to the centre one with its red silk scarf fluttering in the breeze "The BOSS!" .. which always makes me smile ... The stage is swept .. and the backcloth with the lowered horned head of the bull is in place .. because it's an open air show the players have to slip across the stage in front of the backdrop .. and cheers go up as we see them take their places .. with a particularly loud one for the man in the black stetson!

Dark indigo lights illuminate the back of the stage and the Indian chant begins and fires the excitement of the audience .. then a cheer as John takes his place and brings the chant to a crashing crescendo .. the red and yellow lights flood the stage as the rest of the band run to take their places, and a huge roar as Meat comes out, smiling broadly as The Boy's Bad News kicks the show off to a flying start. He keeps moving between the players .. biting Randy on the arm, having a shimmy and laugh with Patti, mimicing Dave's deep growling delivery of his line ..

And as it ends and the band take their familiar places, Meat prowls back and forth, pointing out at imagined troublemakers, and mouthing fiercely at them .. "You wanna f*** with me? You come up here!!! .. I'll f**** with you!!!!" .. and we're off with a powerful Frying Pan .. Meat's voice sending out those long delivered "Fire!!!!"s ringing out across the huge field to reach every corner .. and without a pause, as the song ends, more prowling before a stunning version of Lemon ..  We've all seen the way the press have been mis-reviewing his shows, and tonight he's told us at the M&G how incensed he is that yet again the promoter has reneged on his contract to provide screens .. we sense he needs no creation of a character onight .. he's pumped, he's angry, he's frustrated  .. and it's pouring out in every impassioned line ..  Again he has asked us Do we want YOUR money back? .. and has received a resounding NO!!!!!!

Security are being extremely vigilant about cameras tonight, even in Pearl's set .. and the three affable blokes at the front have been reasonably careful not to obstruct people's view too much when they spot a camera way back and stand on the in-built seats on the stage side of the barrier to signal to others further back where the offending camera is .. but suddenly a differently dressed one, clad in yellow, is standing directly in front of Carole to my immediate right, with his back to Meat who is centre stage, completely blocking her view .. Meat sees this and he's not amused .. he shouts at the guy but is ignored .. goes back and gets a bottle of water which he lobs at him to attract his attention .. He still ignores Meat and us telling him Meat .. wants a word wth him .. Finally he turns and is given a tongue lashing by Meat .. "Do NOT f***ing stand there in the centre!!" .. he retreats to one side muttering rude comments .. but I note he disappears and is not seen again!

Meat completes the blistering opening sequence of the show with Bad For Good. I love this song and every show have been blown away by the strength and power of his delivery and again I am astounded by its force.

The introduction to Dead Ringer is even funnier tonight .. when Meat wheels his cooler to the front of stage with all the gestures about what a cool hip guy he is .. as he produces and opens his beer he goes into a parody of a prissy observer .. "Oh my God!! Do you see what he's got there? A BEER!!!!!!" ..  "And he's going to DRINK IT!!!!!!   Should we go home now honey?" .. and lashing back at jackal reviewers who have written about him drinking beer on stage (Heaven forfend!!) .. "You f***ing teetotallers .. f*** you!!" .. and takes his customary single sip, to huge roars of approval from the audience ..  He's noticed that when he's speaking to us the cameraman is completley ignoring him, still focused on Kasim .. Over he goes ..... "Mr Caneraman .. I'M TALKING!!!!!!! .... On ME!!!!" .. and then "I realise now what side of the fence you ride on .. because I can see you're HOT for f***ing Kasim!!" ..
The storyline plays out before us .. Dead Ringer with Patti culminating in their standing to one side laughing and chatting .. Meat's scored!! .. followed by CC's raunchy delivery of 45 Seconds of Ecstasy luring him back to centre stage whilst Patti pours the beer digsustedly out on the ground and squashing the plastic bottle into a discarded mis-shapen blob ..  Meat and CC sway together, passion building until the final words, followed by Meat's whispered "If only it could be a minute and a half ...."

Now for me comes the climax of the story Meat's allowed me to develop from the storyline that runs through the show .. Patti is back in the long black coat, eyes flashing with anger as she calls for someone to bring her A Bible and A Beer .. each show they have acted this out more powerfully, and tonight Patti's anger and sense of betrayal is so very raw .. and then Meat's BAAB so passionately delivered and conveying so powerfully a sense of his realisation that this is where he belongs and what he so nearly has lost .. and as he sits on the drum stand and delivers the final part of the song to a wounded Patti, there is to me such a feel of remorseful contrition, which I know will end with his promise of total commitment later in AFL ..  Tonight I find my breath catching at the power of these two songs, a power that owes so much to the long relationship the two of them have enjoyed on stage ... and as they finally embrace the audience erupts ..

The band's instrumental gets a great ovation .. and then Meat's back, wigged, ruffled and DJ'd ..  we hear the opening chords of Paradise, and to the thunderous approval of the audience we're into the segment which features his most epic and landmark hits .. starting with Paradise of course .. Again very funny .. Patti gets a huge roar of approval as she enters in the pink prom gown .. and tonight when Meat delivers his tauntingly chauvanist "I'm a MAN .. and a woman doesn't tell a MAN to shut up" .. he and Patti each appeal to their gender in the audience .. Meat spurring the men to shout loudest, Patti the women .. and all the time Patti prancing round  in that wonderfully bouncy way, wiggling her hips and taunting Meat .. she's the top dog here and she knows it :) They have an intuitive affinity on stage which they've honed over so many years .. and Paradise sweeps to it's inevitable conclusion, with Meat bringing her forward for the acclaim she deserves and gets ..

Meat goes back to get the black coat for AFL .. but picks up his discarded Paradise jacket .. carefully puts it on and looks around .. realises .. giggles and ahrugs .. removes it and gets the coat .. and then, with soft violet light shining through his ruffled hair,  begins a delivery of AFL that I haven't seen him better for years .. Such soul and passion .. and the long notes ringing out into the by now dark night .. and at the conclusion of the duet he holds the that long penultimate "Love ...." for so long that I just shake my head in awe ....

And follows this with a triumphant Bat Out Of Hell of such intensity and power  .. I can hear the words being taken up around the huge ground, echoing into the night  .. and those final drawn out notes are delivered with such strength  .. the man is back and he's amazing .... and his final arms outstretched high stance suggests he knows this too :)

Thunderous applause .. he thanks us .. and without leaving the stage they sweep straight into Roadhouse Blues .. again the guy managing Meat's inflatable is having difficulty ..  Meat cannot fail to notice .. he laughs, ticks it off, calls it a sonofabitch .. and then we're into Do It In The Road .. and all too soon this celebratory end to the show is over .. Meat and the band all line up arms linked .. we applaid and cheer and they run from the stage ..
Up goes the chant .. "We want more!! We want More!!" over and over ..  Meat comes back out and looks at us .. we roar for more .. and he calls the band back and we have Mercury Blues .. at the end of this he looks at us .. "You good for another one?" ..  and I hear the introduction to Black Betty!! :))  I sense the wings of the fairy on my shoulder go bolt upright! .. lol ... Meat's still cooking on 5 octane .. and it's marvellous ..

He thanks us again .. so very, very much .. He seems particularly moved by the reaction and response he's had tonight .. and then he waves goodbye and walks back to the steps leading down from the stage .. followed by the band .. Kasim and Patti being the last to go having indulged in a bit of bump and grind :)

It's seemed like a lifetime yet to have passed in a flash .. People around me are all using words like "amazing" "stunning" .. "what a showman!!" .. and as the crew start dismantling the set ready for their journey on to Ireland and the next lucky audience, I stand there with so many thoughts and memories running through my head .. seeing him at one point late on in the show, jumping up and down on the spot over and over, running from side to side of the stage with such energy and enthusiasm ..  his pride in his band "Is this not the greatest rock and roll band in the world?" .. his introduction of "John the Hammer .. who's never missed a drum beat in his life .. Micelli" as a retort to the ignoramus who wrote "Meat's drummer kept missing drum beats" ...  the power and strength of his voice .. 

The moment when he brought the red seated stool forward .. although he didn't use it .. and retrieved two sheets of paper, printed, stapled together and with yellow highlighter .. to tell us that this was a contract .. his contract with the promoter of the Broadlands, Bath, Castle Howard and Blickling shows .. and oh dear .. he hadn't got his glasses .. but he knew what was in it .. "The producer will provide lights, catering, sound and video screens." He pushes it down in front of the cameraman .. get this .. show them this ..  Amongst the many criticisms levelled by journalists who either have no eyes to see, nor ears to hear .. or were not even AT the damn shows ...  was that there were no video screens at the first 3 of these shows .. despite all his efforts to get them to fulfill their contract, and of course he is blamed ..  And tonight what have they finally managed? .. One screen .. which if we would look at it .. he pauses .. "most of you have ones this size in your living room!!!!! He asks us to join in him in shouting a resounding "**** YOU!!!!!" to the promoter .. which we do!  Will it get picked up by the press jackals and will the promoter take offence? Probably  .. but would Meat be likely to ever accept a contract from these people again? I doubt it!!

If he'd given a bad show he'd be the first to admit it, and take responsibility .. But he has been outstanding .. his band have been outstanding .. and everything he can reasonably be expected to take responsibility for he has .. and more .. Yet a mealy-mouthed press has harried and abused him, sought out or invented a few malcontents at every concert and completely ignored the THOUSANDS at every concert who have thrilled to the performance. He has looked out at us at the end of every show and seen what he has achieved.
He came to rock .. he rocked! He promised us a show .. he delivered in spades every time!!!  He created his Casa de Carne .. he invited us in .. and those of us who entered joyfully and had the time of our lives are legion. 

And that's the truth!!!!!!!

Caryl

I saw no authorised press photographers at Blickling, so will not post the few I have found in the on-line press. The poor quality od those I've seen suggests these were taken in violation of Meat's policy on the taking of photos from the audience.

But these are authorised photos from other concerts .. and all these shots could have been equally taken at his stunning concert the other night :)

ML08.jpg



Con03.jpg


Con02.jpg




-- Edited by Caryl at 04:51, 2008-07-15

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Meat Loaf for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's help him get there!
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