Ruth Eckhard Hall
Instead of asking anybody who had ever been sued to stand, Meat asked for some lawyer jokes. As most of them were rather near the knuckle, near me a couple and their two children walked out at this point.
The first question was a good one about Meat's record companies through his career which unfortunately he didn't properly answer but it did lead him into attempting Getting Away with Murder from the Blind Before I Stop album. The band listened to it through their earpieces but Meat didn't remember the song so he got that guy up on stage to sing it! He had a good voice and sang the chorus twice to thunderous applause!
Next we had the usual "that" question followed by Hot Patootie. The lady who jived with Meat on stage tonight was an excellent dancer. Towards the end of the song as Meat was playing the piano with Tom, Robin Sanders from Cheap Trick came on stage, gave Meat a drink, joined in playing the piano, wiped Meat's brow with a towel, put the towel around Patti's shoulders and then kissed Pearl before he left.
Meat then spotted a rather drunk girl so he got her up onto the piano. Meat said that her answers to the Hot Summer Night speech reminded him of Meg Ryan in the cafe scene! At one point Meat poured some cold water over himself! Afterwards she sat beside Tom until Meat told her to leave him alone as he was only seventeen! The Mayor of Clearwater was part of the Tampa Bay / Clearwater Meat Loaf Pops Choir.
The second great unusual song tonight was Original Sin! They sang the beginning, one verse, a chorus and the ending and, although Meat got a bit shaky in the link before the chorus, it was great to hear it again.
Great unusual song number three was Promised Land (from the Midnight at the Lost and Found album) and they all performed it perfectly after Meat had stopped them and said that he wanted to sing it in a lower key. In the middle of it for some reason, Meat just ran all around the band twice! Earlier in the concert Meat told us that he'd met Elvis Presley and had been so stunned that he hadn't been able to say anything!
Tonight's version of For Crying Out Loud had slightly more background vocals which made the sound fuller (but still not as good as earlier in the tour).
The "record executive" guy tonight said that he couldn't use the F-word so wanted to say "frigging" instead which made Meat totally forget his lines! The Paradise couple were good tonight - lots of kissing and groping and the girl ended up actually lying on the guy!
When Meat introduced the band he made poor Tom walk to the front of the stage as he explained that "he was only four years old when Bat Out of Hell was released"! He then introduced Kasim and made him walk to the front of the stage too for his well deserved applause!
It was a great second concert in Clearwater to two receptive audiences but I was dismayed that they all sat during the whole concert - even Bat Out of Hell and the All Revved Up finale!