Meat Loaf - 1999 - Wembley Arena

The archives let me down here - I don't know which night we saw the tour, but I remember every little thing...
Janet and I were late getting to the Arena, in so much as the support act had already started. We bustled to our seats and then were subjected to Kasim Sulton.
Now, Mr Sulton is a respected bass player, having worked extensively with Todd Rundgren, and indeed played bass on the "Bat Out of Hell" album. But, he's not a front-man. Woeful songs, and badly done. Weirdly this tour set a precedent, and the next time we saw Meat Loaf, we knew to avoid the support...
As for Meat Loaf, he came on and started with a song from 'Whistle Down the Wind' - the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and JimSteinman (which was really good, as the 3 or 4 people who went to see it in London will attest). "No Matter What" was a hit single for Boyzonee, but Meat nailed it as a dark ballad, giving it the full cod-opera treatment he does so well.
Then we got going and it was classic Meat Loaf. Pushing a 'Best Of' album, so that's what we got.
This was probably the last great Meat Loaf show we saw. The voice was just starting to go , but not enough to be a problem, Patti Russo was still fresh as 'the girl' in Paradise, etc. And the band was tight, despite Kasim Sulton (don't ask me about his work in Blue Oyster Cult). And the inflatable bat was hysterical - the head looked like a kangaroo...
And yes, it was great fun, and Meat Loaf is still one of my all-time favourite acts on record and in concert.