The SRD Rock Radio Show

Events, shows, bands, albums.... you name it, we can review it.......!

With "The Meatloaf Trilogy" being performed at the Northampton Derngate Theatre on 27th February, HFM had a chance to find out more in advance of the performance when Ian Fraser chatted to the man, Steve Steinman, on Soozie Max's Saturday morning show (23/2).

Steve is not just a Meatloaf tribute act, that is a part of his repertoire established by performance's on the original "Stars in Their Eyes" in the early 1990's. Ian was left amused by the concept of a Meatloaf performer sounding rather like Peter Kay.....

So to the performance......

Ian is by his nature a sceptic. Much as he enjoyed talking to Steve on the Saturday, he wondered if that normal sounding bloke living in Nottinghamshire would be able to live up to the publicity material promoting the show.
Could a fan of the original Meatloaf be seduced by a tribute act....??

The reality? BLOWN AWAY......!!! Top performance all round!

A very slick presentation was backed up by the band and the vocals (more about the band later), running across the three Bat Out Of Hell albums and throwing in the popular "Dead Ringer" for good measure. Punctuated by some humourous asides for the benefit of a theatre audience (this WAS a theatre show rather than a ROCK concert), Steve's and the band's enthusiasm and enjoyment was shared by all.
Would the front man have the vocal power to carry it off? Would the band have the dexterity and skill to create the score?

Yes and Yes!

Steve's new band produced sound that was actually too good for the theatre's acoustics. If the Derngate wants to do full justice to this type of show, and there is definitely the audience for it, the theatre's sound system needs upgrading and the BIG sound produced by this show would have reverberated to all corners of the seating. As it was, those toward the back would have lost some of the quality of sound and the skill displayed by the guitarist's (Jordan Bracewell - Lead; Henry Bird - Rhythm; Ben Lee - Bass), drummer (the impressive 18 year old Nicky Miller) and pianist (Andrew Weeden).

The girl singer's (Shereen Webb & Emily Clark) backed up the front man superbly, through the inevitable "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" to a solo rendition of "It's All Coming Back To Me" from Emily Clark.

Even the entirely predictable close to the show with "Bat Out Of Hell" served to enhance the reputation of the performance. Particular high points came with the opening number, "Life Is A Lemon" (BOOH2), and "Alive" (BOOH3).

Ian would go back, it was that good!

Check out "the Meatloaf Trilogy" website at http://www.themeatloaftrilogy.com for more details and keep an eye out for Steve Steinman's "Vampires Rock" show that is performing at venues around the country later this year - http://www.vampiresrock.com..