Bat “A Celebration Of Meatloaf” Featuring The Neverland Express & Caleb Johnson
Des Plaines Theatre
Des Plaines, IL
Feb. 24th, 2022
Having been postponed due to Covid, then sadly a month before the show having the tragic passing of Meatloaf, Bat finally hit the stage at Des Plaines Theatre for a night of rock and remembrance in honoring a rock legend. Fans in attendance were in for something special as this all star line up band playing not only some hits but the entire Bat Out Of Hell album.
Before hitting the stage there was a long video that was played showing clips of Meatloaf performing, some of his roles from film and tv, as well as clips of interviews he did. When the band finally hit the stage they broke right into it without hesitation and thats when I realized that performed live the music comes off much heavier and rock based.
As Bat is a touring group doing these shows with some members rotating in and out of the band it was a pleasure to see Paul Crook on stage. He played with the energy and thrill of someone even a fraction of his age and was a complete monster commanding the stage and crowd at points. His career as well speaks for himself playing with Meatloaf, Anthrax, Sebastian Bach and more. It has to be said too that Caleb Johnson fits the front man spot perfectly as well sounding fantastic and paying a great tribute to Meatloaf and his style. It was good too to see how happy the band was up there performing these songs and seeing how equally happy it made the crowd to be able to visit them live again.
Ending the night with a cover of Elton John, fans were given an evening to remember the late Meatloaf and his legacy that was left on the rock genre. This will for sure be a night that fans won’t ever forget and Des Plaines Theatre was the perfect room for it.
As the man who originally performed the songs would say, Meatloaf is a food. The singer’s name was Meat Loaf (2 words). But other than that & the fact that they haven’t been playing “For Crying Out Loud”, the review is spot on. Great show. Highly recommended.