Thanks to radio station WFGR, my wife and I were able to attend the "80s music - Day 2" at Val Du Lakes amphitheater in Mears, Michigan.
We arrived just at the end of the opening set by Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer. So, no opinion on that performance.
Next up with Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. I did not know much about Donnie, except for a couple hits. He seemed to come out a little stiff, but warmed up quickly. His backing band of guitar, keyboard, bass, drums provided decent support (except for some keyboard technical difficulties during the set). The highlights of the just-over-an-hour set included "Ah! Leah!" and "That's The Way Love Ought To Be". I was impressed with Donnie's voice, and it was a decent mid-day performance.
Following Donnie, was Tom Cochrane & Red Rider. Backed by bass, drums, and guitar, Tom plowed through a set of hits. Having a bit of delay before he got started, it appeared Tom had an "up hill" battle to connect with the crowd. Early on in the set, we got "Lunatic Fringe", which was the song my wife wanted to hear. The other "hit" I recognized, was closing song "Life Is A Highway". Overall, Tom Cochrane sounded fine, but never seemed to get his momentum going with the audience. His set was less than an hour.
Finally, after another long switch over (but a bit more justified, due to the extra stage risers and gear), the legend that is "Meatloaf" took the stage. Considering the news reports said Meatloaf had been having asthma trouble in the past couple weeks, I was impressed just to see him vertical. Opening with "Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul)" (from his Rocky Horror performance), proved a great crowd pleaser. He sounded alright, but the vocals were low in the mix. Backed by a great sounding 7 piece band named "Neverland Express" (2 keyboards, 2 guitars, bass, drums, backing vocalist), Meatloaf spent much of the opening few songs stalking the stage working to rile up the crowd. Most of the night was concentrated on the hits from his "Bat Out Of Hell" releases, while also featuring some tracks from his latest "Hang Cool Teddy Bear" release. The first half of the show seemed to be going better than I expected, but Meatloaf starting wearing out for the second half. He brought out a bar stool for "Two Out Of Three Aint' Bad", and attempted to explain how it wasn't because he was tired - well, maybe not entirely because of being tired, but he still sounded out of breath. By the time we got to "Paradise By The Dashboard Light", he was spending much of the song leaning on his microphone stand as if it was a crutch. Granted, at 63 years old and struggling with asthma, I'm sure the humid outdoor venue wasn't helping his breathing. But, almost in spite of the conditions, he continued soldiering on giving us everything he had (even if it was only a portion of what he may have wanted). Most of his stage banter with the audience was profanity laden, and seemed a bit out of place. But, even with the lagging vocal performance, the band was fantastic. Featured backing vocalist Patti Russo provided great support for Meatloaf, while also covering the sassy personality needed for the more theatrical songs. Pianist Justin Avery recreated all the signature parts created by "Bat Out Of Hell" original composer Jim Steinman. While his performance was certainly not what he offered years ago, there was no doubt about Meatloaf's ability to dramatically deliver a song. He was not giving us any sort of "phoned in" performance - he was giving all he had and then sum. For this show, Meatloaf was a better entertainer, than singer.
Val Du Lakes is a small campground area near Silver Lake. Although there is not anything specifically wrong with the venue, there also isn't anything specifically special about it. The stage, sound, and setting are all fairly standard. Trouble is, for the extra drive and today's ticket prices, they need to find some niche to make the trip worth the effort. Had I paid full price for the show, I may have been a bit disappointed (especially considering all the music offerings around the area this summer).
Overall rating: I'd give the show a 7 out of 10
Setlist for Meatloaf:
1.Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul)
2.If It Ain't Broke, Break It
3.Bat Out of Hell
4.Peace On Earth
5.Living On The Outside
6.Los Angeloser
7.You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)
8.Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through
9.I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)
10.Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
11.Paradise by the Dashboard Light
12.Boneyard
13.All Revved Up With No Place To Go
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