Watch Meat Loaf: Three Bats Live For Free

I love this movie so much

That was an excellent one.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I really was disappointed with this production when I caught it on HD tonight. First of all, Meat Loaf came out wearing a Cousin It wig that wasn't creepy; kinda reminiscent of the original. The band was playing well, and suddenly Meat Loaf started to sing. And I was heart-broken for him. Gone was the tempo that makes "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and back-seat (or front-seat) pounding hit. Instead, he was just OFF, off-tempo, slightly out of tune, and completely out of breath. It was like watching "The Who" butcher their performance at the SuperBowl. It was like watching "Perry Como" take 30 mins to sing "White Christmas." It was just wrong.The same thing happened with "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" -- another high tempo sound, and he could barely sing it. He even seemed to be missing some of the words to the lyrics. So when when "I Won't Do That" came up, I was thinking, all right. This song's at a tempo he'll be able to handle. But he couldn't. He just couldn't. I turned it off.The man will always be one of my music idols, and I will remember fondly all the wonderful memories I have of his music and the situations I'd find myself in while listening to it. But go get out the CDs or download the originals. This performance will sully your view of Meat Loaf, and honestly, I wish I hadn't seen it.

Apparently, many people think it's completely creepy, entirely inappropriate, and perhaps even darned near illegal for the 60 year old 'beast' to even appear on the same stage as the 28 year old, lithe, delicate, and gorgeous 'beauty', let alone perform, as a duet, such an incendiary number like "Paradise By the Dashboard Light", being as it were, a paean to lustful, and, yes, presumably youthful sexual experience.Furthermore, some comments also alluded to the general 'skankiness' of both female performers; please wait while I telegraph the headline to the news room: " 'skankiness' appears at rock concert". And, of course, this condition is entirely Mr. Meatloaf's fault because, clearly, appearing in latex, leather, or what one reviewer described as " a barely-there cheerleading outfit and white hooker boots" is not something a young lady rock performer would ever do willingly without a desperate economic need and/or, probably, daily physical abuse.As for me, whether in the minority or not, I'd rate this is one of my favorite concert DVDs. Way over the top, of course, but that's Meatloaf. It's theatre, man, THEATRE. I didn't feel 'creeped out'; I was definitely thinking, "Wow, those people can perform!" Meatloaf was at his sharpest and as theatrical as I've ever seen. Aspen Miller's vocals and presentation were captivating; CC's background vocals were 'just right', and she added a lighter, buoyant 'let's rock this joint' feel to the proceedings. The band looked absolutely delighted to have an arena to play in that evening, and more than willing to show their appreciation for the opportunity by returning energy and virtuosity.Personally, I found that I responded poorly only to Meatloaf's duet with Marion Ravn; "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" isn't my favorite sort of song (and if I did want to listen to it, I'd probably go find Celine), and the much more nuanced and subtle delivery of the ballad simply left me craving for some more 'raucousness'.And lest one think I rate my concert DVDs in accordance with their 'skankiness' factor, I'd say my other most favorite concert DVD is Neil Young's 'Heart of Gold'; which I guess, might be representative of how some people, clearly, would prefer Meatloaf to 'age' as a performer. Having seen '3 Bats Live', I'd say, there's time for that later. Enjoy this show in the meantime.