Review by Dennis Mikolay:
Being a Kasim Sulton fan I was enthralled to purchase tickets to the "Bat out of Hell III" tour to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel. I didn’t mind that my seats, which were on the lawn, were most likely the worst in the entire arena, or that the lawn section is uncovered and thus exposed to the elements. It didn’t matter either that I was unfamiliar with most of Meat Loaf’s music, knowing only the most popular of his songs, as well as his work with the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The prospect of seeing Kasim, my favorite bass player, performing again had lifted my spirits, which were still low from the unfortunate cancellation of The New Car’s Red Bank (New Jersey) show last November, for which I had purchased fantastic seats.

I had first been introduced to the music of Kasim Sulton during The New Cars’ concert last June at the PNC Arts Center, the show which converted me into being both a fan of The Cars, and of Kasim.

The Meat Loaf concert would be my second Kasim gig and the first since I had interviewed him last year for the Asbury Park Press, which was an awesome experience: to say the least, I was excited. Not even the weather could bring my spirits down, and despite the three inches of rain which had turned the lawn into a thick sheet of mud, or the humid temperatures, numerous fans were in the arena waiting for Meat Loaf.

The crowd wasn’t as large as I had expected though, with the entire 400s section seeming sparkly populated. It wouldn’t really matter though, because as the concert started, few people stayed in their seats anyway.

The concert opened with "All Revved up with No Place to Go" before moving into several other songs, as opposed to the typical set which goes immediately into "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." A lot of fans seemed somewhat baffled by Meat Loaf’s choice of song, and it was obvious that many fans, myself included, were unfamiliar with his entire catalogue. The diehard fans, who sat in the orchestra, were enjoying every moment of the performance.

Meanwhile, on the lawn it wasn’t until "You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth" that people began to really get into the concert, although, "In the Land of the Pigs (The Butcher is King)" received a fantastic reception. Meat Loaf proved he is still one of the world’s most theatrical performers, and that his voice is as good now as it was in the 1970s: "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" and "Bat out of Hell" both faced awesome receptions by the crowd. Meat Loaf’s vocals on "I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)" were nothing short of amazing. His humors rants with the audience, this evening’s choice being the memory of his first show at the Arts Center (during which it was so hot the strings on the guitars were rusting) kept the crowd entertained.

Because of my poor seats, I spent the larger portion of the show simply trying to locate Kasim on the stage. Unfortunately, due to the stage’s lighting it was somewhat hard to spot him, as the lights focused primarily on Meat Loaf.

In the rare occasion when the video cameras actually caught a glimpse of Kasim, he looked like he was having a great time, and it really took me back to The New Cars concert I had attended. Kasim has a great interaction with his fans, which I had forgotten since The New Cars concert. At the end of the show, in typical Kasim fashion, he ran off the stage via one of the ramps, to hand a pick to someone in the audience.

Meat Loaf is as energetic as ever, and during his monologues and conversations with the audience, he shared the memory of his first show ever at the PNC Arts Center, which was in 1978.

Meat Loaf’s performance was great, and I would go see him again, although I have my fingers crossed Kasim books a solo show in my area, or that The New Cars at least bring their tour around here again. Kasim is nothing short of an amazing live performer, who, like Meat Loaf lights up the stage.

Comments posted by fans on various mailing lists and messageboards include:
"Objects was just beautiful; again, using dynamics so skillfully and with great control. And this is also a great arrangement."

"Meat now introduces the band in Gimme Shelter, and that works very well."

Other websites:
Meat Loaf's official website MeatLoaf.net has a thread about this concert here.

The messageboard attached to MLUKFC.com has a thread about this concert here.

Many thanks to Gary "Goat" Goveia for all the photos on this page.

Meat Loaf Bat Out Of Hell III Tour