Reviews
------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BURNING QUESTION: CAN A TRIBUTE ACT BE BETTER THAN THE REAL THING? In a word: yes. A tribute act most definitely can be better than the real thing. Should anybody hanker after proof, then I recommend catching a show by Steve Steinman, an extraordinary singer/ performer from the Newark area who has been wowing crowds the world over for the best part of the past twenty years. At the moment Steve is dividing his attention between two self-conceived and produced shows: ‘The Bat Trilogy,’ and ‘Vampires Rock.’ Indeed, Steve first made a name for himself on popular TV tribute show, ‘Stars in Their Eyes.’ He performed a blistering rendition of a Meatloaf song and has never looked back since. The thing with Steve, though, is that he’s not simply a tribute artist. His talents genuinely surpass those possessed by Meatloaf himself. Steve’s voice, energy, cracking sense of humour and positive attitude all conspire to ensure that he’s a rare breed of entertainer that never fails to stun audiences wherever he takes his shows, whether he’s blowing the roof off venues by singing Meatloaf show-stoppers, or camping affairs up as an undead nightclub owner in his spectacular ‘Vampires Rock’ rock ‘n’ roll comedy. Many people might argue that a tribute artist can never be as good, and certainly not better, than the original artist, but that’s a ridiculous notion. The harsh reality, in this instance, is that Steve is a better singer and commands a stage in a far more effective manner than Meatloaf. Ask anybody who’s ever seen one of Steve’s shows and they will undoubtedly agree with such a bold statement. Problem is, artists of Steve’s caliber often fail to enjoy the credit that they deserve simply because people see them as nothing more than paying tribute to somebody else’s talents, regardless of their own. Fair enough, a large proportion of tribute acts do inevitably go through the motions without really trying, resurrecting old songs by even older bands and artists purely to make a quick buck. Steve, on the other hand, throws his all into his performances, routinely going above and beyond the call of duty to do the songs of Jim Steinman justice. Having seen both Meatloaf and Steve Steinman perform in recent years, I’d be willing to pay whatever Meat charges to go see one of Steve’s shows instead. I don’t intend to knock Meat in any capacity; Lord knows that his voice has proved to be one of the finest rock ‘n’ roll voices to have ever been heard over the past thirty years. Similarly, Meat’s on-stage presence is certainly something to be savoured. It’s just that Steve Steinman somehow does it better, injecting more passion, fun, and good old-fashioned heart and soul into proceedings without fail. If only hardcore fans of Meat would realize as much and give Steve’s shows the time of day if they haven’t already done so. Tribute acts aplenty are invariably prone to get a raw deal, and so they should if their hearts aren’t in it. It’s one thing to pay tribute in order to make money; it’s quite another to pay tribute out of the sheer love of doing so. Steve and his shows fall into the latter category, so budge up a bit Meat and give him some breathing space… (Steve Rudd)
------------------------------------------------------------------ Grove Theatre Dunstable, Wed 9th April Dunstable Gazette Anne Cox On Sunday Steve Steinman showed that sometimes a tribute act can be better than the real thing. Steve Steinman’s Meat Loaf Trilogy did what it said on the flyer, tore through the big mans epic Bat Out Of Hell albums accompanied by four long haird pretty boy rockers and a pair of scantily- clad rock chicks and a lot of dry ice and pyrotechnics. This was one of the loudest and most dazzling shows so far staged at the Grove and goes to show that its and ideal venue for concerts. Its been over twenty years since the bald, gum chewing, Manchester lad appeared on Stars In Their Eyes, and he’s gone on to make a very successful living. He’s long since ditched the wig and instead relies on his increasable voice that many believe is more powerful than its rightful owner. Steinman is joined on stage by a trio of young guitarists who look like they’ve stepped right out of a heavy metal modelling gig. JT Bird, Jordan Bracewell and Ben Grimsley are not only talented mucians but the girls in the audience went wild for the long hair constantly being tossed around, the sullen moody looks, and skin-tight jeans. Meanwhile the lads in the theatre had two sexy blonde backing singers who spent most of the evening in skimpy basques and fishnet tights. One, Emily Clark, joined Steinman for a series of duets and proved that she was a lot more than a petty face. Here powerful vocals more than matched the front man. This was a rock opera that electrified the crowd. Forget that it was a tribute act, that some how devalues the product, this was as good as seeing a bona fide, heavy rock concert, complete with dazzling musicianship and theatricals. Steinman has a second production, Vampires Rock, which he hopes to bring to the Grove. Let badger the management to make sure they re-book the great man back.
Anne Cox
------------------------------------------------------------------ STEVE STEINMAN’S ‘BAT TRILOGY.’ SCARBOROUGH FUTURIST. 2/ 02/ 08. Pulling out all the stops to put on an electrifying show, Steve Steinman and his hard-rocking entourage pulled into Scarborough on what was a freezing cold night. Fortunately, fans of Steve and his ‘Bat Trilogy’ tour showed up in their droves, crowding into the Futurist to witness one of the first shows of his new tour… and with some scandalously talented new band members in tow too! As always, Jordan Bracewell lost himself in a riot of raucous riffs on lead guitar, while new boys Henry Bird and Ben Grimily played rhythm and bass guitar respectively, leaving Nikk Miller to pulverize the drums and Andrew Weeden to contribute masterful flurries of keyboard-based melody. Blasting into ‘Life is A Lemon’ without further ado, the stage was set for a perfect two-hour rock extravaganza, with Steve’s huge voice vaulting into the fray so loud and so proud that any cobwebs which might have been nestling in the rafters would sure to have been instantaneously dislodged. Steinman possesses a set of vocal cords to die for; close your eyes and pin back your ears, and it really could be good old Marvin Lee Aday (a.k.a. Meatloaf) performing before you. But more than emulating Meatloaf in both voice and mannerisms, Steve successfully celebrates the songs of Jim Steinman, the musical genius behind the vast majority of classic anthems that have come to be associated with Meatloaf since the seventies. While Steve’s ‘Bat Trilogy’ tour culls tunes from all three ‘Bat’ albums, many of the songs featured in the first half of the show were lifted from the original ‘Bat Out of Hell.’ The lust-fuelled ‘All Revved Up With No Place To Go’ followed on from ‘Life Is A Lemon,’ before ‘You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth’ and ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad’ were brought to life in exquisite detail. Rock lovers who have had the good fortune to see Steve’s ‘Vampires Rock’ show will have recognized some of Steve’s band. Emily Clark, for starters, performed the duets, her breathtaking voice echoing up to the heavens just as God intended. Later, in the second half of the show, Steve admitted that when they’d attempted to sing together on ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ on previous occasions, that he’d let the side down with his vocal performances. Thus, Steve temporarily ducked off stage, leaving Emily in the limelight to literally bring the house down with the song, first sung by Celine Dion before Meatloaf recorded his take for ‘Bat 3.’ The first song to open Act Two was ‘Seize The Night,’ another track taken from ‘Bat 3.’ Decked in white, Steve presided over proceedings from an elevated section of the stage, surveying the frolicking fans below. Thankfully, Steve is forever interacting with the crowd in the most rib-tickling manner. His off-the-cuff wisecracks are legendary, and he never misses an opportunity to inject fun into the show so that it becomes a communal form of sheer escapism. At one point when he was encouraging people to clap and sing along, one man in the crowd upped and left, bound for the toilet, only for Steve to take such an action personally, joking that the man didn’t have to participate if he didn’t want to. Light-hearted banter aside, Steve then plunged into ‘I Would Do Anything For Love,’ with Shereen ‘Fluffy’ Webb dancing her tights off while Emily injected her all into the classic power-ballad. ‘This one’ll warm you up!’ Steve bellowed in introduction to one of only a handful of songs played from ‘Bat 2,’ charging into a barnstorming version of ‘Out of The Frying Pan’ with more gusto than the winter wind pummeling the seafront promenade outside. Yet an epic rendition of ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’ got both him and the crowd revved up to the hottest extent, with the hormone-fuelled tale of two young lovers on the verge of taking their relationship that one crucial step further allowing Steve to serenade Emily in showstopping style, theatrically played-out in the most tongue-in-cheek manner imaginable. Hell, we were even treated to an electrifying rendition of ‘Dead Ringer For Love,’ even though the track didn’t feature on any of the Bat albums. As always, the climax of the show barreled forth in the monstrous form of ‘Bat Out of The Hell’ itself… undeniably one of the greatest rock songs ever written. Giving it his all, Steve pretended to crumple in agony come one of the song’s bridges, joking that he had a stitch. He didn’t, of course, and he launched back into the song with unparalleled passion, provoking those few people in the crowd who weren’t already on their feet to immediately stand up and applaud. And applaud everybody did, for a man and a band that never fail to entertain, as though their lives and their pride depend on it. (Steve Rudd) ----------------------------------------------
Pre review thisisull.com It's official: Steve Steinman, as well as being a born entertainer, is also one of the hardest-working performers in the UK. Hell, he only finished his latest tour just before Christmas with his Vampires Rock show, a spectacular concert fantasy featuring some of the greatest rock anthems ever written, and now he's once again hitting the road with another of his shows: The Bat Trilogy.
A visual spectacular, the show boasts a stunning set design and light show, ensuring that it genuinely is the next best thing to a proper Meatloaf gig... if not better.
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Review by Dawn Bond from Newark Advertiser ---------------------------------------------- ‘THE MEATLOAF TRILOGY’ WITH STEVE STEINMAN at HULL NEW THEATRE, 10/05/07. It makes for a rare treat when a tribute act is almost as amazing as the real thing. In many respects, when Steve Steinman ‘does’ Meatloaf, the net effect is sometimes even better. A couple of years ago, Lancashire singer Steve toured with a show called ‘The Meatloaf Story’ in which he sung a whole host of classic tracks aswell as recounting some of the pivotal moments in Meat’s career. This time around, and in light of the recent release of ‘Bat Out of Hell 3,’ Steve decided to ditch the story-telling aspect of the show in favour of presenting a fantastic two-hour-long show that was literally jam-packed full of tunes from all three Bat albums. And when Steve and his awesome backing band perform the songs, they do nothing by halves, opening tonight’s show with the monstrous ‘Life is A Lemon’ from ‘Bat 2.’ Another great aspect of Steve’s shows concerns his sense of humour. Somehow he turned ‘Paradise by The Dashboard Light’ into something of a comedy come the mid-section when the female lead wants to know if she’s loved for real. Given that ‘Bat Out of Hell 3’ hasn’t been out long, some of the crowd seemed a little vexed by renditions of the new tunes such as ‘The Monster Is Loose,’ for example, but rock ‘n’ roll classics in the form of ‘Dead Ringer For Love’ and the mighty soft-rock ballad ‘I Would Do Anything For Love’ went down an absolute storm. Steve’s first taste of fame came when he performed as Meatloaf on ITV’s ‘Stars in Their Eyes,’ and since then he’s never looked back. His shows, however, are not only about Steve as the main attraction, because on this tour he had a truly breathtaking band with him for the ride - and a smart, stage-dominating set. No expense had been spared in attempting to recreate the look of a proper Meatloaf show, and the lead female vocals belted out by Emily Clark sounded divine, not least when she sang ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.’ Surprisingly, she sang it solo, as though paying tribute to the version recorded by Celine Dion, even if Meatloaf re-recorded the Jim Steinman-penned tune for ‘Bat 3.’ Coincidentally, the real Meatloaf was playing in Manchester at the same time as this show played in Hull, even if Meatloaf vowed to retire after his last tour. It seems that there’s just no keeping the Meat down. If the genuine article is still around, it must make it all the more difficult for tribute acts to draw in the crowds, but Steve Steinman appears to have developed a loyal fanbase all of his own. The Hull New Theatre was packed with people of all ages, and the vast majority didn’t hesitate in singing along to ‘All Revved Up’ and ‘You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth’ as though their lives depended on doing so. Emily Clark wasn’t the only back-up singer and dancer, as Shereen Webb was Emily’s high-kicking, fist-pumping partner in crime; their energetic routines didn’t let up once during the show, so they were probably the most exhausted of all the eight performers on stage by the end. Then, as if the show hadn’t been unforgettable enough already, Steve and the band launched into ‘Bat Out of Hell’ for the final song of the show, and it was performed in all is epic glory… and to incontrovertible perfection, too, with Steve proving for once and for all that he possesses a commanding voice that stands up for itself. Even if he didn’t sound like Meatloaf, which he does, Steve would surely have always been destined to be a star in his own right given the overwhelming power and glory of his singing voice. Indeed, Steve had done away with his Meatloaf-esque wig on this tour, preferring to let the music do the talking, and focusing on the show’s substance instead of getting too preoccupied by the style of things. Come the climax to ‘Bat Out of Hell,’ a standing ovation swept the across the venue like a Mexican Wave, providing another ideal opportunity for Steve to slyly plug another show that he’s produced – called ‘Vampires Rock’ – that is to play at the Hull New Theatre’ in Autumn. If you like rock music in any shape or form, you’d be a damned fool to miss it. (by Steve Rudd) Visit www.themeatloaftrilogy.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ Ipswich Evening Star review The Meatloaf Trilogy
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