In 1978, Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” album was a humongous hit and his energetic acrobatic stage shows had become the stuff of legend but, unfortunately for me, before I finally had the opportunity to see Mr. Loaf live in concert, he had broken his leg and the show was postponed from April to the rescheduled May date. The Good Rats opened the concert at Saint John’s University in Queens; the band was one of the acts with a strong local following in a white hot Long Island club scene that included Twisted Sister, Zebra and a host of really good bands clawing for record contracts, radio airplay and the adulation of butgeoning rock and rollers. It was a great time to grow up in Queens, and Long Island, and The Good Rats were pretty popular elder statesmen of the circuit. Pepe Marchello was the front man who famously used a baseball bat as a prop during his performances and they did have at least one local radio hit “Taking It To Detroit”.

The headliner Meat Loaf took the St. John’s University stage, which I think was in their basketball arena, in a wheelchair. Now this could not be good; we all came to see the Meat Man sing while doing his tumblesaults and he was stuck in a wheelchair where he spent the entire show bringing the energy level way down. It was not until the encore he dramatically staggered out of the chair like a latter day Frankenstein monster and played out the night’s festivities; a wheelchair could not hold our hero down. It was a memorable night partly for what the show did not produce, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad (I guess)

Rock on!

GQ