"Rock and Roll Dream Come True!"

April 1, 1999 I thought my time had come. I have been listening to Meat since his first songs on "Stoney and Meatloaf"and have been in love with him and his music ever since. He has been there for me thru all the good and bad times with his music. Unfortunatly for me it never happened that I was in the right place at the right time to see him perform live. But that night I was at Wembley, having made the trip of a lifetime from Kentucky to finally see a show. Imagine my disappointment when I found out he was ill. I was crying because he was sick and from the crushing of my hopes. There was no way I could go back for the reschedule,so i resigned myself to waiting for the tour dates for the U.S. and hoping I would be lucky enough to get a meet and greet chance again, then. When I saw on the website he was performing at Chelsea in NYC for a benefit my hopes soared! I ordered tickets for me and my youngest son Josh and impatiently waited the 2 weeks to go. The listing on the tickets said that they were General Admission made me determined to be there early! We got to NYC about 11:30 a.m. and did the major tourist sites for Josh who had never been there. About 6:30 we took a cab to the Chelsea Complex. We signed up for the auction when I found out they had one of Meat's CD's signed by him was up for bids and then we went in. No one else was there!! We walked right up to the front and staked a claim front centerstage. His mike was not even 5 feet away! I didn't know if I'd survive being that close to him! But it got even better. Before the concert started I met Pearl and Amanda and talked to them a few minutes. Soon, there He was walking by the fence! I called out "Meat can I get an autograph?" He said "Just a minute,I'll be right back." I waited, trying to catch my breath. Time passed and he didn't reappear and then thru a gap by the stage I saw him outside the area surrounded by people. Fans outside the gate had spotted him! I got one of the staff to let me slip under the rope and out to him. I walked up just as this little lady about 90 stepped up to him and asked to shake his hand and said she loves his songs! He was so gracious and sweet. Then I asked him to sign my ticket from Wembley (I couldn't let it go and boy am I glad I had it!) and explained about my ruined trip. He apologized for being sick and said he hoped I'd enjoy the show. I asked him for a picture and he said sure, so I handed my camera to a girl in the crowd and she got it! I took a picture of Birgit from Denmark who I'd met that night and we ran back to our place inside that Josh was saving for us. We jumped up and down and screamed! Josh said"I guess this means you got to see him!" I showed all the fans crowding around my autographed ticket. The excitement grew as it got closer to 9:30 and time for the show. Finally at 10:00 they got thru with the auction and here came the band!

The drummer started in with a bass beat and the audience started to get excited. We could see Meat in the wings winding up!!! He was so electrifying! He hit the stage and didn't stop for 2 hours!! He did all his great ones and had fun with a rockin version of "Sixteen Tons" About 2/3 of the way thru he came downstage and told us about his Mom and losing her to breast cancer when he was 15. He had tears in his eyes and so did we. The whole show was more than I could have dreamed of, I didn't think live could be so different from the videos but it was. He just becomes the music and you can feel it. We were sad to hear the motorcycle leadin for "Bat Out of Hell" cause we knew it was over,all too soon. We exchanged addys with those new friends we had met and made promises to share pictures. It was hard to leave. Josh and I caught a cab to go eat and the resturant had a poster up for the show. I rushed in and begged for it. It took almost 30 years but finally my dreams had come true and how! I'll never forget the experience. Can't wait till October and another chance at Live Meat!!!!!

Petey

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