When I told friends and family I was going to see Meat Loaf by Candlelight at Newcastle Cathedral, they wondered how the two would fit together. Fair question. Meat Loaf’s songs are built for big voices, big guitars and big feelings. Candlelight suggests a rather quieter evening. I’d also been to a candlelit concert at the cathedral with a different company and come away with reservations about the sound and sightlines. I was curious to see how Kinda Dusty Ltd would use the space.

Meat Loaf gets the West End treatment

A live band and four singers, three men and one woman, gave the songs a distinctly West End feel. That approach makes sense for Meat Loaf. There’s already something theatrical in the way his songs build, and the singers had the voices to carry that drama. What I enjoyed was hearing them put their own stamp on the material while still giving the big moments the vocal power they needed.

The first half felt like a gentle warm-up. It gave me time to settle into the setting and hear what the singers were doing with the arrangements. I did find myself waiting for the band to cut loose, though. After the interval, the show moved up a gear, and some of its most explosive moments came in the closing stretch. By then I could see what the production had been building towards. I’d have welcomed a taste of that energy earlier in the evening.

What you can see from your seat

The stage looked wonderful by candlelight, though where you sat still made a difference. The seating is all on one level, so a tall person in front can take much of the stage out of view. For a show that relies partly on how it looks, that matters. You can still enjoy the singing, but you lose some of the pleasure of watching the performers play off one another.

I spotted speakers positioned for people seated to the side. That was good to see after my previous experience at the cathedral. There were no screens, so people in the side seats depended on the angle they had to the stage. As the set grew livelier, some audience members stood for individual songs. I could understand the urge to get up when the music took off, and I could also see how frustrating that would be if the person in front of you suddenly became your entire view.

Give the band a moment in the spotlight

I would have liked to hear two women and two men share the vocals. A second female voice could have given the ensemble more options for duets and harmonies. The four singers were excellent, and it was precisely because the vocal performances worked so well that I wanted to hear what the production could do with more combinations.

The band stayed in place for most of the evening. With music like this, I wanted to see the lead guitarists come forward when the heavier numbers gave them an opening. Even a few moments at the front of the stage would have let the musicians share more of the attention the singers commanded. A more ambitious idea would be to try a stage in the round, or to put some of the musicians on raised platforms among the audience. In a room with flat seating, that could bring the band into view for more people and give the closing numbers a stronger visual impact.

Does Meat Loaf by candlelight work?

For me, it worked best in the gentler songs. The candlelight made those performances feel more intimate, even in a space as large as Newcastle Cathedral. It also fitted the West End quality of the singing. Those were the moments when I could see what this particular setting brought to music I usually associate with a much louder room.

Once the band let loose, I barely noticed the candles. I was drawn to the power of the voices, the guitars and the people around me getting caught up in it. That made for an exciting second half, even if the candlelit idea felt less convincing during the faster numbers. The evening’s most atmospheric moments and its most energetic ones came at different points, and I enjoyed seeing how far the company could take each in the same space.

Kinda Dusty Ltd stages concerts across the UK, and the experience will vary with the venue. If you love Meat Loaf’s songs and fancy hearing them given a West End treatment, there’s plenty to enjoy here. The outstanding vocals and the atmosphere of Newcastle Cathedral earn it four stars.eatment, there’s plenty to enjoy here.

4 Stars- The show delivers outstanding vocals and an atmosphere like no other

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