Chocolate Starfish are bringing back the show that kicked off their acclaimed Classic Album Series – celebrating the iconic album Bat Out Of Hell and the legend that is Meat Loaf. The Fish have been paying homage to Meat Loaf and his music for over half a decade. His music, and his showmanship had an indelible impact on frontman Adam Thompson growing up. It was important for the band to pay tribute to the man who has meant so much to them throughout their careers and have a chance to share that music again with fans.
Adam says that in revisiting the full album show, he hopes to share the impact the Bat Out of Hell album had on him with audiences. “The first time I heard Bat Out of Hell, I was 13 and had little musical influence outside a conservative regional radio station,” he recalls. “Bat Out of Hell songs and Meat Loaf’s voice transported me out of that country isolation and into a fantasy world of sonic ear candy I didn’t know existed. Soaring hook-laden melodies, and adjective-filled lyrics around life, death, girls, cars and motorbikes, was everything a trapped teenaged boy could imagine outside his small world. On top of that, each song was an epic of dynamic proportions, and it shaped the theatrical and dynamic way I looked at song writing and performance ever since.”
It’s more-than-fitting augmentation to the band’s Best Of The Best show that is poised to ignite stages in 2022. The exhilarating show features the full Bat Out Of Hell album, plus the singles from the INXS:KICK album and the entire Live Aid set from Adam Thompson’s Bohemian Rhapsody Concert, then capped off with Chocolate Starfish hits.
Australia’s most entertaining rock band continues to exceed expectations with this spectacular selection of songs honoured in true Starfish style. Just as they put their own slant on Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain, The Fish approach each song with their trademark intensity and revelry that elevates the experience well beyond a tribute. With a nod to the original and a glint in their eyes, they imbue the songs with their signature flair and theatrics; even their own songs receive another light. Chocolate Starfish has enthralled audiences with the Classic Album Series since its inception in 2015 with Bat Out of Hell and the band are ‘all revved up’ to return to the Series’ roots.
Chocolate Starfish powered on to the Australian music scene in the early 1990s and quickly established themselves as an influential force with their cover of You’re So Vain, original hit Mountain and perennial favourite Four Letter Word. They wholeheartedly earned their reputation as one of Australia’s best live bands of the 90s, boasting two Top 10 albums and six Top 50 singles, and received an Australian Music Award for ‘Most Popular Album’ at the 1994 Australian Music Awards.
Twenty-nine years later, the band is living up to this reputation and then some as they continue to delight long-time fans and win over new ones. With a new album, The Beautiful Addiction, and plenty of fuel in the tank, the ‘Fish show no signs of slowing down.
Best Of The Best + promises audiences what they know and love about a Chocolate Starfish show – pure, unadulterated entertainment…and, as always, a few surprises.
Saturday 4th June 2022
Palais Theatre, ST KILDA VIC
www.palaistheatre.com.au