Polish off those dashboard lights, boys and girls — Meat Loaf is ready to hit the road behind his new album ‘Hell in a Handbasket,’ bringing you the live Loaf you crave. It all kicks off June 22 in Austin, Texas.

“People who come to Meat Loaf shows know what to expect. They know they’re going to get full-on energy with the best rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. That’s not an opinion. That’s the truth,” said Meat Loaf in a press release announcing what he’s calling the ‘Mad, Mad World’ tour.

Continued Meat, “Well, a great play can be done with a table, a light, and four chairs. Great shows are about people. You don’t want to put up a wall with laser lights, production, and dancers. It’s really about going out there and putting on the show of these people’s lives without all of the bells and whistles.”

Of course, in Meat Loaf’s world, “without all the bells and whistles” still means taking a full-sized band on the road, so you can expect to see his complete eight-member crew, dubbed the Neverland Express, which includes a sax player, violinist, and fainting spells. (Phil Rizzuto, who died in 2007, will not be joining the band on tour.)

Although — like pretty much any artist who’s been doing it as long as Meat — he’ll have to stack the set list with hits, Loaf is still pretty excited about performing songs from his new album. “It’s is the most personal record I’ve ever made,” he insisted, adding that it’s “really the first record I’ve ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what’s going on at the moment.”

Offered Meat in conclusion, “Making this album was a great experience, and I hope my fans enjoy hearing it as much as I did making it.”

Meat Loaf ‘Mad, Mad World’ 2012 Tour Dates:



06/22 — Austin, Texas

06/24 — Del. Benito Juarez, Mexico

06/27 — Los Angeles, Calif.

06/30 — Snoqualmie, Wash.

07/02 — Eagle, Idaho

07/07 — Valley Center, Calif.

07/17 — Montclair, N.J.

07/19 — New Brunswick, N.J.

07/21 — Canandaigua, N.Y.

07/23 — Englewood, N.J.

07/25 — Bethlehem, Pa.

07/27 — Atlantic City, N.J.

07/29 — Salamanca, N.Y.

07/31 — Boston, Mass.

08/02 — Upper Darby, Pa.

08/04 — North Bay, Ontario

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