It’s impressive enough when a band reaches the 20th anniversary of their formation or an album release. But, when you discuss a band that has been together for over 50 years, you’re in a completely different league. In the case of the Scorpions, it’s 57 years and counting and they are by far in a league of their own. The German rockers formed back in 1965 releasing their debut album Lonesome Crow in 1972. They took the world by storm with Lovedrive in 1979, but it was Love at First Sting in 1984 with the single “Rock You Like a Hurricane” that drove the album to double Platinum status in the U.S. And it’s been a great ride ever since. Scorpions released their 19th album Rock Believer on February 25, 2022 and the band is on tour supporting it. I was fortunate enough to cover their tour stop at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL.
The arena was filled with fans wearing Scorpions merchandise, leather jackets, and denim jackets with patches. It took me back in time to the 1980s where rock ruled supreme. The stage was large and wide with the drums on a riser that had stairs leading up to it. Even better was a catwalk that jutted out into the middle of the audience so the band could get up close and personal with the fans. The stage was covered with a curtain that had the Scorpions logo on it. And when the lights dimmed in the arena, the crowd started to scream, and the curtain dropped. Only to reveal another curtain that said “Are you ready to rock?” and had silhouettes of Klaus Meine (vocals), Rudolf Schenker (rhythm guitar), Matthias Jabs (lead guitar), Pawel Maciwoda (bass), and Mikkey Dee (drums). And when that curtain drop, the Scorpions were ready to rock.
The band opened with the lead track from Rock Believer called “Gas in the Tank” and the crowd was already head banging and singing along. The song held true to that Scorpions rock vibe with great guitar riffs from Rudolf and Matthias. Klaus sounded really good and sang from the mic stand. But, it didn’t take the band too long to start using the catwalk through their next two songs of “Make It Real” and the ever popular “The Zoo” both from the 1980 album Animal Magnetism. Rudolf came down numerous times to give a smile and finger point to the media photographers (I was fortunate to get one of those too), Matthias came down to play in front of us during guitar solos in the songs, and even Pawel made his way down. Klaus came halfway down to throw out drumsticks to the fans before getting back on the mic to sing.
A Scorpions show is going to bring you two things; awesome music and lots of fun. The band’s stage presence is absolutely amazing, but they know how to have fun on stage. Klaus works the crowd so well behind the mic. Rudolf is a true showman playing to the crowd as he goes. Matthias and Pawel love to play up to the crowd as well. Matthias is always smiling as he walks the stage or the catwalk. Pawel likes to have fun pointing to the crowd. At one point he stood in front of a fan on the stage. The air blew up his hair in all various directions, laughing as it happened. And Mikkey was having a blast behind the drums, especially when he performed his drum solo. It must have been a 10-minute solo that included him playing in rhythm to a slot machine behind him on the big screen. It was a fun drum solo to watch.
The music of the Scorpions is loved by all. They have so many great hits that are recognizable around the world. “Coast to Coast” from Lovedrive is a hard-rocking song that gets the blood pumping. While “Send Me An Angel” off Crazy World is a beautiful rock ballad that ruled radio. Along with that from the same album is another rock ballad “Wind of Change”. It is such a beautiful song that was written about the state of Russia as the Cold War was ending. But, that night, Scorpions changed the lyrics to support Ukraine in their war against Russia. It was a beautiful gesture from the band. They also played some well-known favorites “Tease Me Please Me”, “Blackout”, and one of my personal favorites “Big City Nights”. Of course, in support of Rock Believer they performed other songs off the album including “Seventh Sun”, “Peacemaker” and “Rock Believer”.
It wouldn’t be a rock show without an encore being performed. The band knocked it out of the park closing off the show with “No One Like You” from Blackout from 1982. And the closer was of course “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. It was a fabulous night of rock and the crowd loved every minute of it all. You can find music and merch of the Scorpions at https://www.the-scorpions.com/. Their full setlist was:
- Gas in the Tank
- Make It Real
- The Zoo
- Coast to Coast
- Seventh Sun
- Peacemaker
- Bad Boys Running Wild
- Delicate Dance
- Send Me An Angel
- Wind of Change
- Tease Me Please Me
- Rock Believer
- New Vision (bass and drum solo)
- Blackout
- Big City Night
Encore:
- No One Like You
- Rock You Like a Hurricane
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