Legendary German rock band, Scorpions played the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA as we closed out September ’17. Coming along for their Crazy World tour were the Grammy Award winning thrash metal titans, Megadeth. There were no local openers, no master of ceremonies to introduce the bands. It started with Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Kiko Loureiro, and Dirk Verbeuren walking on stage and ripping into their 1990 Grammy Award nominated “Hangar 18.”
The aging Tacoma Dome was sold out to the tune of about 16,000 rock and metal faithful. The stage was set up on the east side of the dome with a catwalk leading out the center and into the floor audience. It appeared to me that there was no GA admission for the show, instead opting for assigned floor seating; the crowd remaining largely within their assigned areas, not pushing forward toward the barrier.
Between songs, Dave lamented about how long it’s been a while since Megadeth played the Tacoma Dome. He then followed up, saying “I hear they’re going to tear this place down?! They should! This place sounds like shit!” I would have to agree. Acoustics in the dome are pretty terrible, and the restroom provisions (porta-potties) leave much to be desired, but there’s something nostalgic about seeing a great rock band in Tacoma. Megadeth touched on several of their albums spanning a very heavy 30+ year history. Vic Rattlehead, dressed in a sharp black suit, made his stage appearance during “Peace Sells…” and the set closed out with “Holy Wars.” Dave was showing a bit of rust, moving slowly around the stage and lyrically he didn’t seem as passionate as I had expected. To me, it felt like he was just going through the motions. David Ellefson and newer members Kiko and Dirk brought a youthful enthusiasm to the performance doing their best to interact with the crowd.
Scorpions opened their set with “Going Out With A Bang” off their 2015 release titled Return to Forever. The Tacoma Dome was packed and people were singing along with every song. Lead singer Klaus Meine sounded incredible. Remember the shitty acoustics we talked about earlier? Klaus didn’t get the memo. For a spry 69 years young, it simply seemed as if he went back and time-traveled his younger self to Tacoma. Every song sounded incredible. If I wasn’t there to hear it myself, I would have declared schenanigans and accused them of lip-synching, but NEIN!
Midway through the set, another drumkit was brought out near the end of the catwalk. As a set of vintage spotlights backlit the band and a giant disco ball illuminted the dome, Scorpions performed an acoustic medley of A”lways Somewhere”, “Eye Of The Storm”, and “Send Me An Angel”. After switching back to the electric guitars and playing “Rock ‘n’ Roll Band”, Klaus relayed a conversation he was having with Mikkey Dee, the Scorpions drummer formerly of a little band called Motörhead. Mikkey said that he would like Scorpions to do a tribute to Motörhead bass player Lemme Kilmister. And with that said, the band tore into Motörhead’s hit song “Overkill.”
Mikkey Dee played like a man possessed and if you’re planning to get out there and catch this tour, save some cell phone battery for the drum solo that follows “Overkill.” And you’ll need a lot of juice if you’re gonna preserve the whole thing because Mikkey goes off! His drum kit rises like 40 feet into the air and and he completely destroys, for what feels like 15 minutes.
Scorpions leave the stage for the customary encore after “Big City Nights.” When they return to the stage, they perform “No One Like You”. Then Klaus takes a moment to express the band’s sympathy for the natural disasters that have affected the Southeastern United States. The band has partnered with the Hand In Hand foundation to help raise funds for hurricane relief. The huge LED panels display the message “Text the words GIVE ROCK to 80077 to donate $25 to hurricane relief” while the band played “Still Loving You.”
In a bizarre bit of irony, the closing song was Rock You Like A Hurricane. Well played Scorpions, well played. There are a few dates left on this tour in the southwest and a couple in Florida so make sure you get your fix before the opportunity passes.
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Words and photographs by RockRevolt Magazine photojournalist Terry L. White
