All night long, I was thinking that if I’m in the shape of the Scorpions when I’m 70, I’m going to put my hands together and thank the gods of rock and roll. Because – that is – when a band of almost sixty years can throw a more energetic party than so many “young titans”, then you have to buckle up if anyone wants to follow in their footsteps – of course, if there is any demand for it.
Okay, the Scorpions you can see today are not the original line-up, in fact there is only one member in the band, who has been strumming the strings on his now trademark V-shaped guitar since the foundation. This is none other than Rudolf Schenker. However, the big hits included the iconic singer Klaus Meine, who has since become legendary, and has been a member of the band since the first studio album.
Then the worldwide success Blackout and Love at First Sting albums – the band is currently touring the fortieth anniversary of the latter – soloist Matthias Jabs has already added to the final result. Paweł Mąciwoda and Mikkey Dee, who complete the five-person line-up, are only the XXI. became a band member in the 19th century.
Thunder
One way or another, the members of Scorpions are among the original big guns of hard rock and heavy metal, who are unavoidable in the genre. Whether it’s an emotional ballad, a gut-wrenching anthem or an elemental exuberance, their well-known hits such as Still Loving Youa Wind of Changea Rock You Like A Hurricane or the No One Like You – the latter, to our regret, was not played this time – it still rings in the ears of tens and hundreds of millions.
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Gallery: Scorpions at the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena Photo: Zsófi Szollár / Index
That is why it is not surprising that when the Scorpions announce a concert in Budapest, even though they are returning guests in Hungary, they easily attract ten thousand people to the Papp László Budapest Sportarena, where there were breezy lines in only a few seated sectors, the rest of the square was full.
This first appeared under the backing band, Omega Testament,
when the singer of the opening band, Péter Schrott, asked him to perform the closing number (Pearl-haired girl), asking the audience to do some mood lighting with their phone flashes, because it’s still a big stage trick. The arena suddenly turned into a miniature Milky Way, turning the Scorpions’ intro into an event that would put many an opening act to shame.
Setting the mood after listening to the same 15 background rock hits from the speakers that played before Omega Testament, Def Leppard Pour Some Sugar on Me the long-awaited highlight of the evening came after his song.
The square darkened, and then the sky began to rumble.
Huge lightning flashes on the projectors, in the background the Coming Home the beginning of the song, and then slowly the living legends of rock entered the space. Then the party burst into the Gas In The Tankkel, and the smoke that settled down turned the stage into a veritable carpet of clouds, as if the band members were plucking the strings while standing on tamed storm clouds.
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Gallery: Scorpions at the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena Photo: Zsófi Szollár / Index
Old age awaits, now I have a concert
Everything was here: brutal solos, a projected Hungarian flag, “good evening, Budapest”, a spectacular light show and crushing rock and roll. As they say with great actors, they are able to fill the stage with their mere presence.
Whether they are moving or standing, the stage is full of energy.
Klaus Meinen is perhaps the only one who seems to have sagged a bit with age – his movements are quite difficult, but at the age of 76, no one expects him to skip backwards. It was interesting to hear that the audience – even after the concert – was guessing whether it was playback, because the singer’s voice was so powerful, the whole thing was so professional. Although we can’t say for sure, some abandoned lines and slipped tempos – which completely fit into an hour and a half concert – showed the opposite. Also, Meine was strategic: when he felt that something was too much, he made the audience sing and did not commit to one or two high, sustained notes, so as not to harm the production.
However, the guitarists ran across the stage with all the spectacular setups, laced with big heavy metal solos. Schenker carried the party on his back like a real showman, while Jabs entertained the spectators with giant spins. Mąciwoda’s imposing pose as a bassist also benefited the stage image,
while Mikkey Dee was hitting the skins like his life was going on.
From the director’s left, in the seated sector, the sound system seemed a bit over-controlled, as some solo parts were lost in the songs, but overall the concert sounded good, it was enjoyable to listen to. There were no complaints about the visual either: it only subtly emphasized the strong presence of the band, creating an interesting atmosphere.
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Gallery: Scorpions at the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena Photo: Zsófi Szollár / Index
Transcript
In the first half of the concert, many songs were played Love at First Stingabout – after all, this record was celebrated – including well-known works such as Bad Boys Running Wild or the Crossfire. Roughly in the middle of the show, a guitar solo with a more decisive tone took place, from which mega-hits such as Send Me an Angel or the Wind of Change.
The band changed the lyrics of the latter due to the Russian-Ukrainian situation
– every phrase and line referring to Russia was rewritten, not even the balalaika escaped. These were projected so that the audience could also sing, but the chorus was still shouted by the audience gathered in László Papp – even a Hungarian flag was placed on the stage, which Meine draped over his shoulder.
After that, a strong surge began with emotional ballads and Big City Nights among energetic hits. At this stage we understood why Mikkey Dee is the Scorpions’ drummer.
Because yes, he is the one and inimitable Dee with machine gun legs, who pumped enough energy for the offensive line of an American football team through the airspace of the Budapest Arena for the spectators. He was given a modest drum solo of about five minutes, where the audience applauded not because the drummer is the musician’s best friend and cares, but because
we simply couldn’t do it so that the ovation didn’t break out of us in some form.
For more than twenty years, Dee played alongside one of the world’s most famous rock and roll faces, Lemmy Kilmister, and anyone familiar with Motörhead’s work can guess where this elemental force comes from. After Lemmy’s death, Dee joined the Scorpions, and since then he has been beating the skins here, which we are very happy about, because the sixty-year-old drummer is unconscious. His solo was also a kind of small tribute to the work of Motörhead, because a large orbital roulette machine appeared on the projector behind him, which threw out women and metal forks instead of the Scorpions logos. However, Motörhead logos also appeared in one circle, to which the audience responded with a huge roar.
Deet was rewarded by a long, unceasing storm of applause, and at the end of the concert, apart from Klaus Meine, he was the only one who could whip up the audience with just one gesture of his hand and elicit roars and cheers from the crowd without any effort.
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Gallery: Scorpions at the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena Photo: Zsófi Szollár / Index
The last go
after the Big City Nights closed the party with the note, the audience didn’t really want to leave the band, since they still “due” with two mega-hits. The back applause on the arena took the form of whistles and back kicks in the seated rows, but no matter how bad it is, the main thing is that it worked.
The band came to play more Still Loving Yout is a Rock You Like A Hurricanet. In the former, we could hear the first and only major musical error in a strange way, as the instruments were a bit out of tune, but everything fell into place on the chorus and the song reached its cathartic conclusion. And the closing heavy metal hit
sufficiently fed the crowd to end this summer evening energetically and energetically.
Scorpions’ concert in Budapest in 2024 is a true proof of the hard work and stage presence that gives the essence of a rock star, which can still keep a half-century career moving. We hope that we can see them on stage for a long time and that they will soon return to the Hungarian capital.
(Cover photo: Scorpions at the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena. Photo: Zsófi Szollár / Index)
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