Warren DeMartini of Ratt performed @ Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN. Photo by Pennman 7/10/2010.

Is this really it? While many rock groups have declared tours to be their “farewell tour”, only to then have a “comeback tour” a year a two later, the Scorpions current Get Your Sting and Blackout Tour sounded and looked mighty good to suggest that they are really over the hill and need to retire. I’ve heard several quotes from the band members about hitting 60 and that no one will want to see “a bunch of old Germans” up on the stage anymore, but there are plenty of old timers still on the road stirring up crowds and rocking it out (Stones, McCartney, Fogerty, Young, etc. Even Ozzy!). Listen Scorps, if you can get up there and rock like that in two years there will certainly be fans who want to see it. After tonight, I’m afraid this is another farewell tour I’m not ready to buy into 100%.

Opening for the Scorpions was 80s favorite Ratt. Because of the photography part of my photojournalist role, I could only be out there taking pictures for the first three songs, so that’s all I saw of a Ratt. They opened with “You’re in Love”, followed by “Lay It Down” (probably my second favorite Ratt tune), and “Lack of Communication”. It seemed the sound was a little off and so these openers were where things were being worked out. However, they were good enough to get a smile on my face. Guitarist Warren DiMartini was certainly into it, and singer Stephen Pearcy was his usual ornery self up there, posturing, spitting, pouting, and belting out the vocals in strong voice. Of course they made everyone wait for their biggest hit, “Round and Round”, until the end. I guess that was much to the chagrin of the guy in the audience who, before even the first note of the show was hit, yelled out “Round and Round (expletive – MFs)”. Such is the mixed blessing of the big hit.

A friend was of the opinion things were just off kilter a bit at times, and another noticed some discussion between songs before they played “Eat Me Up Alive” (from the new record called Infestation), which was not on the set list. Sometimes getting off plan works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Perhaps now that they worked it in here it will become a permanent part of their set list going forward. In general, my friends who saw Ratt last year at the Wildhorse seemed to like that show better (http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2009/07/08/the_amplifier/music/doc4a3faedfa1f6e399209366.txt). 

The Scorpions set started off with the new song, “Sting in the Tail”, just in case anyone was unsure of what tour this was. And they came out ready to rock. Sound was great right from the get go, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs were all over the stage and catwalk posturing, mugging it up, and playing their guitars in multiple positions. Klaus Meine was in fine voice and just a bit more stationary than the other two original members, and the rhythm section of Pawel Maciwoda on bass and James Kottak on drums was just smoking hot.  The stage was done up in a mostly stainless steel and lights look, which seemed to fit the music well; no frills, all rock. The rising drum platform kept things interesting as well as the graphics behind it all.

So what else did we hear? Well, I believe there was only one other song from the new album, and it was one I really like; “Raised on Rock”. That left plenty of room for classics built to please Scorpions fans. Highlights were “The Zoo”, “Tease Me, Please Me”, “Dynamite”, and “Blackout”. And then there was the super-impressive “Kottak Attack” drum solo. James was pounding the skins and stomping the pedals on that one. I did think the graphics behind him on that one got a little weird and/or self-absorbed from time to time, but the drumming was so good who cared? If you were a casual Scorpions fan and were there for the big radio hits, you had to wait until the end for those. The last song of the regular set was a rocking “Big City Nights”, followed by the encore of “Wind of Change”, “No One Like You”, and “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. What an ending!

If the purpose of this tour was to get us to twist their arms in a couple of years to make a comeback, mission accomplished. I would make one suggestion though; smaller venues. Everyone at the Bridgestone seemed to be having a great time but the audience was noticeably smaller than in past years. Then again, they are really the epitome of an arena rock band, so maybe not. The arena configuration set up for this show by the Bridgestone seemed to be about right – stage moved up a bit on the floor, no seats behind the stage, and no seats in the upper deck. In any event, if the Scorpions come around this way again I am there. You might want to be too.