NASHVILLE |
DATE: AUGUST 31, 2010
FROM:TODD BRODGINSKI/MITCH SCHNEIDER/ANGELA VILLANUEVA
For those who have not yet been stung by the mighty SCORPIONS’ latest concert tour, “The Best Is Yet To Come.”
Although the band recently wrapped a triumphant 38-show tour of North America on Saturday (8/21) in Chicago at the (sold out in advance) Rosemont Theatre, they are now booking more U.S. shows next summer since their overseas tour commitments had prevented them from adding more U.S. shows this year. The group will hit cities they did not get a chance to perform in. The SCORPIONS are now on a brief break and will resume their “GET YOUR STING AND BLACKOUT WORLD TOUR 2010” tour September 4 in Mexico and South America before heading back to Europe with dates confirmed through November 27 in their German homeland.
The farewell tour by the iconic band—KLAUS MEINE (vocals), MATTHIAS JABS (lead guitar), RUDOLF SCHENKER (guitar), JAMES KOTTAK (drums) and PAWEL MACIWODA (bass)–is in support of their latest album STING IN THE TAIL (Universal Music Enterprises). It entered the U.S. chart at #23, marking the band’s highest chart debut in over 20 years. The SCORPIONS’ tour–in celebration of 40-plus years in music–has been a massive success in a soft touring economy, with the group filling many of the arenas they performed at in the United States and Canada.
In a recent interview (8/21/10) with Billboard’s Ray Waddell, lead singer KLAUS MEINE said, “What can I say? It’s a celebration…We feel we owe it to our fans and ourselves to keep this energy level. What we pull off every night on this tour, we want to keep it that way to the very last show. We don’t want to see ourselves rocking like a hurricane when it’s not a hurricane anymore.” Of the touring climate right now, Waddell said, “Scorpions numbers are solid in a summer where consistency is treasured.”
MEINE adds that it “feels great to do this final curtain thing on our own terms and not to wait until this whole thing breaks apart. To see these emotional reactions every night means a lot.” Critical accolades have also been pouring in:
Here’s what writer Bobby Reed said of the Chicago Sun-Times said:
"They came, they rocked us like a hurricane, and they said goodbye. Saturday night at the Rosemont Theater, hard-rock icons the Scorpions performed in the United States for perhaps the last time… The excellent show at the Rosemont Theatre was the final date on the U.S. leg of the tour. The two-hour concert was peppered with ballads (‘Still Loving You’) and hooky melodies (‘Bad Boys Running Wild’), two elements that helped make the Scorpions one of the most successful hard rock acts ever to emerge from Europe….Meine possesses a siren-like voice that can soar above all the heavy guitar riffs, as on the last encore, ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane.’ Meine supplemented the band's biggest hit, the 1991 ballad ‘Wind of Change,’ with his famous whistling motif. The band played three songs from its recent studio album, the glossy, credible Sting in the Tail. The live version of the uptempo ‘Raised on Rock’ was a fist-pumper spiked by a talk box on some springy guitar riffs (8/23/10).”
Of last week’s show in Colorado, Candace Horgan of the Denver Post said:
“Despite their ages (vocalist Klaus Meine and Schenker both turn 62 this year, Jabs will turn 55), Scorpions still have plenty of energy. Meine’s voice soars high on everything from classic power ballads to Scorpions’ best known anthems, and Schenker stalked the stage like the demented loon he played in the video for ‘No One Like You’ (8/19/10).”
In New Orleans, Alison Fensterstock of the Times-Picayune wrote:
“When the headliners, the Scorpions, took the stage at about 9:30 p.m., happy pandemonium reigned. The German monsters of rock, formed the mid-60’s, transformed the midsize theater into an arena with mountains of LED-screen risers and huge video displays featuring pixilated shots of the band and crowd…The Scorpions have had a lot of practice, and they’re masters of spectacle (7/20/10).”
Stay tuned for more news from the SCORPIONS.
About the SCORPIONS:During their 40-year career, SCORPIONS have sold over 100 million albums, earning multiple gold and platinum albums, and received many awards, such as the World Music Award and several Echos–the German comparison to the Grammy. Their unmistakable hard rock sound has allowed the band to remain an influential and powerful force in rock music, and their song “Wind of Change” has become an anthem for the fall of the Iron Curtain. Their new and final album, STING IN THE TAIL, released March 23, 2010 via Universal Music Enterprises, entered the Billboard Top 200 charts at #23, marking the band’s highest chart debut in over 20 years. The album also landed at #6 on the Rock Albums chart. “Raised on Rock”–the album’s anthemic first single–reached the #1 spot at classic rock radio and adds to their remarkable list of hits including “Rock You Like A Hurricane,” “Wind of Change” and “No One Like You.” In 2010, the band were inducted into RockWalk at Guitar Center in Hollywood, CA, the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues, and R&B.
http://
THE SCORPIONS To Return To The U.S. Next Summer Having Just Wrapped A Triumphant North American Tour; Group To Hit Mexico And South America September 4 Before Returning To Europe As Part Of Their Massive World Tour
