The Scorpions Bring A Blackout To Tampa

Hurricane season started early this year in Tampa, but it wasn’t because of the weather as the Scorpions brought their Rock Believer tour to Amalie Arena on Wednesday night. The Scorpions also brought some thunder with them as Thunder Mother opened for them after Whitesnake dropped off the bill due to continuing and unfortunate medical issues.

This was supposed to be Whitesnake’s farewell tour and a huge double bill and with them not performing, it had a huge effect on early attendance in the arena. This was unfortunate as many missed Thunder Mother’s set as the show pre-partying was happening out on the plaza and in the parking areas.

Thunder Mother is a quartet of women musicians from Sweden that have been playing for over 8 years now and fortunately with this tour, they are picking up traction in the States.  

The band consists of vocalist Guernica Mancini, Drummer Emlee Johansson, guitarist Filippa Nassil and bassist Mona “Demona” Lindgren.  They have recently released their new album, Black and Gold and played three songs from it during their extended 11 song setlist. These were “Loud and Free” “Black & Gold” and “I Don’t Know You.”

They started their set with “Whatever” from their self-titled album from 2018 and finished with “Driving In Style.”   

The four of them were having a blast and were smiling and posing not only for the photographers in the photo pit but also for the fans in the stands. Hopefully this tour will lead them to getting more fans going out and streaming their music and maybe getting out on next year’s festival season which really seems to catapult bands to another level.

As the crew did the changeover between bands, a huge curtain with a Scorpions emblem hung from the rafters covering the stage. As the crew dropped the curtain, another one appeared with “Are You Ready To Rock?”  Then that curtain was pulled down and a huge stage setup appeared which was definitely one of the highlights of the set.

The Scorpions started their 17-song set with “Gas In The Tank” from this year’s Rock Believer release. Most of the crowd didn’t recognize this song but that situation was quickly fixed with the next song, “Make It Real.” The song was released on Animal Magnetism in 1980 and was released as a single along with “The Zoo.” These two hit songs helped The Scorpions achieve platinum status for the first time in their careers.

The Scorpions continued with the aforementioned “The Zoo” with the Tampa crowd showing their vocal abilities by helping lead singer Klaus Meine with the chorus.

There were many chances throughout the evening for the fans to chip in as Meine went to the front and sides of the catwalk throughout the evening and stuck his microphone into the crowd.

The fans were happy to oblige, and both the crowd and the band seemed to feed off each other’s energy throughout the extended set. Klaus also threw out 20 plus drumsticks while he was playing the cowbell which the crowd absolutely loved.

The epic instrumental, “Coast to Coast” was next as Meine took a short and well-deserved break. His vocals weren’t as good as the last time they were here 4 years ago, and he moved around a bit slower, but he joins a list of a few that are still killing it at 70 plus years of age.

Guitarists Rudolph Schenker & Mattias Jabs showcased their dual ax-attack and made their way to the front of the catwalk to the delight of the screaming fans. Schenker is not only a great player, but what a showman. He got right in the fans’ faces with his guitar and stormed back and forth across the stage throughout the night.

The Scorpions then played a couple more songs from Rock Believer In “Seventh Sun” and “Peacemaker” the rest of their set was filled with hit songs from various stages of their very successful career.

The pace slowed down a bit after “Bad Boys Running Wild” with “Send Me an Angel.” I’ve never seen a guitarist play an acoustic Dean Flying V guitar before, but Schenker did and it was gorgeous. “Angel” was followed up with an amazing rendition of “Wind Of Change” that highlighted Klause Meine’s whistling skills during the opening notes. Meine introduced it as a dedication to the people of the Ukraine with the Ukrainian flag on the video screens and the phones lit up in masse by the crowd.  

After “Tease Me Please Me,” Meine introduced the crowd to former Motorhead drummer, Micky Dee, who was behind the skins once again for the Scorpions. Dee and bassist Pawel Maciwoda performed “New Vision” which was a bass and drum solo. This was finished off by Mickey Dee slamming his kit with his pedals and drumsticks while a video slot machine spun in the background.

The screen had all sorts of images but what stood out were the images of Lemmy showing up on the five colorful spinning wheels. The stage setup also had a round cylinder with a huge flashing and striking scorpion and included an amazing and I mean amazing light show.

A Scorpions’ set just wouldn’t be complete without the fan favorite, “Blackout” as a police siren accompanied the red and blue light flashing strobe lights that lit up Amalie Arena. This song always takes me back to high school when I saw it in 1988. 35 years later and it still rocks as hard as it did back then.

After “Big City Nights,” the Scorpions took a short break then concluded the night with “No One Like You,” and of course, “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”

As the house lights came on in Amalie Arena, the fans exited with huge smiles on their faces and thankfully the pouring rain that was happening during the show, subsided. No one commented about Whitesnake not being on the bill as both Thunder Mother along with the Scorpions put on a heck of a show. Even if we don’t get the opportunity to see them live again in Tampa, The Scorpions will always be remembered that there was no one like them.  

Setlist:

Gas In The Tank

Make It Real

The Zoo

Coast To Coast

Seventh Sun

Peacemaker

Bad Boys running Wild

Delicate Dance ( Guitar Solo )

Send Me an Angel

Wind of Change

Tease Me Please Me

Rock Believer

New Vision ( Bass & Drum Solo

Blackout

Big City Nights

Encore

No One Like You

Big City Nights