The Crazy World tour made its way to the Seattle area Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, WA. On this tour, two legendary bands from the rock and metal genres; German rockers the Scorpions and American metal lords Megadeth.
Fans started arriving in the early afternoon at the Tacoma Dome to secure their places in line to be able to grab band merchandise and get to their seats before the show kicked off. With the line up only being these two bands and no openers, no one wanted to be late for this show.
Megadeth was up first for the night. The last time they were in the Seattle area was last September on their headlining Dystopia tour at the WAMU Theater. That line up also brought Amon Amarth, Suicidal Tendencies, Metal Church and the Butcher Babies along with them for one hell of a show. Before the band even hit the stage fans were already starting to get up on their feet, but by the time they began walking out on the stage one by one, all fans were on up their feet cheering. Megadeth hit the stage under dark lighting while the giant LED backdrop was lit up with graphics and images as they kicked off their set with “Hangar 18” and played fan favorites “Symphony of Destruction”, “Peace Sells” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” before wrapping up their set for the night. Needless to say, they played a killer set and when you have a band of Megadeth‘s caliber opening a show, they will leave the crowd wanting more and ready for the rest of the night.
It’s been a few years since the Scorpions were last in the Seattle area, October of 2015 to be exact. Last time through they performed a sold out show at the much smaller Showare Center (max capacity 6,500) in Kent, WA with openers, Queensryche. It was an amazing show, but not as big and dynamic as what was about to unfold on the much larger stage that extended out into the seating at the Tacoma Dome (max capacity 23,000, at this show the top upper level of the Dome seating was not made available).
The Scorpions took the stage at 9:30pm after a giant black curtain covering the stage that was lit up with the tour logo dropped. The stage remained dark for the first few minutes as the LED backdrop once again lit up with graphics and fog rolled in across the stage to allow the grandest of entries for the headliners. The set started off with “Going Out With a Bang” which had the fans up and cheering. During the third song of the evening “The Zoo”, singer Klaus Meine started tossing drum sticks to the fans in the crowd below the stage while Rudolf Schenker, Matthias Jabs and Paweł Mąciwoda took turns walking down the extended stage and to both sides of the main stage playing and interacting with fans. At the end of the song, Mikkey Dee stood up behind his elevated drum kit to look out at fans while holding his fist out making faces. The night continued on with hit after hit, then the whistling started signaling the start of one of the biggest audience favorite songs “Winds of Change”. The venue lit up numerous times so that you could see the audience and fans were invited to sing along. Lighters and cellphones with flashlights lit were held high in the air as everyone become one for a brief moment and forgetting the troubles of the world around them. The evening also had a tribute to Motörhead which was appropriate considering the new drummer of the Scorpions is none other than former Motörhead drummer, Mikkey Dee.
The fans were thrust back into their earliest rocker days Saturday night as the show ended with 3 of the Scorpions most iconic hits from their vast catalog “No One Like You”, “Still Loving You” and “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. For being a band that’s been around for a long time, they are still going strong and rocking out the fans.
This tour still has a few dates left, so if you can get out to one of these shows I would highly suggest going. You will have a great time. Dates are listed below.
10/03 – Reno, Nev. (Grand Sierra Resort)
10/04 – Oakland, Calif. (Oracle Arena)
10/07 – Los Angeles, Calif. (The Forum)
10/08 – Phoenix, Ariz. (Talking Stick Arena)
10/11 – San Antonio, Texas (Freeman Coliseum)
10/12 – Dallas, Texas (Pavilion at The Music Factory)
10/14 – Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (BB&T Center)
10/15 – Tampa, Fla. (Amalie Arena)
Megadeth Setlist:
Hangar 18
The Threat Is Real
Take No Prisoners
Mechanix
Sweating Bullets
Trust
Tornado of Souls
Dystopia
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
Scorpions Setlist:
Going Out With a Bang
Make It Real
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Top of the Bill / Steamrock Fever / Speedy’s Coming / Catch Your Train
We Built This House
Delicate Dance
Always Somewhere / Eye of the Storm / Send Me an Angel
Wind of Change
Rock ‘n’ Roll Band
Overkill (Motörhead cover)
Drum Solo
Blackout
Big City Nights
Encore:
No One Like You
Still Loving You
Rock You Like a Hurricane
Review and Photos by Diane Webb Photography
