November 13, 2004
I Feel Bad for the Scorpions
I went to see the German heavy metal heavyweights last night. A band that is touring a fantastic, solid, no apologies needed album (Unbreakable). It felt good to be on a date with my wife. It's not often that we combine my work with HM and our dating life. I even had a photo pass for her, so she could join me in the photo pit. We went downtown, ate at one of our favorite Tex-Mex eateries, Cafe Serrano's, and then headed to the Frank Erwin Center, which was quartered off for the production of the show. I'd seen the Scorpions fill this arena to capacity back in the early 80s, and I'd seen other bands have their stage midway out on the floor, essentially "halving" the arena's capacity, but this was the second or third time I'd seen the stage turned "sideways" to face the Red River entrance, in effect "quartering" the capacity for a smaller crowd to still feel the "arena experience."
We came in on time, got a little bit of a run-around with confusing instructions on obtaining half of our passes at will call and the other half ("media" or photo passes) in the back entrance of the arena, where the road crew and union workers load in and out. We had to stand in the cold for about ten minutes, which is always a drag, but I was going to get to see two of my favorite old bands tonight -- UFO and the Scorpions -- so a little inconvenience was no big deal. Instead of going in to see opener Keith Emerson (renowned keyboardist, formerly the "E" in ELP), we took the invitations to a special VIP-style reception room that I knew an old friend (Charles Gates) would be at. I decided not to eat any of the food. I hate to be seen as the moocher that I am. Good thing I was full! No disrespect to Mr. Emerson, but it was nice to just relax before we got busy.
Five minutes before UFO we met the media escort by the barricade in front of the stage. We squeezed in and, for three songs, had the best seats in the house for UFO. Now UFO is one of the best underrated bands in rock and roll history. They've got the power and songs to be thought of in the same breath with Led Zeppelin, but only people privvy to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal give them any sort of credibility. Imagine Rod Stewart or Paul Rodgers fronting and contributing to the songwriting of Zep and you might get a feel for the band's sound. I always knew if I was ever able to see this great band that I'd be disappointed, though. You see, they released a double-live album in the 1979 called Strangers In The Night, and it is one of the best live albums ever (of course, this is all my opinion, but the UK's Classic Rock magazine listed it as one of the top 3 of the "100 best live albums in rock" not too long ago). The deal is that this live album, which features the breathtakingly beautiful melodic guitar leads of one Michael Schenker, is so darn near perfect that only a note-for-note replication of that performance will do for these ears. As good a guitarist as the great Vinnie Moore is, he sounded like a poor replacement to these ears last night. He hit some of the notes, but the bends and passionate "feel" that Schenker brought those songs was just missing. They played plenty of hits, but it just wasn't the same. At one point singer Phil Mogg polled the audience, "Do you want to hear 'Lights Out' or 'Doctor Doctor?'" Of course, the obvious answer would be to play both. "Lights Out" won the poorly applaused poll. They ended up playing at least three songs afterwards, so why not "Doctor Doctor" as well? I'm tired of that hit song, though, and would've prefered "I'm A Loser" to one of their closers -- "Shoot, Shoot." Nevertheless, I finally got to see UFO after all these years.
After their set, we made our way into one of the mysterious inner rooms of the arena for a "meet and greet" with the Scorpions. Here I would meet with the charming and friendly road manager, Bill Barclay, to discuss when I'd interview guitarist Matthias Jabs. There was also an issue to discuss about "avoiding Christianity in the interview topics." (This was cleared up easily once it was understood that the interview would cover a broad range of topics.) Once we were in the room (about 6 to 8 of us) approached the table that the members of the band were sitting at. As I approached the table with a big grin on my face, meeting the smiles of vocalist Klaus Meine and guitarist Rudy Schenker, I was tapped on the should by one Bill Barclay. "Can we get in a line?" I turned around and complied. A moment later Bill discovered, "Is that it?" meaning that this was the total count for the meet and great, and then he said, "Make yourselves at home," and I approached the table. This was my first sign that the Scorpions were not selling copies of Unbreakable nor tickets to their shows. When I approached the table, I actually slammed my fist down for emphasis in telling Rudolph that this album was fantastic, that they'd really delivered the goods. "Tell that to the rest of the band," he grinned.
Again, I could sense that this band was bummed out. They had certainly delivered THE BEST melodic hard rock / metal album of the last 15 years (nothing comes close, unless you count Dream Theater's Images and Words, which is more prog metal than melodic hard rock, although there are elements...). It wasn't posing, it wasn't pretending, it wasn't adapting to the sounds of the times. It was just a worldclass band doing what they do best. It's quite impressive. I wanted to encourage them of that. It seems they knew it was good. Somehow, an artist just knows when they've created something "magic" or "special." Unbreakable is that, but it must not be selling. I moved my way down the table to comply with Rudy's wish and encourage the band that the new album was great. The bass player offered me an autograph and I responded before I could think about how it might be received, "No thanks. I hate autographs." That was kinda funny.
I felt bad for the Scorpions -- not because their show suffered. Not a bit. They ruled the night with a tight show that was all power, all songs, all Scorpions. If I was to feel bad for anybody, it should've been UFO who, as much as I love them and think they're great, objectively didn't sound so well. I tell ya, if I could single-handedly offer a band a shot at the nation's attention, I'd do it for these guys right now (and it has nothing to do with helping a fellow Christian band out, either, of course), I'd do it. If I could pick up the phone and book them for a performance for an NFL playoff game this year, I'd do it. But perhaps this album will be forgetten and only heard by a bunch of old rockers that don't have much of a voice in modern culture anymore. That would stink.
Here's one of the photos my wife took with our digital camera. Tonight I'm taking her and my two daughters (who are huge fans) to see Switchfoot in Austin.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at November 13, 2004 12:44 PM