Have not lost the sting: even after more than 50 years, it is difficult to compete with the strengths of the Scorpions | Israel today

Make no mistake: the following are not written from the point of view of a fan, maybe even the opposite.

Five men, clad in black leather jackets and ripped jeans and wearing sunglasses, some in their eighties, try to recreate the peaks that elevated them to the status of heavy rock legends - seemingly an almost poignant status that only truly talented musicians can emerge with respect.

The Scorpions, as revealed by spectators at Menora Mivtachim Hall last night (Sat), belong to this rare group;

Even after more than 50 years on stage, they are able to turn anyone into "Rock Believer", as the name of their album was released last February.

The lights go out, and behind a black curtain that separates the audience from the band erupts in the galloping riff of "Gas in the Tank," the song that opens the new album.

A bit banal, a bit grind-brain, even the lyrics will not win the band the Nobel Prize for Literature, but what a power.

And suddenly the curtain falls, and the band is revealed, and with it a video-art screen that worked no less hard than the musicians.

Singer Klaus Maina sounds somewhat hesitant, but in any case shows impressive vigor - please remember, the man is 74 years old!

"Hello Tel Aviv, it's good to be back," he says as promised, adding: "We have a lot of new songs to play for you, but first we will sail along the Atlantic Ocean, to New York."

The band begins to play the slow and calculated "The Zoo", and Maine throws percussion sticks at the audience, who pounce on the loot without getting confused.

The momentum is maintained throughout the show: temporary hits alongside new songs (rightly ask, "Who in the world is interested in new songs at a Scorpions show?", But the hypnotic "The Seventh Sun" will change your mind);

Fluttering and frothy guitars by Rudolf Shenkar and Matthias Yabs;

A mighty drum solo by new drummer Mickey Dee;

Lots of honey in ballads, lots of sting brokers.

It's kitschy, it's not supposed to work for the sophisticated and cynical listener - but all that is left is to succumb to "Magic of the moment", as the chorus article of "Wind of Change".

And let’s dedicate a separate place to this song, which is the main reason many purchased a show ticket in the first place.

From the famous whistles at the opening it was clear that we were expecting real pleasure, when the required lighters in the air were replaced by the headlights of thousands of smartphones in the hall.

But the climactic moment of the song, and perhaps of the entire performance, was when Ukrainian flags began to sprout spontaneously from the crowd.

One of them made his way to the front lines and was thrown at Maine, who asked the audience to sing for the battle-torn country, and wrapped himself in the Ukrainian flag like a Superman robe.

To teach you that sometimes songs gain eternal life not only because of their quality, but simply because history is stuck in place: "Wind of Change" was written in 1989 against the backdrop of the band's performance in Moscow, and is considered a symbol of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR; The winds of change are still blowing, dictatorships are not dead, they are just being replaced by more sophisticated and cruel versions of themselves.

The evening was signed with a really thrilling version of "Still Loving You", in which Maine squeezed every nook and cranny to reach the dizzying heights of yesteryear, and a final punch to the face in the form of a mower for "Rock You Like A Hurricane", in which Maine wrapped in another Israeli flag.

The smiles on the faces of the spectators as they left the hall said it all: in the case of the Scorpions, it is not certain that winds of change are needed.

There are classics that are better left as they are.

Were we wrong?

Fixed!

If you found an error in the article, we would love for you to share it with us