I apologize for the delay getting this post on here. My life has been non-stop work leading up to and after these shows. I was able to make it to 3 shows this year: Konocti, Shoreline, and Tucson.
Let’s start with Konocti…
The weather at Konocti was very hot, which is typical for this time of year. We met up with the usual cast of characters before the show…Dion, Rudi, Wolf, Toshiko & Rolf, Jay & Julie, Dion’s bro, etc.
We did the Konocti BBQ thing, mainly because we feel obligated to get something for our $30 (Konocti forces you to purchase the BBQ in order to get the good seats). The food isn’t the best, plus you’re so excited to see the show that you don’t really enjoy it too much. Oh well, what can you do? It is fun hanging out with friends there though.
Scorpions started playing at around 6:45pm, which is pretty early for this time of year. The sun was pretty much still beating down and it made for an unusual setting to see the Scorpions. It was all good though, and the Scorpions rocked the house like clockwork. I’m pretty sure the set list has already been covered, but my highlight of the evening was when Rudolf sang “Hey You.” What an excellent surprise…I voted for that song! Oh, they also played “No Pain, No Gain” ..another one I voted for. It was an awesome night to say the least. Some of my pictures turned out pretty good. You can see them here:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album ... ertainment
Oh, almost forgot…Sammy rocked too! Of course I grew up on Montrose, Sammy (Red Rocker), and Van Halen, so it was a double bonus for me to see Sammy with Scorpions. Sammy has got a killer sound system that hits you in the gut like a punch from Mike Tyson…well, Mike Tyson a long time ago.
He played some Van Halen songs and sounded great. Ok, I know this is about Scorpions, so enough of Sammy for now. The next night we went to the Shoreline Amphitheater show. Once again it was warm outside, but not nearly as hot as at Konocti…thank god! We met up with some of the same friends as the night before, but also saw quite a few others…George, Paula and clan, Nunny, Tim and Marissa, etc…I apologize if I’m leaving anyone out. I forget what time Scorpions started playing, but it was early (and light out) once again. I don’t think it was as early as the Konocti show though. Once again they rocked hard!!! Rudolf didn’t sing “Hey You” at this show, but it was still an excellent set. Sammy sounded even louder and better at this show. I think it was an excellent match having these two bands playing together. I would definitely like to see that line up again in the future. The Shoreline show was awesome!!! You can see my pictures from the Shoreline show here:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album ... ertainment
Unfortunately I couldn’t make the Costa Mesa show this time around. I was bummed not being able to meet up with the whole SoCal crew this year…Kim, Joe, Kristy, Kathleen, Kami, Christy, etc., etc…once again I apologize if I left anyone out. We will meet again though, hopefully very soon when the Scorpions return. Hopefully they will play the entire US next time. It is a little uncomfortable for me to write this post since I know the East Coast fans have been missing out, and I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything…it’s not like that. It sucks that they haven’t played the East Coast in so long! This year our good friend Jobe (from PA) couldn’t make it out to the West Coast shows, and I know he would have loved to rock with the Scorpions as much as any of us. Last year we said we’d go see the Scorpions in his neck of the woods this year, but that was not to be. Hopefully next time. We missed you Jobe!!!!
Ok, on to Tucson. I picked up a couple front row tickets from ebay for this show. I had a free Southwest Airline coupon stored up from my work travels, so I figured it would be an adventure to go somewhere new to see the Scorpions. It was on a Tuesday night though, which was a little different. Of course it was like a million degrees hot there, and humid too…but again, it’s an adventure right? I met up with Chris and his wife before the show, and met a long time Scorpions fan from Mexico City named Enrique. I saw Toshiko and Rolf again, along with Tim and Marissa. I also met a nice couple…Jodi and Mark…Jodi has the word Scorpions in the correct font on her arm…yeah! A thunderstorm rolled in right before the show started, but thankfully the venue had a roof, so the rain didn’t cause too much havoc. The opening band was Dead Rose Beauty from L.A. They were very young, but did a good job opening up for such veterans as the Scorpions. The crowd was definitely pumped for the show, and when Scorpions came out the front row became a G.A. area…similar to Salinas last year. I think they played the same set as Shoreline, but what was very cool for me at this show was to see the big LED screen they have behind the stage. They didn’t even put the screen up at Konocti or Shoreline because it was still light out when they played. It was awesome! I’d never seen anything like that before. After the show I met Mark for a quick minute, and also saw Elizabeth, and then had a bite to eat with Chris/Nancy & Toshiko/Rolf…a perfect way to end my mini Scorpions tour. You can check out my Tucson pictures here:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album ... ertainment
It was an excellent 3 show run for me. Thank you Scorpions for another excellent set of shows!!!! You guys are truly the workhorses of the industry. Keep up the good work!!!
As always, a HUGE part of the fun is meeting up with other Scorpions fans that share the same love and appreciation for the band, and this year did not disappoint. Until we meet again…. Keep rockin’ everyone!!!
Chip
Also, here’s something you guys might like…
Watch on youtube.comFor anyone interested, here are some Sammy pics:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album ... ertainment
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album ... ertainment
