Lisbon — Scorpions

Klaus Meine started that unmistakable intro to “Wind of Change” — and within seconds thousands of phone lights turned MEO Arena into a slow-moving wave. By the time the chorus landed, the crowd had taken it over completely, singing it back at the band as one voice.

Same arena as three nights before for Megadeth, but a completely different atmosphere — packed to capacity again, proof that six decades into their career, this band still pulls a crowd that spans generations.

Mikkey Dee — Motörhead’s drummer for nearly two decades before joining Scorpions — took his solo spot on “New Vision” and turned it into one of the loudest moments of the night, as visually striking as it was thunderous. “Big City Nights” brought out the full stage production: sweeping lights, the band’s signature backdrop visuals, the whole arena pulled up a gear. The encore closed with “Rock You Like a Hurricane” — the heaviest song in the set, saved exactly where it belonged, the arena still echoing as the lights finally dropped.

A friend introduced me to Scorpions through, of all things, their acoustic material — Acoustica became something a group of us watched on repeat in the early days of getting into rock music. I finally saw them live for the first time in 2007, in Bangalore: two hours running through everything from “Loving You Sunday Morning” to “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” “Wind of Change,” and “Still Loving You.”

They were meant to play India back in April, before the tour was called off over medical circumstances within the band — reports at the time pointed to Klaus Meine. Missing that show stung, so getting to see him back on stage, still singing, still leading the band through sixty years of songs, mattered more than the show itself. It wasn’t quite 2007 again — nothing probably will be — but the spirit was very much still there.

Setlist — MEO Arena, July 8 (60th Anniversary Tour)

Intro (tape)

1. Coming Home
2. Gas in the Tank
3. Make It Real
4. The Zoo
5. Coast to Coast
6. Top of the Bill / Steamrock Fever / Speedy’s Coming / Catch Your Train
7. Bad Boys Running Wild
8. Delicate Dance
9. Send Me an Angel
10. Wind of Change
11. Loving You Sunday Morning
12. I’m Leaving You
13. New Vision (Mikkey Dee drum solo)
14. Tease Me Please Me
15. Big City Nights
16. Still Loving You

Encore:

17. Blackout
18. Rock You Like a Hurricane