REVIEW: SCORPIONS LIVE AT BYBLOS FESTIVAL (LEBANON)
![]() |
Photography by Haitham Dinawi |
Rock icons, Scorpions, made their way back to Lebanon to play two shows at the Byblos International Festival, making it 5 shows in Lebanon in 2 years, a grand total of 6! Metality sent out guest writer, Rani Nasr, and photographer, Haitham Dinawi to the historical coastal city of Byblos for an exclusive review of the show here on Metality. Rani concludes that the show was "an answer to the existential question of rock n' roll's relevance".
The Scorpions Live at the Byblos International Festival:
An Answer to the Existential Question of Rock &
Roll’s Relevance!
It’s not really easy to know what to expect when you go see a concert for 80s rock n’roll icons, Scorpions. They have been kicking mean ass since 1965, but it’s 2013 now and what used to be ass kicking is now maybe a bit cheesy by today’s standards. Not all music survives the test of time. I grew up listening to Scorpions but you know how music taste evolves, and I just wasn’t there anymore…or so I thought.
I
went to the Scorpions concert in the beautiful northern Lebanese coastal city
of Byblos on July 27th. The entertainment started even before the
show. I have been to many shows, but never in my life have I seen such a
diverse crowd. I saw a teenage couple (about 16 years-old) hug with the boy
asking, “Can I kiss you when they play Still Lovin’ You?”. I also saw an older
couple (about 50 years-old) hug and smile in a very kinky way; it was obvious
that they used to make love to Scorpions and they’re here to relive those
mighty orgasms. And, of course, the rest of the judgemental bastards standing
in the corner with their arms crossed…that’s where I felt at home.
Without
any warning, drummer James Kottack
climbs up his drumset and starts pounding it until Mattias Jabs and Rudolph
Schenker join him with the opening riff of ‘Sting in The Tail’ followed by the unmistakable voice Klaus Meine ...and the Scorpions were
on! Leather pants, leather vests, Explorers and Flying Vs, badass duckfaces
with full throttle guitar riffs! After you get over the semantics, the Scorpions
will definitely take you back to a time where Rock and Roll was still relevant!
![]() |
Photography by Haitham Dinawi |
It
wouldn’t be a real rock concert without the Kottack’s insane drum solos!
Accompanied by a dark, humourous, and creepy video, Kottack goes wild on his
drumset reminding us of the likes of Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy. The band
returns to play a triumphant version of Blackout
and a full venue singalong of Big City
Nights where Meine barely had to put the microphone to his mouth. The crowd
did the singing for him.
The
band said their good nights and left the stage. This was my most entertaining
point in the night. If you’ve ever been to a rock concert or any other kind of
concert, you have probably heard of the concept of an ‘encore’. The band did
not play their 3 biggest songs yet, so it was kinda obvious there was one. That
wasn’t as obvious for everyone there though, there was a huge wave of rants,
angry screams, and curses of people pissed because they hadn’t played Wind of Change or Still Loving You. “THIS IS BULLSHIT”, “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT, I PAID
60 DOLLARS!!” Seconds later the crowd went into the hipnotic chanting of ‘We
Want More’ bringing the Scorpions back to the stage, who did not disappoint
with their powerful ballad performance and ending the concert with Rock You Like A Hurricane with everyone
screaming their lungs out to the chorus: “HERE I AM .. ROCK YOU LIKE A
HURRICANE!”...and
they did indeed.
![]() |
Photography by Haitham Dinawi |
The Scorpions were everything you wanted them to be. Meine did not miss a single note; on the contrary, he took the place apart with his impeccable voice. Jabs’ and Schenker’s guitar work was powerful, present and right there in your face. As for Kottack, the craziest of the bunch, he lived up to his full back tattoo motto: ‘Rock & Roll Forever’. A bit underrated and overlooked due to the performances around him, but bassist Pawel Maciwoda is the drive and locomotive of the band. He is like a pillar holding the Scorpions steel structure together.
Follow Rani Nasr on Twitter @ranithefirstMetality would like to thank Rani Nasr and Haitham Dinawi for their excellent contributions, as well as the organizers at Byblos International Festival. We'd also like to give a special mention to Fida Chaaban, Editor-in-Chief of Lebanon's RagMag.
haha amazing review
ReplyDelete