Salt Lake City screamed in unity when the Scorpions brought the energetic sting of heavy metal and an array of "greatest hits" Tuesday night to the Delta Center.
The crowd of 15,000 jumped to its feet when vocalist Klaus Meine showcased his tenor voice during the opening song "Coming Home." As leather-clad guitarists Rudolf Schenker and Mattias Jabs, new bassist Ralph Rieckermann and drummer Herman Rarebell, following Meine's lead, slid into "Big City Nights" off the album "Love at First Sting," fans shook their fists with ritualistic vigor.A maze of video cameras and eight manned spotlights hovered above the stage as four video screens shot the action into the audience's face. Green and orange lasers threw spiral shadows into the crowd and highlighted the band's own blend of powerful metal and sentimental ballads.
The elfin Meine leaped across the stage and pounded a tambourine while Schenker and Jabs split piercing solos during "Don't Believe Her," "No Pain, No Gain" and "Bad Boys Running Wild." The band was charismatic, and the audience loved it.
Rieckermann's ominous stage presence, complete with a flowing black overcloak, was counterbalanced by Rarebell's massive hyperactivity as they provided the thunderous foundation for "Easy Woman, Easy Man" and "Hit Between The Eyes" from "Crazy World." Each note fed the energy, and the crowd screamed for more.
Midway through the set, roadies carried a double-bass fiddle and a two-piece drum set on stage for the show's four-song acoustic portion. The band slowed down the pace and cooled off to clever arrangements of the classic hits "When the Smoke Is Going Down," "I'll Be Back to Love You Again," "Under the Same Sun" and "Holiday." Meine and the boys passionately performed each piece with precision and urged the audience to sing along.
Then, out of the darkness, the rolling introduction to the "Face the Heat" single "Alien Nation," animated by green laser strobes, rumbled through the crowd. During this piece, Jabs pelted out a scorching lead and slid into the chunky shuffle of "The Zoo," the band's trademark single from its 1980 album "Animal Magnetism." Despite a slight glitch in the "talk-box" guitar solo, the song was otherwise flawless.
Jabs then cranked out another solo of distorted strains and lightning-speed melodies. The rapid-fire beat of "Blackout" finished the set and the crowd went ballistic.
After listening to five minutes of ovations, Schenker took the stage once more and strummed the lucid "Still Loving You."
Without missing a beat, Meine introduced "Wind of Change," the song that chronicled the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and the unity of East and West Germany. A solemn hush fell over the crowd as historical riot scenes and carnage covered the video screens.
As the opening chords of "No One Like You" broke the serenity, the audience jumped to its feet and sang along. Fans head-banged to the song's ear-piercing solos and thundering bass lines. A lengthy version of "Rock You Like a Hurricane" finished the show.
Opening band Kings X displayed its tight, psychedelic grunge in a 45-minute set. Supporting its fifth album "Dogman," the trio groundout the title cut, "Cigarettes," and their breakthrough single, "Over My Head." Although the audience seemed unmoved by the band at the beginning, Kings X played hard and eventually won the crowd over. The band finished the set to a standing ovation.