 | Written by Alex Stojanovic @ Budweiser Stage Toronto, ON, Canada September 22, 2017 Presented by Live Nation We've arrived into the fall season, but it still feels like it's summer with the warm weather. With that said, many T.O. rockers and metalheads gathered at the Budweiser Stage for the final show of the venue's 2017 concert season, which was one of the best double-bills to happen in a long time, featuring two of the greatest names in metal. Those being Scorpions and Megadeth on the Crazy World tour. It was without a doubt one of the best shows of the year. It was also my first time seeing Scorpions and fourth time seeing Megadeth. The amphitheatre was filled to capacity with multiple generations of fans, which is always a great thing to see. Kicking off the night was Megadeth. It's been a long four years since I last saw Megadeth and the last time happened to be at the same venue (back when it was still called Molson Amphitheatre). This also marks the first time I saw the current incarnation of the band with Kiko Loureiro and Dirk Verbeuren alongside David Ellefson and Dave Mustaine and they certainly did not fail to impress. |
Being the die-hard Megadeth fan I am, seeing them is always a special occasion. Even though I've been pretty critical of Megadeth not making many changes to the setlist over the last few years, they did put some nice surprises into the set this time around. They kicked things off with "Hangar 18", then followed with back-to-back surprises, which were "Mechanix" and "Take No Prisoners". It's the first time ever that I heard the former live and I haven't heard them play the latter since the very first time I saw them back in 2010. Anytime you see Megadeth live, Mustaine doesn't do much talking. He will address the crowd a couple of times, but it's all about the music. The only song from Dystopia they touched on was the title track, and all the other songs were the hits like "Tornado Of Souls", "Sweating Bullets" and "A Tout Le Monde". As expected, they closed their set with "Symphony Of Destruction", "Peace Sells" and "Holy Wars" in that order, just like they do every show. The sound fluctuated a bit in terms of quality. Mustaine's guitar sounded great individually, but wasn't exactly at 100% when the entire band joined in, but it wasn't terrible. Regardless, it was a fantastic way to start off the night.
Now it came time for the Scorpions to hit the stage. With a huge stage production that contained a great amount of lighting, one huge video screen behind the band, video screens across the long riser and a setlist full of hits and then some, fans got their money's worth. Starting things off new school, the band began the set with "Going Out With A Bang" then went back in time to "Make It Real", "The Zoo" and "Coast To Coast". What else can be said about Klaus Meine? The man is a god. He's going to be 70 next year and he still sounds as great as he ever has. During the first song, the bottom end was missing from the bass and the guitars, but it improved as we reached the second song. The crowd was deafening when it came to applause. The band managed to combine a few songs into two separate medleys. The first medley was a mixture of songs from the 70s, which were "Top Of The Bill", "Steamrock Forever", "Speedy's Coming" and "Catch Your Train". The other medley contained songs from different eras like "Always Somewhere", "Eye Of The Storm" and "Send Me An Angel". When the band played "Delicate Dance", Rudolf Schenker stepped aside and let Mathias Jab's guitar tech Ingo Powitzer step in for the song. It's always great when the band gives a crew member a chance to shine. Other hits we were treated to included "Wind Of Change", "Blackout" and "Big City Nights". The crowd sing-along to "Wind Of Change" was a cause for tears to start rolling down people's faces.
The band also managed to include a couple more of the newer songs from Return To Forever like "We Built This House" and "Rock 'n Roll Band". Ever since Mikkey Dee joined Scorpions, the band have always paid tribute to Lemmy with a cover of "Overkill". Hearing Klaus sing a Motorhead song may seem odd to some people, but with his unique voice, it works. Mikkey also got a chance to let loose on the drums with a solo. To make things more interesting, his riser elevated to a higher level. In the encore, we received performances of "No One Like You", "Still Loving You" and serving as the grand finale was "Rock You Like A Hurricane", which shouldn't be all that surprising, but what a way to close out a monumental night. The amphitheatre thundered as the crowd sang their hearts out to all the hits. 50 years in and Scorpions are showing no signs of putting their feet on the brakes. If you've never seen the Scorpions, go and see them while you can because it's not lasting forever.
Now it came time for the Scorpions to hit the stage. With a huge stage production that contained a great amount of lighting, one huge video screen behind the band, video screens across the long riser and a setlist full of hits and then some, fans got their money's worth. Starting things off new school, the band began the set with "Going Out With A Bang" then went back in time to "Make It Real", "The Zoo" and "Coast To Coast". What else can be said about Klaus Meine? The man is a god. He's going to be 70 next year and he still sounds as great as he ever has. During the first song, the bottom end was missing from the bass and the guitars, but it improved as we reached the second song. The crowd was deafening when it came to applause. The band managed to combine a few songs into two separate medleys. The first medley was a mixture of songs from the 70s, which were "Top Of The Bill", "Steamrock Forever", "Speedy's Coming" and "Catch Your Train". The other medley contained songs from different eras like "Always Somewhere", "Eye Of The Storm" and "Send Me An Angel". When the band played "Delicate Dance", Rudolf Schenker stepped aside and let Mathias Jab's guitar tech Ingo Powitzer step in for the song. It's always great when the band gives a crew member a chance to shine. Other hits we were treated to included "Wind Of Change", "Blackout" and "Big City Nights". The crowd sing-along to "Wind Of Change" was a cause for tears to start rolling down people's faces.
The band also managed to include a couple more of the newer songs from Return To Forever like "We Built This House" and "Rock 'n Roll Band". Ever since Mikkey Dee joined Scorpions, the band have always paid tribute to Lemmy with a cover of "Overkill". Hearing Klaus sing a Motorhead song may seem odd to some people, but with his unique voice, it works. Mikkey also got a chance to let loose on the drums with a solo. To make things more interesting, his riser elevated to a higher level. In the encore, we received performances of "No One Like You", "Still Loving You" and serving as the grand finale was "Rock You Like A Hurricane", which shouldn't be all that surprising, but what a way to close out a monumental night. The amphitheatre thundered as the crowd sang their hearts out to all the hits. 50 years in and Scorpions are showing no signs of putting their feet on the brakes. If you've never seen the Scorpions, go and see them while you can because it's not lasting forever.
| MEGADETH Dave Mustaine - Vocals & guitars David Ellefson - Bass & backing vocals Kiko Loureiro - Guitars & backing vocals Dirk Verbeuren - Drums Label: Tradecraft Records / Universal Music Website: www.megadeth.com www.facebook.com/Megadeth | SCORPIONS Klaus Meine - Vocals Rudolf Schenker - Rhythm guitars & backing vocals Mathias Jabs - Lead guitars & backing vocals Pawel Maciwoda - Bass & backing vocals Mikkey Dee - Drums Label: Universal Music Website: www.the-scorpions.com |
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