They're coming...

...To Rock you like a Hurricane

Some people in Qatar are asking, "What's the big deal? It's just a concert."

They're obviously some of the very few people in this world, who remain in blissful ignorance of who the Scorpions are, and what their music means to millions of hysterical fans across the globe.

They should be the ones talking to Marisa Kollenberg, the public relations officer at the German Embassy, about it. Leave aside her designation at the consulate - it doesn't matter. That she's German, is enough qualification to tell them about the Scorpions, unarguably the most successful hard rock band ever to come out of Germany, or continental Europe, for that matter.

"What do I tell you about the Scorpions?" the 30-year-old Kollenberg asks. "We grew up listening to their music. They were our lifeline when we were teenagers. Years have gone by, and they still are."

And why just Germans?

Ask Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Indians, Australians... whoever - irrespective of nationality, anyone, who has ever had the slightest inclination towards English rock, will say, without hesitation that the Scorpions are, well, the Scorpions – the band that's been around for over 35 years; the band that anticipated the lifting of the Iron Curtain, which marked the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War, and sang Winds of Change – a song that went on to become the unofficial anthem of the German reunification with the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989; the band that was the first not only to play in Russia, but also to mount a full (21-city) tour throughout that country; the band that has to its credit some of the greatest hits in the history of rock - Big City Nights, Rock You Like A Hurricane, No One Like You, Bad Boys Running Wild, to name just a few.

Any more of an introduction would be an insult to these legendary stars - Klaus Meine (Vocals), Mathias Jabs (Lead Guitar), Rudolf Schenker (Rhythm Guitar), Pawel Maciwoda (Bass Guitar) and James Kottack (Drums) - who will be performing live at an open-air, standing concert to be held in the vast barren area behind the Intercontinental Hotel on November 10, as part of the group's five-city Middle Eastern tour titled 'Peace For All'.

"The buzz has already started all over Qatar. It seems it's going to be a big one (show)," said Suzanne Grant, the event director.

The organizers are expecting about 12,000 people to flock to the venue to avail an opportunity of a lifetime - of hearing the Scorpions perform the acoustic (unplugged) versions of 30 of their most successful numbers - in a show which is expected to go on for approximately four hours, if it starts on schedule at 9 pm.

"Obviously, majority of the crowd will be expatriates, but we are expecting a few thousand locals too," said Karnig W Sarkissian of Media Tech, the event organizers.

About 1000 tickets, which are priced at QR100, QR250, QR500 and QR800, have already been sold, said Sarkissian. "Another 6000 have been booked by the English speaking community. And we are expecting some 5000 more to be bought by the Middle Eastern people."

Along the blue Arabian Sea, the venue, which will be sand-pressed, can accomodate about 20,000 people, Sarkissian said. "So if there are even 15,000 people there, it will be very comfortable for everybody. There'll be enough space."

For the Scorpions, who are accustomed to hundreds of thousands of fans who sleep on sidewalks outside the venue for days in order to obtain tickets, howver, it will be pretty much a miniature show.

But you can expect nothing less than a mind-boggling gig when the German band steps on stage, no matter how big or small the audience. "There'll never be any substitute for live concerts with real music and real feelings," Klaus Meine, the 58-year-old vocalist, said during the documentation of their smash hit album Unbreakable (2004).

The German embassy's Kollenberg said that her parents were flying down from Germany specially for the concert.

Even though she hasn't received any confirmations yet, Kollenberg is almost certain that "a few relatives" of about 300 Germans who reside in Qatar might turn up for the show.
"It's the Scorpions after all," she gleefully smiled.

The last time the Scorpions were anywhere near Qatar was October, 2004, when they performed at the Dubai Country Club.

"There is a huge rock fan base in the Middle East. It's underestimated," said the Lebanese Sarkissian. "Even if they don't understand English, they're great fans of rock… of the Scorpions. I have been one ever since I can remember. Wait and watch how many locals you see at the venue."

It certainly will be interesting to see how many locals turn up for the event and how they react to the Scorpions' music, the acoustic version of which they will be performing live only for the second time – the first being in Lisbon in 2001 - ever since the band came together in 1971.

The organisers are trying to lure even the musically inert people to the show with a launch of a new car at the concert. "There will be a lucky draw and someone will win that car," Sarkissian said, but did not wish to disclose the brand or name of the car.

One of the orgainsers referred to the strategy as "hitting two birds with one stone."

Either way, regardless of whether they come with the car as the main attraction,or whether they win the jackpot prize or not, unless they're severely musically challenged, they won't leave disappointed. And hopefully, it will open up this country to an altogether new genre of music.

In June 2000 at the Hanover (Germany) Expo, referred to as the "night of nights", the "battle of the giants", a "musical exchange of fire" between rock band and classical orchestra of a standard never heard before, the Scorpions achieved a remarkable bridging operation between orchestral and rock music and accessed an audience that would otherwise never venture into a rock arena.

According to reviews, even inveterate classical fans among the Expo premiere audience were literally "ripped out of their seats."

Though there won't be any seats to rip you out of at the Doha concert venue, expect the same intensity. For, the years might have gone by, but they're still the Scorpions – the band that has presented to the world three great guitarists, an anthem of freedom, and a whole mess of fashion faux pas, with style.

What's the big deal? It really is just a one-word answer – Scorpions