The New Band Of 1984

My interest in the concert of the Scorpions faded after I saw the poster that announced the 'The New Band of 1984' and had the names of Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers on it. One phone call the other day and the tickets for the shows (3.12.1984 in Frankfurt and 4.12.1984 in Ludwigshafen) were ordered.

Frankfurt, Kongresszentrum - 3.12.1984

Three hours before the door open we arrive at the still closed Kongresszentrum, thinking sadly about the fact that Jimmy played with Led Zep in the much bigger Festhalle nearby in 1980. Waiting in front of the hall I think about what would happen. It is the first time for me to see Jimmy Page playing. Will they play Zep Songs? Maybe Stairway? Or songs from Bad Co? After buying a Tour T-Shirt we take our place on the right side of the stage to see the most of Pagey. At 8.00 the band enters the stage after a short intro. `Closer' is the first song and Jimmy shows that he is still one of the best. `City Sirens' of the 'Death wish 2' Album is the second song and the crowd is very pleased. After 'Make or Break' everybody knows that Jimmy is back again. The softer `Morning after the night before' shows that The Firm is not just Rodgers and Page, but an excellent group, with Chris Slade on drums and Tony Franklin on bass. The Love Song (Together) gives us reason to looking forward to the news CD that will be released soon. Prelude, again from the 'Death Wish 2' and `Money can't buy' follow, before Chris Slade starts the stomping 'Radioactive'.
`No Zep songs' I think after 'Live in peace', `Midnight Moonlight', `You've lost that loving feeling' and `The Chase' as Jimmy suddenly stands under a green laser pyramid a violin bow in his hand. The Crowd goes wild and the hope for more Zep stuff grows. But there will be no more. After a brilliant drum and bass solo, 'Someone to love' and `Boogie Mama' they leave the stage.
The encore is Everybody needs somebody to love'. But even without the old material it was a brilliant and remorable evening that I will never forget.

Ludwigshafen, Pfalzbau - 4.12.84

As the setlist is the same as on the 3rd I will write a little bit more about the atmosphere and the people. As early as the day before we arrive at the Pfalzbau in Ludwigshafen. Waiting in front of the building we meet a lot of people we have already met the day before. So we start talking about Led Zeppelin, The Firm and gig in Frankfurt.
The band shows the same excitement about playing and even if Jimmy looks like he had less sleep and more alcohol his playing is excellent again. He is moving all the time and is not leaving the stage during Chris Slades drum solo. He is again completely dressed in white but today he is wearings the boots (Remember 1977).