Scorpions leaves Shillong dazzled, wanting more (Lead)

Shillong, Dec 12 (IANS) Thousands of fans danced and sang themselves to frenzy as the legendary heavy metal band Scorpions gave a high voltage performance Wednesday evening before a packed stadium in Shillong, India's 'rock capital'.

An estimated 30,000 people thronged the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in state's capital as the German heavy metal group belted out their all-time hits and classics for close to two hours in the temperature that stayed in a single digit.

'It was a lifetime experience and the performance was simply electric,' said John Lyngdoh, a college student.

The Scorpions Wednesday began the India leg of its Humanity World Tour with 'love and not war' being their underlying theme.

From numbers like 'Still Loving You', 'Winds of Change', 'Always Somewhere', 'Send Me An Angel' and classics like 'Zoom' and 'Big City Nights', the band enthralled the crowd that went delirious, sending the city temperature a few notches up.

'We gave more than 100 percent and were extremely delighted with the response,' Klause Meine, the band's vocalist, said.

The band also introduced numbers from their latest album 'Humanity Hour'.

The more than 110-decibel performance almost reverberated the entire city with all roads blocked since afternoon as people tried to squeeze into the stadium.

The organisers made 25 freight trips, bringing in 50 tonnes of equipment to this cloud-capped, hill top city for the mega musical show.

'It was a grand show,' said Ming Larsing, managing director of Centre Point Entertainment Network, the main organizer.

The band next performs in Mumbai Dec 14 and in Bangalore Dec 16.