It speaks volumes about Singapore’s finesse in handling the COVID-19 outbreak, when an international rock band postpones its upcoming Japan tour stop, but stops by our shores to perform at a packed concert hall. German rock legends Scorpions and English rockers Whitesnake brought down the house last night (March 5) at The Star Theatre for the double-bill Singapore Rockfest II, which had a huge turnout of rock fans crammed into the mid-size venue.

Earlier on the day of their Singapore concert, Whitesnake announced on their social media that the Japan leg of their The Flesh & Blood World Tour, which was supposed to take place from March 9, had been postponed “due to the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus”. Meanwhile, Singapore Rockfest II’s organiser LAMC Productions informed the press that the fest’s upcoming concerts for heavy metal groups Slipknot and Trivium have been pushed back till further notice due to what Slipknot calls “global health concerns”.

Some of the headbangers at The Star Theatre were possibly the same folks who rushed to supermarkets to stockpile instant noodles just a few weeks ago, but there didn't seem to be any trace of COVID-19 paranoia at the concert. Everyone flashed horn hand signs as they yelled, hollered and sang along (ripe grounds for catching germs, we say). But despite being squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder in the theatre, there were almost no masks in our sight. Well, save for a couple who had N95 masks firmly attached to their faces, which they lifted from time to time to sip from their cups of beer.

Whitesnake — which comprises former Deep Purple lead singer David Coverdale (pictured), drummer Tommy Aldridge, guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devin and keyboardist Michele Luppi — kicked off the night with a high-octane show. The band members, all in fantastic shape, ran through their hits like ‘Hey You’,‘Here I Go Again’ and ‘Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City’. “Make as much [expletive] noise as you can, ’cos we’re here for that, and your good health!” screamed David Coverdale to loud cheers from the audience.

Just one week ago, Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine had struggled with his own health, when he was rushed to the hospital for a kidney stone surgery after a show in Melbourne (the band’s subsequent stops in Brisbane and Auckland had to be cancelled, much to Klaus’ disappointment).

“It was a very painful attack... In the hospital they removed the stone, and put in a stent... Can you imagine how I feel right now???” he lamented on Instagram. It’s easy to forget that the singer is already 71, and has been performing for 51 years. We last saw him in action at Scorpions’ concert here in 2018, when he powered through an insanely explosive three-hour show like an Energizer bunny.

The Klaus we saw last night, though, looked frailer from his recent health scare. Usually pitch-perfect, he strained a little to hit the high notes on ‘Still Loving You’. Still, the show was massively entertaining, and we don’t know any other septuagenarians as dedicated as he is to holding a rock world tour (the current one is aptly called the Crazy World Tour) in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak.

He also tossed lots of rolled-up posters to the appreciative fans. It was free merch galore, and the people in the first few rows were in luck — they caught most of the rolls, while guitarists Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker, and bassist Paweł Mąciwoda sprinkled guitar picks on eager hands like fairy dust.

Drummer Mikkey Dee (formerly from Motörhead) treated everyone to an almost five minute-long frenzied drum solo while he and his drum set were suspended on a platform in mid-air.

Even after 51 years, people still can’t get enough of the Scorpions. The audience refused to disperse till the band came out to perform their encore — classic hits like ‘Winds of Change’ and, yep, they’d always ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’.

For clips of the Singapore Rockfest II concert, go to www.instagram.com/8dayssg.

PHOTOS: LAMC PRODUCTIONS/ YIP JIEYING