Monsters at Myth

If Maplewood Mall allowed tailgating, it would be like "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" all over again for the next two weekends.
The mall's noisemaker neighbor Myth nightclub landed a coup with Saturday's concert by Judas Priest, whose 1986 tour was the site/inspiration for "Parking Lot" (a cult-loved documentary featuring leather-clad, feathered-haired fans in preconcert party mode). There might even be more hootin' and hollerin' over the Scorpions, who are performing at Myth next Friday.
Priest's last local show was a bloated Xcel Energy Center concert in 2005, so this is a welcome chance to see them scale back. The Scorpions, who haven't performed in the Twin Cities since 1994 -- what, our dollar is no good to you rich Germans anymore?! -- so it's a rare chance to see them, period. Here are some other comparisons between the two European metal giants.

Priest: Rob Halford is a hero to gay metalheads everywhere, even though he was closeted throughout the '80s.

Scorps: Klaus Meine is a hero to short metalheads everywhere (he's 5 feet 4), even though he wore heels throughout the '80s.

Priest: Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, who are really good at swaying their guitars together in unison to the music.

Scorps: Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, who are really good at rubbing their butts together in unison to the music.

Priest: On a 1990 tour, Halford crashed his omnipresent Harley-Davidson into the drum riser, breaking his nose. The accident reportedly caused a rift in the band and helped lead to his departure a year later (they reunited in 2003).

Scorps: The cover of "Love at First Sting," featuring an aroused babe straddling a guy who's tattooing a scorpion on her thigh, was altered for many chain stores, which deemed it offensive (much like the Tap's cover for "Smell the Glove").

Scorps: The Monsters of Rock concert at the Metrodome, 1988, when some young band named Metallica stole the show (though the Scorps still topped the newly Sammy Hagar-ized Van Halen).

Priest: "Breaking the Law," wherein a bank guard plays a cardboard guitar while the band gets away in a convertible (performing the whole time). Even video authoritarians Beavis and Butt-head, who frequently chanted the song's chorus, commented, "I like Priest and everything, but this sucks."

Scorps: "Rock You Like a Hurricane," with a cheap, "Dr. Who"-like sci-fi set featuring a cage that sways and bends under the crush of fans, especially scantily clad women in feline costumes. B&B also had a field day with this one.