Uli Jon Roth

Last Friday was the first of two nights of Uli Jon Roth! It had been a couple years since my ears last took a beating from Uli and his sky guitar, so I was long overdue.

The evening began with a doom metal band from Ohio called Brimstone Coven. They were supposed to play the upcoming Legions of Metal festival here in May, but they were already booked for this show and had to drop out. I wasn't too familiar with them prior to this show, but they sounded really good. If you're into Pentagram and Sabbath, these guys are straight up your alley.

Next up was a local Middle Eastern folk group by the name of Mano. Considering the buffet of Iommi worship we were just served, this came as an unexpected (and unwanted) surprise. I'm sure this group would get a great reception at a Pakistani wedding or restaurant, but not before Uli.

Finally it was time for Uli!!! His current tour, Tokyo Tapes Revisited, is commemorating the legendary Scorpions live record, Tokyo Tapes (no kidding haha). The setlist was an absolute scorcher and included all the classics! "In Trance", "We'll Burn the Sky", "Pictured Life", "Hell Cat"...the list goes on! During the last few minutes of "Fly to the Rainbow", I felt like I was going to lose consciousness from how loud it was. Unbelievable! Perhaps the highlight of the night was hearing Uli and his band blaze through "Virgin Killer"! He did not play it when I last saw him.

Overall it was a fantastic night. And then I did it all over again the following night...stay tuned...