The lineup (on a weekday/work night) was long but patient outside VENUE in Vancouver . The sounds of a very private performance wafted out the doors to those who didn’t purchase the VIP upgrade to hear Uli Jon Roth’s treatment of Vivaldi. (sounded amazing)
Once the concert proper started, Uli, 7-string Sky guitar in hand, launched into Sky Overture, immediately showing why his name is mentioned in awe by other legendary axemen/women.
With his silver tresses blowing around him from the fans on stage, to his bright blue headband, to his feathers dangling from the end of guitars that look like they belong in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Uli is completely unique in every way. If they made Lord of the Rings into a rock opera, he would be it’s Gandalf and it would be called Lord of the Strings. And his fellow band members are indeed a fellowship with a cohesive sound ranging from raunchy blues riffs, to soaring arena songs, and classical infused harmonic solos. Vocalist Niklas Turmann was pitch-perfect and frankly delivered, especially on the Scorpions material.
Uli was of course soft spoken but witty between songs. He chuckled as audience members shouted out requests but explained that of course, we would hear Scorpions and Hendrix.
The most touching and personal moment came with performing “Don’t Tell the Wind”, written by his brother, Zeno, who passed away in 2018.
The set ended with the powerful and gripping “Enola Gay”, Roth taking his bejewelled guitar for a sonic gallop in time with historic imagery from that fateful event.
He returned shortly with an acoustic performance. “This song is called a Passage to India”. He also asked the audience to be quiet, but they didn’t need prompting from the very first note. Beautifully played on his electric acoustic 8-string Sky guitar, he masterfully used the top strings as the bass while exquisitely picking delicate melodies. This was then segued into a haunting rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” that would have made Freddie Mercury proud.
What also struck me is how often his band became mesmerized by his mastery; I’m surprised they snapped out of it in time to play their own parts.
Uli had promised that the second set would be “full of fun and surprises”, the fun being the band returning to perform the surf infused hit “Apache” originally done by The Shadows.
The main event for most fans was of course the early Scorpions material. Finally the requests for “Sails of Charon” were granted and Uli delivered, grinning from ear to ear. Often regarded as the song that lead the way for so many metal shredders to follow, Niklas Turmann here is the pleasant surprise; his soaring vocal delivery was smooth and powerful. It is interesting to think what the Scorpions would have become had they carried on in this fashion.
For me the highlight was “Pictured Life”, my favourite track off Tokyo Tapes that was truly the sound of Scorpions to come. Uli was bouncing around like it was the 70’s all over again.
But Roth had a little further to go to end his show and of course returned to his Hendrix roots. For Vancouver, the mystical 6, 7, 8 stringed Gandalf of the Guitar, Lord of the Strings, Riff Bearer delivered a precious, extended performance.
written by Scotty Evil / photos by Red Lenses Photography
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Uli is a guitar god. I waited decades to see this man play live. I was not disappointed thus past Monday.
I’m not embarassed to say that I had tears well up on a couple occasions immersed in his guitar mastery.
A bucket list moment. 4 days later and I’m still revelling in the Magic that Uli created.
what a great comment! Scotty our writer had a similar experience 🙂