Tours: ULI JON ROTH Cancels North American Guitar Gods Tour, Reveals Plans to Return to U.S. in Spring 2015

Uli Jon Roth performing February 16, 2013 at Neisen's in Savage, Minnesota. Click on either picture to see more photos of Uli and his band (63).

Surely this is the most disappointing concert news of the year. Uli Jon Roth, legendary solo artist and former Scorpions guitarist, made the announcement on his Facebook page that he’s been forced bow of his upcoming tour with Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Gary Hoey, and Bumblefoot:

“Unfortunately we are forced to cancel my participation in this tour due to unforeseen circumstances which are beyond our control. We don’t know why, but work visas got mysteriously delayed for no apparent reason to the point where we were left with no other reasonable choice but to cancel at this late stage. In over 30 years of obtaining US visas this has never happened to me, but I guess there’s always a first.

I would have love to play for the North-American audience on this tour, like so many times before, but I’m my three guitar-playing friends will be just fine without me and will more than make up for it with their considerable skills. I’m wishing them best luck and lots of inspiration!!!”

Uli responded in the comment thread to his post with the news that he’s planning to return to North America early next year:

“I’ll be back some time in the Spring! See you then hopefully.”

The Guitar Gods tour featuring Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Gary Hoey, and Bumblefoot comes to the Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday, June 23.

YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN to Headline Guitar Gods Tour, Minneapolis Show June 23

In case you missed the news a couple weeks back, guitar legend Yngwie J. Malmsteen has announced the Guitar Gods Tour that has him teaming up with the powerhouse bill of Uli Jon Roth, Gary Hoey, and Bumblefoot across North America for what should go down as one of the best concerts of the year. Love him or hate him, it cannot be denied that Yngwie influenced metal guitar players in ways not seen since Ritchie Blackmore and Eddie Van Halen. Remember how the saying goes - there's the right way, the wrong way, and there's Yngwie!

Uli Jon Roth performing February 16, 2013 at Neisen's in Savage, Minnesota. Click on any of the pictures to see more photos from this concert (63).

I've seen Yngwie twice, first on the godly Trilogy tour (supporting Triumph) and again in support of The Seventh Sign, and it's impossible walk away from one of his shows slack-jawed. Making this an extra-special night is the inclusion of Uli Jon Roth. Uli's show last year at Neisen's in Savage, Minnesota was hands down the best concert I saw last year (reviewed here), and this tour has him once again playing an all-Scorpions set of classics from the five albums on which he performed. The bottom line is that you don't want to miss this tour.

The tour stops in Minneapolis at the Skyway Theatre on Monday, June 23. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketfly, and the seated floor section is already sold out. Here's the full list of tour dates:

June 12 - Wilkes-Barre, PA, Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
June 13 - Huntington, NY, The Paramount
June 14 - Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom
June 15 - Akron, NY, Braun's Concert Cove
June 17 - Englewood, NJ, Bergen Performing Arts Center
June 18 - Cleveland, OH, The Agora
June 20 - St. Charles, IL, Arcada Theatre
June 21 - Toronto, ON, Phoenix Concert Theatre
June 22 - Joliet, IL, Mojoes
June 23 - Minneapolis, MN, Skyway Theatre
June 26 - Seattle, WA, Showbox Presents
June 27 - Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
June 28 - Richmond, BC, River Rock Casino
July 2 - Santa Ana, CA, The Observatory
July 3 - Beverly Hills, CA, Saban Theatre
July 5 - Ramona, CA, Ramona MainStage
July 7 - Las Vegas, NV, House of Blues
July 8 - Tucson, AZ, Rialto Theatre
July 10 - Dallas, TX, House of Blues
July 12 - Houston, TX, House of Blues

ULI JON ROTH - February 16, 2013

Here it is! Undoubtedly this will go down as one of the best shows of the year, guitar virtuoso and former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth performing an entire set of early Scorpions classics. As I pointed out in my review of the concert here (where you can also see pictures from the show), the vocals were low in the stage mix so they’re a little buried on this recording. In all aspects, this is the show as it happened. The only flaw is a short (a few seconds) break towards the end of “In Trance” due to a battery swap. The title refers to this date being the 100th birthday of Uli’s father, were he still alive.

The download link is here. As always, please share, but share the link to this post rather than the direct Mediafire link. Enjoy!

Uli Jon Roth – For Dad

February 16, 2013

Savage, MN, Neisen’s

mp3@192 kbps, 166.90 MB zip file (artwork included)

1. All Night Long (4:18)

2. Longing For Fire (2:54)

3. Crying Days (6:55)

4. They Need A Million (7:54)

5. The Sails Of Charon (10:02)

6. Evening Wind (9:41)

7. Sun In My Hand (5:54)

8. Drifting Sun (7:40)

9. Hell Cat (3:12)

10. We’ll Burn The Sky (10:08)

11. In Trance (6:29)

12. Fly To The Rainbow (6:39)

13. I’ve Got To Be Free (13:55)

14. Pictured Life (3:13)

15. Catch Your Train (3:39)

16. Dark Lady (11:36)

17. All Along The Watchtower (8:39)

Total time: 2:02:28

Guitar – Uli Jon Roth

Guitar – Ali Clinton

Guitar – Niklas Turmann

Vocals – Henning Basse

Drums – Jamie Little

Bass – Ule Ritgen

Keyboards – Corvin Bahn

Concert Review - ULI JON ROTH and THEM PESKY KIDS

Uli Jon Roth and Them Pesky Kids

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Neisen’s, Savage, MN

Click on pictures to see more photos of Uli Jon Roth and his band (63).

It’s been a long time since former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth has done an extensive North American tour, so this trek to celebrate his 40th anniversary of joining Scorpions was highly anticipated. To my surprise the show took place on the small stage by the front bar (not the large hall at the back of the venue), and this gave the show a warm, intimate feel. Locals Them Pesky Kids were midway through their set when I arrived. Primarily playing covers of 70s rock classics with an occasional original thrown in, Them Pesky Kids had the crowd on its feet and drinking a lot of beer. They were decent enough, but more original songs would have been welcome.

Click on picture to see more photos of Them Pesky Kids (12).

The large crowd then pushed in from the bar into the stage room in anticipation of Uli. His band includes different musicians on parts of the tour, and tonight featured Henning Basse (vocals), Niklas Turmann (guitar), Ali Clinton (guitar), Ule Ritgen (bass), Corvin Bahn (keyboards), and Jamie Little (drums) – experienced musicians all. Except for the encore, the entire set consisted of tracks from the five groundbreaking Scorpions albums on which Uli played from 1974–1978 – Fly To The Rainbow, In Trance, Virgin Killer, Taken By Force, and Tokyo Tapes.

Opener “All Night Long” immediately established the chops of the band, with Henning demonstrating his impressive vocal range (as you can hear on Metalium albums). The pace came down for “Longing For Fire” and “Crying Days”, but “They Need A Million” and the early Rainbow-esque “The Sails Of Charon” brought on a large crowd response. “Evening Wind” was also masterful, and built up into some massive solos by Uli. “Sun In My Hand” and “Drifting Sun” were a bit more straight-ahead rockers, while “Hell Cat” showed a heavy Hendrix influence. Uli introduced “We’ll Burn The Sky” and “In Trance” as ballads, but these proved to be two of the most powerful songs of the night, “In Trance” being especially impressive with Henning’s vocal delivery. Uli took over vocals for the moody, expansive epic “Fly To The Rainbow”, and again stepped to the fore with an extended solo during a nearly 14 minute version of “I’ve Got To Be Free” that also gave some solo time to Corvin on the keyboards. The heavy anthems “Pictured Life” and “Catch Your Train” were delivered concisely before the set closed with a lengthy rendition of “Dark Lady” that featured solos from all three guitarists. Uli’s been playing a few different covers for the encore on this tour, and tonight he brought the band back on stage for “All Along The Watchtower”.

Throughout the two-hour show, Uli certainly demonstrated why he’s one of world’s top guitar virtuosos. It was hard to not simply stand in awe of his abilities, unbelievably viewed up close in a small club. Most enjoyable were the extended solos and jams that seemed extensively improvised, aided by an expert band that seamlessly picked up Uli’s cues for transitions back to the formal songs. Nobody plays in this style of Mark II Deep Purple anymore, so this Made In Japan fan was thrilled at this approach. Song highlights included “The Sails Of Charon”, as well as the four-song sequence of “We’ll Burn The Sky”, “In Trance”, “Fly To The Rainbow”, and “I’ve Got To Be Free”. The only disappointment was the mix - Uli’s guitar was high in the mix, however, the vocals were disappointingly low and difficult to hear well (especially Uli’s microphone). There was also some persistent feedback that had everyone on stage visibly annoyed. Since the stage was small, the band members did a great job of standing or playing to the sides to give Uli some room to shine during his many solos. Similar respect was given to all of the other musicians, with Uli even stepping off the stage to drink a Red Bull while Niklas and Ali took turns with some extended solos during “Dark Lady”. Despite the technical issues with the sound, this was a night to remember. Rush out to see Uli if he’s yet to come to your city on this tour, and shame on you if you missed your chance.