Uli Jon Roth is an amazing, awesome, talented, phenomenal guitar player. End of review. What else is there to say? If you missed him at Joe’s Grotto in Phoenix, AZ on March 8, 2016 you missed the opportunity to stand right next to the stage and hear an electric guitar virtuoso in a small, intimate venue. It’s like the concert was just for you and your friends – like you invited him to your house and he brought his guitar and some musician buddies (and some killer amps) – all just for you. What an opportunity to be right there with the musicians and hear a terrific guitarist who is a master of his craft.
I will say this, if you’ll forgive me a small rant, with opportunity comes responsibility. It was a great opportunity to see Roth in such a small venue and feel like you’re right there with him. To those three women sitting at a table just off to the right of the stage, that also comes with some responsibility to be respectful both to the artist on stage and the others patrons there for the concert. No one else cares about or wants to hear about whatever it is your gossiping about (and I know what you were gossiping about because we could hear you loud and clear). When you’re so loud that the artist needs to ask you to shut-up durign the set, maybe you should take that as a message that you really are being just too loud and its time to take you conversation elsewhere.
If you like electric guitar and Uli Jon Roth is stopping in your city, go see him. It’s no more complicated than that.
Here are some photos – they don’t do him justice.
Photos © Greg Cohen 2016
