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Show Report: Uli Jon Roth and Leslie West: Live at B.B. Kings

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 February 7 2012 at 03:29:10 PM



Yes I went. Times Square is getting more Disney and more sleazy at the same time. Not that there's any strip clubs, but the bars are still divey and the clientele just as sleazy and beat up.

Since no half pints at the likker, I had to get three little airport Beams. When I exited the likker, this really cute black lady with pink spots asked me for "some change handsome." Her dog was fairly well taken care of and the thought crossed my mind that she could be Erykah Badu doing some sociological art trip or something. Really. One Jim. Tons of cops. Every block, vans, all the time. Tall boy and a beer, seven bucks. Polish bartender girl with nicotine patch. Other one with lace tights, ass bulging out of halter shorts. Grifting brother talking about how he needs more ginger ale, and how "you don't see spies givin' out real names!" Around the corner, heavy-set black lady on the corner with a cardboard sign that said TIRED OF PROSTITUTION / NEED HELP. Nother Beam. Next block grifting brother in front of a different bar, scheming.

Don't wanna be late so's I creep away from the bright lights for Beam three. BB Kings sucks dick. What'd you expect? Walking down the stairs, some bald pony tail is heard sayin' "'member what's his name? he used to scallop his frets." Another dude has a white silhouette of Schenker on a baby blue tee. Why the fuck do you wear a Schenker shirt to a Uli show? All dads. No moms. Salt and pepper flat top, Motorcycle jacket, full color MOUNTAIN shirt, bought yesterday. Half the opening band (fucked again, didn't wanna be late) thinks they're Elvis Costello, the other thinks they're Bob Seger. Fucking horrible blues-hammer worship. My notebook says "this band has SUPER AIDS."

The "atmosphere" at BB Kings sucks the rod unequivocally. Dinner seating. Janet Jackson microphones attached to baldheads wearing blazers, literally policing the area, cracking down on everything. Uli came out for set #1. Did a bunch of "Electric Sun" shit which was and is pretty boring for a solid twenty or so. But he was loud. It was great to hear real tone blasting through an amp, un-drowned out by a midi-fied kick drum for once. Maybe this soundguy they hired actually came with his own ears. Shot the wad way early with "Sails of Charon" which I would have guessed would come way later. It's the cult fave, the golden shoehorn. Then the graph is thrown off again by an awkward, oxenly, solitary mom with skull shirt tucked into rhinestone belt bedazzled with iron crosses. Jeans tucked into suede fuck-me's. Her beak is huge. Silver ponytail in TYPE-O shirt tries to strike up conversation about the office party or some shit. Apparently oxen-mom is an off duty employee. "Tales of Great Ulysses" pipes in through the PA, then the Beatles. The fucking carpet sucks.

I was a little unprepared for the state of Leslie West. Didn't know that our Mountain man lost his leg to diabetes. He cruised out on his electric, joystick-controlled, wheel chair. Played blues, "Mississippi Queen," another Mountain song and a Hendrix cover with Uli. This stricken bloozer still has quite a sense of humor. He goes, "watch a Nazi play with a Jew." Says, "Stand up people, because I can't!" Fucking weird. Short set.

Uli comes back for more of everything. He calls "SCORPIONS" "Scorps" just like all of us. Cool. He's got this dude that's like a Madame Tussaud version of Elf-era Dio and Klaus with weird fishy-net sleeves. He can sing like Klaus pretty good. Bluesing out every song starts to suck. Boredom creeps in. Sucks to stand there thinking "This is kinda cool" when talking about a guitar god. Uli calls the sound guy, Ben, by name, and asks for more kick drum because he likes the beat. Finally "Dark Lady" "In Trance" "We'll Burn The Sky" and some others. Everyone is on their feet. Ecstatic. They should have just played all Scorps songs. Then everyone would have been happy and not bored. It was almost more fun listening to Tokyo Tapes on headphones while gallivanting with the schemers, bums and ex-prostitutes.

[Patrick Delaney]

Photo by Pasquale Reca

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Comments (2)

  • 34 comments
    David
    10:38 AM on Feb 08, 2012 // reply »
    BigO mag put a Mountain boot fron New Years '75 up on their site last week. Audience recording, but I was blown away by Leslie West's playing...dude really could and did play like the original guitar gods of old ala Clapton/Hendrix/Page. A few of his solos (I'm thinking maybe Nantucket Sleighride) were absolutely trandscendent.

    Does Uli still wear a lot of scarfs?
  • 3 comments
    Patrick Delaney
    12:02 PM on Feb 08, 2012 // reply »
    yeah Uli still wears basically the same stuff from the cover of Taken By Force: sashes, headbands, crushed velvet pants, elfboots

    Hendrix is definitely outta place next to Clapton and Page, though

    gotta check BigO mag. thanks David
 

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