Venue: Gagarin 205, Athens
Date: June 5, 2026
Review and photography: Dimitris Fatisis

Anniversary concerts can easily become exercises in nostalgia, carefully recreating the past without adding much to it. Uli Jon Roth’s return to Athens took a different path. At Gagarin 205, the former Scorpions guitarist used the fiftieth anniversary of Virgin Killer as the starting point for a performance that connected different periods of his life, from his classical influences and personal artwork to the songs that established his place in hard-rock history.

Before Roth appeared, Achelous opened the evening with a confident set built around their epic-metal identity. Twin-guitar melodies, a forceful rhythm section and the distinctive vocals of Christos Kappas gave their performance both weight and character. They were not an obvious stylistic match for Roth, but that contrast worked in their favour. More importantly, they played with the assurance of a band fully comfortable onstage.

Their strongest asset was the communication between them. Small gestures, exchanged glances and the natural way they occupied the stage suggested musicians who have developed their chemistry through time rather than relying on technical ability alone. By the end of their set, they had earned the audience’s attention and established the guitar-driven character of the night.

Roth’s entrance introduced a completely different atmosphere. There was little interest in theatrical grandeur or in presenting himself as an untouchable rock icon. Instead, the first part of his performance felt intimate and exploratory. Appearing alone, with projections of his own visual art behind him, he invited the audience into the wider creative world that exists beyond his best-known work with the Scorpions.

Original compositions and passages inspired by classical music were accompanied by stories about the artists who shaped his imagination. Mozart and Maria Callas appeared naturally in his reflections, revealing how far his musical interests extend beyond the boundaries of hard rock. Roth spoke with warmth and informality, turning the opening section into something closer to a personal conversation than a conventional guitar showcase.

Following the interval, the stage was transformed. The arrival of the full band and the sudden force of the amplifiers moved the concert into its second chapter, with Virgin Killer now at the heart of the programme. “Pictured Life,” “Catch Your Train,” “In Your Park,” “Polar Nights” and “Yellow Raven” carried the unmistakable identity of the 1976 album, but the performances never felt trapped in that decade.

Rather than attempting to reproduce the recordings note for note, Roth and his band allowed the material to retain its original character while giving it the energy of a present-day performance. The musicians accompanying him played with precision, but also understood when to leave space for his guitar to lead. Their contribution was essential: the songs sounded powerful and complete without becoming rigid reproductions of their studio versions.

At the centre of everything was Roth’s relationship with the instrument. His technique remains remarkable, but technique alone does not explain the effect of his playing. What continues to distinguish him is the sense of freedom behind every phrase—the impression that melody, tone and improvisation are still sources of discovery rather than familiar routines. At several points he appeared visibly delighted by the music, smiling as though surprised by where the guitar had taken him.

That enthusiasm prevented the anniversary concept from becoming a tribute to his own past. Roth did not approach the Scorpions catalogue like a collection of trophies, nor did he seem interested in competing with a younger version of himself. The songs were presented as part of a musical language he continues to speak, not as relics preserved for nostalgic consumption.

The final stretch brought some of the evening’s most anticipated moments. “We’ll Burn the Sky,” “The Sails of Charon” and “In Trance” carried the weight of songs that have influenced generations of hard-rock and metal guitarists. Their historical importance was obvious, but the audience’s response came from something more immediate: the music still worked in the room, at full volume, without needing its legacy to justify it.

By the end of the night, the 50th anniversary of Virgin Killer felt less like the destination than the framework for a much broader portrait of Uli Jon Roth. The concert moved between memory and invention, intimacy and volume, classical inspiration and electric force. Most importantly, it showed an artist who remains genuinely curious about music—and whose past still sounds alive because he has never stopped searching for what comes next.

Setlist

• Pictured Life
• Catch Your Train
• In Your Park
• Backstage Queen
• Hell-Cat
• Virgin Killer
• Crying Days
• Polar Nights
• Yellow Raven
• Sun in My Hand
• We’ll Burn the Sky
• The Sails of Charon
• In Trance

Setlist courtesy of Celia Ramos.

Band Lineup

Uli Jon Roth – Guitar, vocals
Instagram: @ulijonroth

Akasha Roth – Keyboards, vocals
Instagram: @akasharoth

Celia Ramos – Vocals
Instagram: @celiaramos.official

Niklas Turmann – Guitar, vocals
Instagram: @niklasturmann

David Klosinski – Guitar
Instagram: @david_klosinski

Richard Kirk – Drums
Instagram: @tricky88kirk