Yeah yeah, predictable one-o. But it was great.

I was standing front centre. When the guitarists were standing as far forward as they go, they were about 2 metres away, with Joe being a little bit further away. The sound where we were started off with too much bass, but it got lowered after a few songs and Joe could then properly be heard (although the bass was still a bit too high, it was a local effect only, since we were right in front of Matt's wall of sound.

Having queued up since 2.15, at 8pm Joe walked on stage wearing cool red, yellow and possibly some other colours jeansy type trousers and a denim jacket. He announced that his friend with a weird guitar, Ned Evett was gonna play a bit of music. Which he did, i think it was 4 songs and an instrumental- they were pretty amazing technically, but all sounded pretty similar in style. Very cool though- he used a little pedal to repeat a groove that he laid down in order to solo.

So once he was done, the stage was being prepared by the roadies, when a bit of a curtain opened backstage and joe's head popped out for 5 seconds or so before hiding. Then over the other side, Jeff did exactly the same.... talk about building suspense.

Then the gig started. Joe played Flying In a Blue Dream, then Crushing Day, Devil's Slide, Cool No 9 (with Hill Groove intro, including the main tune, unlike the amsterdam webcast one).

I won't go through the songs, but I'll now name the bits of particular interest- it was a nonstop set, no breaks other than the songs in which individuals weren't playing.

Joe played his 7 string prototype guitar for Mind Storm then seven string. It looked really nice but he seemed to go out of tune harshly in comparison to the bass when he was playing higher up on the neck (and strings). That really was the only poor thing about the gig. [edit: i now understand this probably to be purely my perception... i was centreish front without earplugs and through a phenomena of hearing, after hearing loud noises for a while, your pitch sense goes a bit funny... i think this is all that happened]

Half way through, Satch sat down, played headless horseman and Midnight very well and the band really got good after this (I mean REALLY GOOD) Starry Night was excellent, Why was Phenomenal and Joe did a far better performance of Always.... than he did on LISF. The band really started rocking out with a top quality drum and bass duet which left my drummer friend amazed, and then Raspberry Jam was great. I've never really had a thing for Surfing With The Alien before but I couldnt help but headbang and make wah wah wah shapes with my mouth- Joe seeed to enjoy this and waved and looked at me a few times :) which made my day. Matt and Galen also said a metaphorical hello one or two times.

Oh yeah- Intro to Summer Song started out with Engines Of Creation's intro (the song) and I was sooooooooo hoping that was gonna be an unexpected never done before song but it turned into summer song- engines of creation probably is my all time favourite satch song.

I couldn't get any merchandise or wait around for satch which i was really sad about since i had to run to victoria station in order to get the train home- that jorney is about 6 miles.

Joe- please come to London soon. I know you always say about coming back soon but just one date next year, give us a little bit more than one london gig in two years.... please...

A comment about the other reviews- no atmosphere- I don't know where you were in the room but the atmosphere was great at the very front ;)

Better late than never! Im from India and happened to be in London at the time. Being in India, one can only dream of watching Satch live. Definitely a dream come true for me!

Brilliant performance! A very very special evening. Thank you Joe! I agree with some of the other postings on this site that London does deserve 2 shows from Joe (call me greedy but you can never have too much of a good thing!) Can someone send me a list of all the songs Joe played that night? Appreciate it.

Cheers!

P.S Any chance of a show in India any time in the future, Joe?

What can I say. The atmosphere was great. The crowd were great support for Joe and I'd like to think he felt the same way. Joe chose to play some classics such as crushing day and midnight which was cool. The mixing of the bass and drum solos was really cool by the way. Joe performed really well to the crowd. As it is so easy to perform and not involve the crowd i think Joe made a great effort to keep everyone involved with his usual playing of notes which the crowd had to follow. However the concert was not perfect for the following reasons.

Joe kept the crowd waiting to long. By the time he actually arrived people just felt like sitting. The support was really talented but just wasn't in the right place to be appreciated because the crowd were already annoyed at having to wait so long. So if the support guy reads this. Dont worry if u heard boo's. People were just annoyed at having to wait really long. As you probably figured. AND the major annoyance was that Joe had a huge tendancy to stick to the right hand side of the stage. Which was incredibly harsh on the people on the left who were small. Thankfully im tall.

That aside I think the concert was amazing and the crowd ruled which made for a great night. Thanks a lot to Joe and the guys. Hope you come back to london soon!!!

P.S Whoever has taken Joe's guitar you are a complete a***hole and you should damn well give it back. Joe takes the time to do a cool gig for u and all u can do in return is a nick a guitar for yourself. Its pathetic.

Sadly this isn't a perfect world and I dont think Joe offering a $500 reward will suffice considering the guitars value. Apologies for the fact that this isn't part of a review but anyhow.....

Will

WOW, everything was brilliant Joe. I believe, crushing day, midnight, surfing, your pants ;-) . You gave me a brilliant smile ( complete with beard !) at the stage door beforehand. This show has me smiling today, & for the rest of the year. would like to give it 20 out of 10.............Good to hear the new songs from SBM too

My 8th Satch Concert & still counting.........

Hey guys, a rather disappointed fan here, on account of the fact that I came 400 miles to see Satch, and considering my group of travellers had to get the 1140 train back home, we had to leave the concert 45 mins early because of the god forsakened tube strike. Still, 100% flabberghasted, totally wrong in my predictions of the first song, I was expecting something on the lines of Time, like in his last tour, but was having orgasms just the same with Flying in a Blue Dream, although had to leave in the midddle of mountain song, so I didn't get to hear any of his Crystal Planet works, or his classics like Surfing or Satch Boogie. Still, I was impressed with the double neck and the 7 string, and would appreciate it if; someone could tell me his set list after mountain song, and if he'd like to come to Glasgow or Edinburgh in his next tour, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeasees.

Anyway, loved the outfit Joe. Be Shibby.

The first Satriani gig I have been to and it was amazing. At first me and my bass playing friend were dissapointed to not see Stu Hamm there and not really knowing who matt was but he proved himself. Jeff was amazing. The only thing wrong with the night was that I never got a pick or drumstick. I really wanted to walk out that night with a Chrome Boy...

Please play more gigs in the UK and prefrebly in the South more i.e Southampton

Just amazing once again!

I loved the old stuff, never heard or seen it played live before, it was a real treat to watch!

I'll be quick - the show was awesome! It was the first time I'd seen Joe in the flesh and when he came out on stage it just seemed so surreal - Joe Satriani, the guy whose picture is stuck up on my wall, who I listen to on my stereo, and watch on my video THERE just a few feet away. Opening with 'Flying in a Blue Dream' Joe played a storming set, playing songs both old and new. New songs like Mindstorm sounded great, and old classics (Crushing Day!!!) sounded just as fresh and exciting. There was a nice part of the set where Joe and the band got out some seats and sat down to play several songs including Starry Night and Midnight (which was particularly great!).

A mention should go to Mr. Satriani to the flaming trousers (or 'pants' to you American guys and gals) they were exceptionally 'Rock and Roll'!

Anyway, as I was saying every song sounded great. Joe played flawlessly (suprise suprise) and there was a cool part of the show where he played 'call and responce' with the audience - playing a lick and getting the crowd to sing it back to him. It was definately one of the best shows I've ever been to (although compared to the Slayer show I saw 2 days before it was a bit different!) Well, finally he finished the set with Friends....aaaaahh......and then I caught a pick......and it gets better....when the show had finished we (my friends) decided to stick around after the show. After waiting for about an hour, and watching the crew take out the gear and stuff, out came Joe. Not only did I get my Satch picture signed, I got a photo of him with me and a chance to speak to the legend himself (thanks Joe!) - he is THE coolest guy! There you have it - it just goes to show that any normal fan can meet their God! To all the people that read this, meeting Joe is much easier than you think, he totally respects his fans and signed gave everyone an opportunity to talk to him. Goodbyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!1

The first satriani gig I have ever been to. Satriani was amazing. The crowd was rubbish. There was no atmoshpere. I was tring so hard to get myself and everyone else motivated, but it felt like the only one.

LITTLE TIP TO EVERYONE IF YOU JUMP UP AND DOWN AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. YOU MIGHT ENJOY YOURSELF. SHOW SOME SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Satriani rocked.

The last time I saw Joe was in the NEC Arena in Birmingham UK in about 1996/7, and that gig was a very flat affair for me, due in the large part to the soulless nature of the auditorium (and no encore then, so maybe you felt the same Joe) - last night was the 4th time I'd seen Joe live, and a most impressive display - a more intimate venue meant that even those near the back of the stalls felt close, and this is the sort of atmosphere that works well for everyone, and last night Joe and the band were obviously enjoying themselves immensely - big grins all round!

Like some of the other respondents , I felt the sat-down set was a highlight, I Believe and Midnight being stand out parts for me. I think Starry Night is set to be up there with 'Always...' as a 'must play' tune. Mindstorm is heavy as you like, and the tone was excellentthroughout, with the anthemic 'Friends' as a closing number absolutely massive.

An excellent show - thanks for visiting the UK again - hopefully we will see you again soon, and next time for more than just the one date in London.

This was definately the best gig I have seen in a long time... As far as what stuff he played goes, it was what he usually does (except he did play Crushing Day, which is one of my favourites). Joe, when playing Surfing With The Alien, made an obvious effort to make eye contact with everybody in the audience... Although, thinking about it, it's quite depressing that I felt excited because "JOE SATRIANI LOOKED AT ME!" ;)

An excellent show. Well done, Joe! (yeah... I know it rhymes.. It's not on purpose)