Firstly, thanks to Joe, Matt, Galen and Jeff for a really cracking show! Nice one guys.

After Ned Evett had done his thing (not a new fan here I'm afraid but I did have a chat with him afterwards and discovered that the fingerboard on his fretless is actually glass - wacky but true!) Joe and the gang hit the stage and dived into FIABD. Awesome sound. Joe had on his funky red pants plus a sparkly t-shirt. (Two Marshall cabs were miked up at the back of the stage but couldn't see the heads Joe was using. Were they the Cornfords he's been using recently or perhaps Marshalls or Boogies? If any of you guys know I'd love to hear. Ta.)

FIABD was followed by Crushing Day expertly executed. Wow! Learnt a lot of finger positions. (I had always thought the solo started on the open D and G strings but Joe used the D and G at the 10th fret on the low E and A strings. Cool.)

Next up Devil's Slide, bluesy intro to Cool No 9. My memory is a bit of a blur but I think the rest of the set went something like this: Ice 9 with great Hordes of Locusts bit at end, Extremist, Crush of Love, Oriental Melody, Belly Dancer, Mind Storm, Seven String, New Last Jam. Then a sitting down section comprising Headless Horseman and Midnight (extended version) with Joe on his own followed by I Believe (with electric) and Starry Night with the Jeff and Matt. Then back to normal for Summer Song, Rasberry Jam Delta V, Why (amazing!), Bass solo, Always, Surfing + 'singalonga Joe'. For an encore they played Satch Boogie followed by Friends + a great extra end jam. As usual, Joe sprinkled the entire show with extra little improvs. One of them was totally flooring after which Joe said, "Sometimes you've just gotta do that!"

As on the previous night, no breaks in the set. Bit of a shame cos I really needed to get a drink. Had to miss seeing some of the show whilst trying to find one and invariably losing my place in the crowd. :( Everything sounded awesome to me, except for a very strange bit in Always. Could that have been on purpose?? I don't reckon so, but as I was getting a drink at the time and couldn't see the stage, I don't know exactly what happened. If it was a fluff up then at least I know Joe is human after all! Thanks for that Joe ;)

Re the venue: Definitely, a more intimate venue than the NIA but it was SERIOUSLY flawed for Joe's show. Due to the level (ie. non-sloping) floor and a fairly low stage (plus a pointless barrier keeping the crowd a further 7ft or so away) it was very difficult to get a good view. The balcony was great if you were able to squeeze in somewhere. However, I noticed a lot of folks that were, shall we say, a little vertically challenged just staring at the backs of people. That's not right. If you pay good money to see a band you should be able to actually 'see' them! When Joe sat down for his Headless, Midnight, I Believe and Starry Night section (all sounded awesome) it was only just possible to see his head (down on the main floor) if you were lucky. Spoilt that whole section for me. This is certainly not Joe's fault but just a criticism of the venue which otherwise would have been really good (IMHO).

As ever, a Satch gig is always too short. I could watch him play his entire discography (well, maybe barring Woodstock Jam ;) ) and still not have had enough! Can't wait for next time already. Joe and the band looked as if they were really enjoying themselves. The sound was great in front of the stage. Oh yeah, Galen, that's probably the worst haircut I've ever seen in a rock band! :)

This was the second gig that I have been to. Joe"s performance was absolutely first class as ever and the songs that he played were excellent even the new songs from Strange B Music.

The only thing that spoilt the night for me was the choice of venue. Didn"t see a thing all night and spent the whole show with my six year old son perched on my shoulders. He had the best view and reaaly enjoyed it.

Joe when you come back next year do not choose the Academy as this is a very poor venue. I saw you the previous year at the NIA and this is a much better venue to play at, please choose this place if you can. Good luck with the tour and will definitely be at your next show in 2003 in the UK.

I give this gig a 10 as it was my first Satriani concert. Due to the fact that I live in Wales (UK) Joe is not well known over here but I think he's great. The Brits don't know what their missing. In the gig he was amazing and I rate him as the best guitarist ever. He's class.

Chris K

There should be an 11 in the score for this gig. The gig was superb with the aditions of the new 7 string and double necked guitars complemented with the perfect execution of New Last Jam Starry Night and Mindstorm. What a show, and to finish the night off I was lucky enough to meet the man himself and am now the proud owner of a beautifully autographed guitar (for those people who made fun of me in the queue before the show for having my guitar with me). I thought i'd never get the chance to thank him for 12 years of inspiration in playing the guitar and my chance came - lucky eh.

The Venue wasn't as good as the NIA Academy but the atmosphere was wicked and show more than made up for it. The main problem seemed to be that no matter where you stood you couldn't really see very well but as i said the show was awesome.

Keep Rockin Joe and see you on your next tour.

While Joe Satriani continues to pioneer his genre of guitar dynamics, you can only wonder at what process led to this gig being held at the Academy. As usual, Joe was on top form, never dropping a note and blazing through some absolute classics, as well as an impromptu quiet moment, a nice rarity between the blisteringly fast solo's and fast paced action.

This gig would normally get a 9 or a 10 rank, except for the fact that it was held at one of the crappiest, uncomfortable hell holes around. I feel ashamed that my city offers this location up to international acts that do not know the wiser. It was hot, stuffy, standing only, overcrowded (partitioning closing off much of the balcony) and the view was terrible from anywhere but the front row. Joe has previously played the NIA academy, a much more intimate and seated venue.

I cannot re-iterate more how utterly terrible this venue was, marring an otherwise brilliant performance. I took along my 'classical music loving' girlfriend, and despite her reservations about the venue she enjoyed the performance of a true master. But she also mentioned how she could have enjoyed it so much more if it was held in a decent venue.

Whover you use to book your UK gigs - fire them. We don't see enough decent acts as it is in Birmingham, and we have some fantastic venues. How about playing with an orchestra at symphony hall?

Another brilliant set from Joe and the lads! Thanks for continuing to tour abroad, Joe - we appreciate it!

Nice to hear Joe play a selection of different styles on different instruments (the 7 string, acoustic and twinned neck, plus his new Ibanez signature guitar).

I agree with the other audience members that the atmosphere was great and the sound quality was very good, but the sightlines were poor. (If you play the Birmingham Academy again Joe, maybe you could stipulate that the stage be raised a couple of feet?)

Re planning future tours, I would rank the sound quality of Midlands venues I've seen Joe at as 1) Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham 2) Birmingham Academy 3) Birmingham NIA 4) Birmingham NEC.

for a small venue, the atmosphere to me was great, i was just behind the mixing desk in the centre of the floor which was a great view of the stage. when joe played "MIND STORM" from his new album, a bust of sound exploded and createda mind blowing feeling. shame the stage was a bit low though, which didn't help shorter people to see from below the balcony. especially when he sat down for a section of the songs. But i loved every minute of it! Cheers Joe!

Joby

Joe, you ARE the best. Pity the venue and sound was crap. Come back soon. I'll pay more to go back to the NIA. Jeff, we love you as much as you obviously like playing. Come back Stu. Mr Fretless you were cool.

Steve and Scott (the next JS)

Well, well, well what can i say...the guy is never human. He was absolutely awsome. MINDSTORM was just too much to take in...SUPERB!! This was the first time i've seen Satch in action and he was everything and more than what i expected. To finish on 'Friends' was the icing on the cake. The Sound in the Academy was spot on. Jeff Campitelli...What a bloke - Drum solo was awsome. Shame there was no Stu but the guy who filled his boots was certainly the man for the job - bass solo rocked.

Overall I wouldn't change a thing, the gig was spot on!

Third time I have seen Satch live, and he's never failed to deliver. Great performance considering the small venue size and not so hot sound. The overall atmosphere was great as well, even if 90% of the crowd couldn’t see what was going on. I travelled up from Oxford so got in as Joe was playing Crush of Love. Can anyone let me know what I missed, hope it wasn’t much.

Thanks for a great show Joe, Jeff, Matt, and Galen and see you next time round.

Greg

This was the first Satriani concert i've seen dispite being a fan for a few years (i'm only 18! so don't knock me for not liking him for 20.) In fact... this was the first ever concert i've ever been to (they cancelled the damn Guns 'n' Roses tour i was meant to go to last year.)

Anyways...

The venue wasn't as good as it should have been... it should have had a projection screen at least, as whilst i was downstairs i could not see at all! So i went upstairs and managed to cram my way to the front of the balcony. It was standing right in the centre of that, with no one in front of me. I had a great view. But many did not. (And Joe was unable to throw picks up to where i was :-(.

It was a really good concert. I was up on the balcony and managed to push my way to the front so i had a great view. Joe played a load of stuff off the new album as well as some classic (Flying in a blue dream, Surfin', Summer song, The extremist, I believe, Friends etcetc).

The new stuff was really good... it was nice to see Joe with his new 7-string for songs like 'Mind storm' and '7-string'. Not to mention his double neck tuned to E... any chance of sending me one of those Joe ;-).

The older stuff was really good too. Really got the crowd going. There was also a huge applause for the Bass and Drum solos that were really cool.

After much cheering, Joe and the band came back for an encore to play a couple of tracks.

He did/is doing (last one today *20th*) 3 concerts in the UK this tour. Which is really good... us british fans really appreciate it. Hope we see him here again!

PS:- I'm from Wales... i had to travel to England. Get Joe here in Wales to the Cardiff international arena... that would be amazing! Huge venue.

WWOOOOWWWWWWWWW ! What a night. Fantastic show and a great crowd. Shame that the venue wasn't up to it. The acoustics were poor and it wasn't easy to get a decent view. Great atmosphere though.

JS played like the genius that he is, and Jeff was simply superb.

And how nice to see the headliner come on stage to introduce his support act - that was a SUPER COOL thing to do. JS may have his head in the stars but his feet are firmly on the ground. Thanks Joe for another superb evenings entertainement. You are simply THE BEST. Have a good tour and please, come back soon. Thanks again.

Joe,

My expectations were so high that i thought you could only disappoint. But no. It was the most amazing concert i had ever attended - over 2 and a half hours of pure genius (I especially enjoyed the 7-string), and the standing ovation you received at the end was rightly deserved. The sound quality was fantastic and balance perfect. And no breaks for a rest - how on earth do you do it?! What an experience! See you next time you tour UK,

Matt.

Excellent show, played brilliantly, amazed by Jeff, hearing the songs from the new album made me realise just how good it is.

However, I too was very disappointed by the venue. Great atmosphere, but I think most people got a crap view (I heard lots of people grumbling) and the sound wasn't great.