Okay, this date signifies the first time I had heard of and heard Joe Satriani's music. I have been a fan of DT for a year now (thanks to the friend who bought me the ticket to this very show for my bday!) and I was stoked to see DT. When my friend and I got to the amphitheatre, we had just missed King's X, and Joe was just finishing his first song of the set....and I was in awe.

Just the way he is able to make the guitar an extention of his body....the music was amazing and beautiful....I was VERY glad I was able to see him.

The night was capped off with DT doing an amazing set....the show totally exceeded my expectations, which is why I give it a 10!

keep the amazing music coming joe!

SEP 6 2002 - UPDATE...............I miss that evening.............justjoan - on live chat - mentioned a 3 hour Satch concert and comparing it to a religious experience........... I need one of those. Come back Joe !!!! **********************************************************************************************************************************

That's it. I am now totally hooked with no cure. I have now been offically SATCHED.I did'nt think my body could have goosebumps for 1 1/2 hours straight. But it did. And I LIKED THE FEELING. Ya know, subconciously the show wasnt long enough, so damn it...I dreamed the whole show over again while I slept last night. It was evident that Joe was enjoying last night as much as we were. Well, maybe with exception of the 'damned bugs' that were attracted to the lights and his ears Nick and I also spent half an hour after the show with Joe. This was , the ultimate concert experience for both of us. The perfect way to wrap up a cookin' summer. Already putting my coinage away for the next show. Which, I am hoping will be at Massey Hall.As for the other bands, Kings X - They seemed to drown each other out but they rocked, they did! Yep, I like them. The last few songs grabbed the crowd The lead singer sure had fabulous stage presence DreamTheater:Is it me or does James Labrie sort of have the Yngwie look? What a voice ! One guy in the crowd was wailin with him, kind of reminded me of Mark Walberg in the concert footage of RockStar. Top notch musicans...and Petrucci......what can I say.....I like the guy and what he does with his machine. Wish I had have seen the G3 with him....................

Ears ringing, foot blisters blistering, walking to the subway, with a hugh grin on my face....I HAD BEEN CRITICALLY ROCKED !

The reason this show gets 8 out of 10 is not because Mr. Satriani's playing was below-par, quite the contrary. It's the venue itself that put a dampener on the mood. Three hours to find a parking spot, having to tolerate Kings X (I couldn't understand a word that was sung, and the guitar, while passable, is nowhere near Mr. Satriani's level).

And to top it off, after waiting and waiting to see the Bald One emerge, I was treated not to watching his wonderful playing, but instead I was fortunate enough to get to stare at the back of four inconsiderate... "people's" heads.

I'd have stuck around to see Dream Theatre if there had been more of Petrucci and less of the vocalist, but his singing style got so irritating I had to leave after the first few songs.

Overall, the show was excellent. But I much prefer the more intimate venus, such as the Massey Hall show Mr. Satriani played here last year.

Hello fellow Statriani supporters,

Last year, I had the wonderful opportunity to catch the G3 2001 Tour in Toronto at Massey Hall. At first, I was not sure whether or not I was going to attend this concert. Back and forth from Ottawa, it is a 10 hour drive. Nonetheless, in the past couple of weeks, I have been reading the excellent reviews on the official Joe Satriani and Dream Theater websites, and it was too hard to resist. I am a big fan of Joe’s (since 1990) and Dream Theater’s (since 1998). They are both wonderful artists — probably the most talented musicians in the business at the moment. I had seen Joe Satriani twice before live in concert (1990 - Flying In A Blue Dream Tour) and (2001 - G3 Tour). Both times, I was spellbound with Joe’s command of the instrument. Stach is a unique artist — his sense of melody and timing are simply outstanding.

On to the concert review at the Molson Amphitheatre (Toronto, Ontario). First of all, for those who are not familiar with this venue — it is wonderfully situated on Lake Ontario (inside Ontario Place, an exhibition complex), near the island of Toronto — city centre. It is a magnificent building, the venue is designed like the old Greek Epidarus theatres, and it is covered from the stage are to the grass area. On this particular night, a cool breeze was blowing and the temperature was dry and mildly cool — very nice atmosphere. Needless to say, my cousin (who is a Torontonian) and I were stuck in a bad traffic jam. Once we got down to the Canadian National Exposition grounds, they were charging $23.00 for parking (is that extortion or what?). No way was I going to pay that much to attend a concert. Finally, we found a “free” parking space, situated a good 10 minutes from the venue.

When we arrived at the Molson Amphitheatre, two scalpers were offering dead centre tickets in section 101 or 102. How much you ask? $150. I said: Are you crazy! Since I had missed King’s X because of the traffic jam and the parking search, I said the maximum I was going to spend on tickets was $35. A compromise was reaches and the tickets went for $37.50 each in section 202 (left side of the stage, right in front of Joe). As I was rushing to enter the venue, Stach was playing the manic intro to Crushing Day (that is the song that made me a fan in the summer of 1990 when heard it on the radio while vacationing in Cape Cod with my parents). I took my seat and absorbed all of Joe’s artistry. Suffice to say, the sound mix was excellent — Joe’s guitar tone was excellent as usual. I love the way he utilises guitar effects (Digital Delay in particular) to accentuate certain musical passages — very tasteful. By the way, Jeff drum sound was awesome. That drummer made an excellent impression on me and my cousin. Nice DW drum set. With respect to the bass player, Matt Bisonette, he played very well all night. However, I prefer Stu’s sound (not to take anything away from Matt). Performance rating 9 ½ chrome guitars out of 10.

As I remember, here is the set list : JOE SATRIANI Flying in a Blue Dream (Missed Intro Song — Buying Tickets from Scalpers) Crushing Day Devil's Slide Cool #9 Satch Boogie The Crush of Love Mind Storm Seven String Midnight Starry Night Raspberry Jam Delta V Always With Me, Always With You Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing Summer Song

Encore : Friends

In closing, Joe Satriani remains a true guitar innovator and an humble musician on stage. Keep up the great work, Joe.

After a short intermission (15-20 mins) in order to change the gear and time to go to the washroom, Dream Theater featuring local hero, James LaBrie, took the stage while the intro to Pull Me Under was played over the PA. This band is the best kept secret in the North American music industry. I am glad that these guys teamed up with Joe Satriani for this summer tour, they deserve to play nice venues like the Molson Amphitheatre. I applaud the promoter who put this package together, nice job. Earlier this year, I saw Dream Theater in Osaka, Japan while I was vacationing there. However, I preferred this performance. The boys were on fire and very tight. Seemingly, they made an impression on my cousin who was not familiar with their music. I rate their performance 9 ½ dreams out of 10.

As I remember, here is the set list :

DREAM THEATER Pull Me Under 6:00 Hell’s Kitchen (Instrumental) Burning My Soul War Inside My Head The Test That Stumped Them All Blind Faith (w/o the double neck guitar) Jordan Rudess — Keyboard Solo — outro to Blind Faith Instrumental Medley (Erotomania, Soccer Ball Match, et cetera) Lifting Shadows Off A Dream The Spirit Carries On

Encore : Learning To Live

I don't know about those two JS Clone melonheads (lol) but all bands were great...

Joe was phenominal as was Dream Theatre...I'm amazed that they can compose such music and perform in synch with each that strictly and be so attent to timing, accuracy and perfection.

I found Joe's playing and performance was alot looser and relaxed, so to speak...His vibratos seemed to ring the notes better.

As for Dream Theatre, again, they put on a great show...John's playing was definately smooth as buttah....but then again, I thought Orientals and Italians played soccer well...

Another night, another kick-ass Joe performance. I actually wasn't going to attend as Joe was not headlining (and I'm not a Dream Theater fan), but as soon as I read here Satch was doing 'Crushing Day', my $50 was spent!

Like most other JS fans, I spent numerous hours mastering Satch songs, especially back in High School, and my 'crowning achievement' was learning Crushing Day front to back. Last night was my sixth JS concert, and seeing him play that meant the world to me. I wish I smuggled in a recorder so I could hear it again. :)

My only gripe on the Satch show was the middle of MindStorm when Joe does the funky tapping stuff on the album. I was disappointed when I saw that he 'bypassed' that for the rhythm stuff. Oh well, I paid for Crushing Day, so everything else was a bonus.

I also missed Stu...and although Jeff is a great drummer, I miss the old school Jonathan Mover. Maybe they'll all get together again sometime.

A note on Dream Theater: I tried all week to get into their music, and although 'Pull Me Under' is pretty good, the rest of the stuff really didn't click for me. I enjoyed John and Mike at G3 much more than at this concert. Isn't the singer dude about 15 years out of phase? Looks (and sounds) like he belongs in 1987. :)

Anyway, as usual Joe rocks and I enjoyed it. Hopefully one of these times I'll win the Backstage passes!!

DJT

Before the show a bunch of us met at the Marina Grille in Ontario Place and had dinner. We talked Joe, talked tech, had a blast! That was great. All you Satch fans that didn't show missed out! Now onto the show itself.

I haven't heard King's X before and they were quite good. Their timing was amazing especially during the second or third last song. Wow. I was sitting on the side of the guitarist and I could hear him loud and clear. I couldn't, however hear the bass that well! HA! Anyhow Joe tore the roof off the place. Joe was absolutely ON last night! I've never seen or heard Joe play with such finesse and authority as last night. Joe, you were absolutely phenominal! Crushing Day live was UNREAL! And so was Midnight. I've now seen Joe perform every song I've ever wanted to hear/see live except for UP IN THE SKY. I hope to catch that one one of these days. Anyhow, Dream Theater was last and I had to leave half way through their 3rd song: I couldn't stand it. I appreciate them for their technical prowess, but their music is not for me. Anyhow, one last time: JOE SATCH ROCKED THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kings X, decent. Dream Theater, no. ... Joe Satriani, ruled the earth last night. Joe gets better and better every show. When Joe played Crushing Day, I lost it. The solo in that song drops my jaw everytime. Seeing and hearing it live completely destroyed me. I am at a loss for words to describe that show. It's only the morning after.

Talking with Joe aftershow for 30 minutes was the best experience i've ever had and will be for the rest of my life. What a night. I can't even get things through my head right now. I've been staring at this screen for 6 minutes trying to figure out how to describe what the show did to me.

THANK YOU JOE.