What can I say? "Keep on rockin' in a free world." Yeah!

I've been to Ruth Eckerd Hall before, before they remodeled. That was for a Moody Blues concert, and I was almost (three-fourths of the way going to attend the Satch concert sometime in August when poor Pearly was stolen.. last minute, my parents decided that it was either Satch or Blues and my stepmom doesn't much like the talents of Mr. Satriani.. So, that was an evil face glaring over my shoulder, trying to influence me) Anyway. Like Steve said when he got up on stage, "I see they have nice, new comfy chairs... Why don't you sit back and we'll kick your ass." or.. something to the effect of this. That is precisely what my counterpart and I did. Our asses (and ears?) were severely kicked.

Malmsteen. He's something else. Did anyone see that kid on the righthand side of the stage (onstage, it would have been stage left for all you technicals out there)? That kid was spazzing pretty bad when Yngwie was going through his set. I must say, the man is pretty wicked in concert. I'll give him a 9-10 for originality. Some of the things he does is just insane! My boyfriend and I were nervous when that acoustic guitar was placed on stage. From what we'd seen prior to this event was enough to convince us that it was a) going to burst into flames, b) be tortured, c) something worse. No, that wasn't the case. He played something very mindboggling. We saw him earlier at Applebees while eating dinner. That was kinda nifty.

Mr. Vai. That Steve Vai. What a nice man. We got to meet him before the show at Sam Ash. That was special. He took the time to answer questions, then sign stuff for people. After getting to know the man a little more intimately, it gave me a little more insight and connection to his music. Whispering a Prayer was BEAUTIFUL. I cried, then regretted crying, 'cause my eyes were dry from being glued open every single second each guitarist was on stage. Steve .. yeah, definite 10. That solo from Drive the Hell Out of Here (off of Elusive Light&Sound vol 1. - nice to see that he took some songs from that album. Rock on, Steve!!) .. I went to the G3 w/ Petrucci and saw some crazy stuff there, but the solo with the 4 guys was incredible!

And.. Mister Satriani.. Joe is my hero. Joe is my inspiration. I took up playing the guitar after several years of my mother's insistence of playing the G3 CD (Satch, Vai, Johnson) she ordered from those music clubs and after going to the G3 concert in 2001, my mind was determined to start playing guitar.. nothing compares to watching Joe in concert. It's beautiful, it's artsy, it's the best thing that I've ever seen in my life. Inspirational, enjoyable.. amazing. I had a huge smile on my face the whole time he played. Midnight! Beautiful. His whole setlist was great. It went from one end of the Satch-Spectrum to the other. No Raspberry Jam, but maybe tonight (goin' to Orlando! As I've been wanting to say, "House Full of Blues" instead of "House of Blues" .. hehe). Anyway, Joe always ranks a 10 in my books.

The Jam ruled. All the songs they did seemed to fit appropriately (Yngwie = Voodoo.. yeah. That man is insane, but awesome. Vai.. Little Wing seemed to fit well for some reason, and Satch.. rockin' in a Free World, yeah!) ..Everything came together well. My mind is still a bit blurry by all of it, so I'm sure there were some things that drove down the quality of everything, but I can't criticize anything when it's a rare treat that I get to enjoy. Been waiting and counting down the days for when they'd come to Florida.

I'm off to Orlando, now.

Overall the show was great. Collectively the 3 best guitarists in the world! The only other guitarist they could get to top this one would be Eddie Van Halen. (Wishful thinking) My favorite act this time was Steve Vai's set. His bandmembers are all simply awesome! I mean Billy Sheehan on bass and Tony Macalpine as one of his backup guitarts/keyboards ?! Steve was truly entertaining to watch. He has such mastery of all aspects of the guitar. He makes everything look sooo easy. My fravorite song he played was, "Whispering a Prayer". Joe's set was pretty good as well. Although I do miss him having Stu Hamm as his bass player instead of Bissonette. I love always watching him play "Always With Me, Always With You". It was great to finally get to see Yngwie live and in person. I've been a fan of his for along time and have never seen him live. His speed on the guitar is mindboggling! My favorite song he played was, "Evil Eye".

The Jam at the end was truly amazing. My only two complaints were that Yngwie was trying to hard to steal the show with his 'overplaying". It seemed like it was Yngwie against Joe and Steve. And Satriani's song, playing- "Keep on Rocking In The Free World"? by Neil (crappy) Young ????? Besides those little things , I loved it! I Have gone and will go EVERY year.

This is my 3rd G3 show. Here's my take:

G3: Overall each band seemed to be having a good time and was into the music. The G3 Jam at the end was the usual guitar overload, but was entertaining as always. The mix sounded a little off where I was (about 10 rows back, left center stage), but not too badly. I imagine it’s hard to mix the 3 of them.

Malmsteen: I've read a lot of bad reviews about him here, and I totally disagree. So the guy packed on some pounds, has 80's looking hair, throws a lot of picks to the crowd, and slings his guitar around. SO WHAT! We aren't there to judge a fucking fashion show. Those who can't or won't HEAR his classical influences and at least appreciate his style are ignorant. He obviously takes a lot of inspiration from classical music and rock. His performance was spectacular and reflected true classical and rock sound. Sure, sometimes he over did the runs up and down the neck. But overall I give him a 10. That’s right, a TEN!

Vai: This was the best performance I've seen Vai do. He was very laid back. He captured the crowd the instant he casually walked on stage with the house lights still on. This performance was focused on the music, as opposed to flashy stage antics. His guitar playing was very expressive and spoke to the audience. An amazing show of musical talent, and his band rocked. He gets a 10.

Satriani: What can I say about Joe? He's like old faithful. He consistently puts on a performance that shows his talent every time. This show was no exception. He delivered a precise performance of his classic tunes. He was laid back as usual, and shredded through his set. Of course he gets a 10.

Go to this show if you can, and ignore the bad reviews about Malmsteen.

I have never heard anything more bueatiful im my entire life. Joe was the greatest preformer at the event. However, Malmsteem played too loud, but it was amazing to hear if you had some earplugs to cut out some of the high freq decibles. Vai was simply amazing and adds humor to his amazing guitar playing.

Joe started off with satch boogie and played many other songs such as stairy night, always with me always with you, and many other amazing songs. The special effects lighting crew did a very good job, nice lights. Joe's skill at guitar and melody is unmatched. The jam at the end with all the guitarists was perfect at least. Very nice choice of songs to play. Hendrix's Voodoo Chile and Little wing, along with the song rocking in a dream world. This was an event that i would have regretted for my entire life if i missed. Hearing Joe brought me inspiration to start playing guitar, keep the music coming! See you at next years g3. Chris

Your shows are always the best - but you couldn't have given me a greater surprise then by including Billy Sheehan and Tony McAlpine as part of Steve Vai's band. What musical talent to surround yourself with! My only complaint is we didn't get to see Tony do his thing. He makes the most beautiful music! I took lots of photos (about 120 digitals) from my seat in the M Row. I would love to share if you can receive.

Great job, Joe - as always, my most favorite event of the year.

WHAT AN AWESOME SHOW!!!!! JUST MIND F@*##@G BLOWING!!!!

Yngwie: This was my first and what an awesome performance he put up. Great speed and unbelievable technique. All previous posts (prior shows) whining abt how boring or the 80's yngwie is should shut up. Gr8 stage presence and thrilled the audience. No nonsense and just got rid of 6 strings. u shld hv lit that guitar yngwwwwwwwwwwwwiesseeeee........... Gr8 show Yngwie!!! I loved that semi acoustic piece...........Cant wait to c u again..........

Steve: Vai, Vai Vai? Hes from another planet. Yet again he delivered. what a show!!! As usual he was brilliant and his music really touched out to all the folks at ruth eckerd. Whispering a Prayer did it for me. Also, his 3 guitar magic was the first time ive seen and u got to truly see and hear to experience it. Gr8 show steve......keep it coming....................... and also kudos to the supporting guitarists.....

Joe: Joe was cool as usual. Really enjoyed his entire set. ive seen joe 3 times by now and he is truly a genius on the guitar. Missed Stu though........ I wish Joe could play "War" in the future part of the tour. cant wait to c joe again.......... thank u so much.......

Pros: Ultimate guitar show on earth!!!! Period. There is nothing else u could compare to this one/tour. Be there and experience it !!!!!!!!

Cons: Individual sets were small. So was the jam.... (but hey, i aint complaining. im gonna c u guys in dallas again............hopefully!) and also ur individual tours.....

Thanks and keep rockin' baby!!!!!

WOW ! What a show. My primary reason to attend this show was to witness the master himself,Yngwie. Who? Malmsteen thats Fucking Who! This man after all these years still rips. Although some may not like this man he innovated a style of music that is 99% musical talent and 1% guitar effects that is truely amazing. Blues...well what more can be said with peformances like voodoo child. My only regret is that he could have had a vocalist with him on tour to help replicate his cd performances...not that I disliked this performance just that a vocalist would have been a plus.

Vai performed well and the Satch well he rocks as well. All three guitarists have unique sounds that they have adopted as their trademarks and each is deserving of a great big congradulations on a show well done!

Those fans that were at the show that chose to say that any one of the three sucked is no fan at all. Although you may not like a playing style or sound no of these guys are slouches or hacks and at least deserve the respect of being payed to make a living doing what they love while the rest of us work our dreary 9-5's.

So for what it's worth the show rocked and will attend next years show if it comes to town.

Thanks for the memories guys!

Last night's show was quite good! It was the opening night of the newly renovated Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, FL, and Steve & Joe really seemed enthusiastic over the new venue. Steve was awesome to listen to and watch, especially with Billy Sheehan on bass....he's absolutely amazing!! Steve was incredibly in tune with the audience right from the opening. He opened by greeting the crowd, then sat down on a chair, center stage, while he played his triple-neck Ibanez, playing multiple parts in unison.

I was there to see Joe, and had attended last year's show at the same venue. What can I say about Joe, but that he's total class through-and-through, and I enjoyed each of the tunes that he cranked out. His sound though wasn't quite as warm as last year, but the difference may have been that he was the tail end of the trio, or the fact that he has switched from his usual Marshall's to the Peavey XXX amps & cabs. His guitar cut through though, and his licks were dead on.

The trio ended with a jam which included Voodoo Child, Little Wing, and Rockin' in the Free World. Each traded solo's, and for me was one of the highlights of the evening.