Satch's playing was impeccible! Setlist was stellar! Jam was incredible! The addition of Journey's Niel Schon and Dream Theater's John Petrucci was a beautiful and welcomed surprise, and, as usual, nothing to say but rave reviews of Vai's performance, especailly when playing through a broken strap on a triple-neck guitar (that thing's gotta be heavy!!). So then what's the 8 for? Yngwie. That bloated backwards 20-years-too-late swedish almost ruined the show with his wild, drunk, corpulent antics on stage. We couldnt even see him during his set because of all the smoke crap he dumped onstage. I have an alltime lack of respect for him. I d him before, the rat , but now I positively despise that oversized leather-wearing panzy.

Satch, you're beautiful. Keep playing incredible music.

Next year how about Paul Gilbert at G3? I'd buy tickets to every show if that was the case. Can I get some people to agree with me?? Paul Gilbert, guys, come on!!

Angus

overall, the show was good. yngwie was way too loud for such a small venue as the beacon. either that or we were too close to the amps.

yngwie's stuff was all the same thing over and over again. as said before, he was always showboating, kicking picks into the audience, etc. the smoke looked like it came right out of spinal tap.

then vai came on. he was great, especially when he and his band played on each others guitars. it was a little annoying with people in the front standing, and everyone in my row and the 2 rows behind me yelling "down in front". it got to the point where it became so ridiculously funny. people started standing up to piss us off.

then satch came on. HE WAS AMAZING. he started with satch boogie, and the house was rocking. petrucci came out, and that was amazing. then they both played 'summer song' together, and nearly everyone was thinking that john should have been there instead of the egotistical swede whose musicianship equals that of abba. john and joe were just feeding off of each other, and i thought that was THE moment of the night.

then the jam. they played 3 songs: voodoo chile (yngwie on lyrics), little wing (steve on lyrics), and keep on rockin' in the free world (joe rockin it out on lyrics). neil schon of journey came out as a special guest for the jam. so now it was G5. no, not really. it was more of G1, the one being yngwie, hogging the solos, playing over everybody, etc. you KNEW he was drunk.

after the jam, steve yelled, "yngwie malmsteen!"

i give yngwie a 0, for being a bad sport, doing the same thing over and over again, and just ruining a lot of fun for a lot of people.

i give everyone else a 10. they all had great presence when they weren't in yngwie's shadows.

amazing concert. i had a lot of fun, except for when yngwie was on.

To Joe, Steve, and Yngwie:

Thanks for an incredible evening. No offense, guys, but they used to burn people at the stake for performing that kind of wizardry. Totally virtuosso performances all the way around, each set was perfect as a lead in to the next.

I'd never seen Yngwie before, and I was blown away. Just the touch, the technique, the musical ideas. It may sound strange to all the other guitar players who were in the audience, but while Yngwie's speed was amazing, I've never seen anyone play sweeps like that.

Steve's set was all I'd hoped for, melodic, musical, quirky rythms, and just beautiful guitar playing. Just my opinion, but I thought Steve seemed to play a lot more and tap a lot less than I've seen in the past. I especially loved his opening, just sitting on the stage alone with that triple neck. I could listen to him play all day long, and often do.

Joe: my favorite set of the night. You played everything I wanted to hear, especially Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing. Great energy and interaction with the audience. The band was as tight as could be, and loved Starry Night. Please come back to NYC ASAP.

Let Me begin by saying as a guitar player, who loves the sound of the guitar and people who are Great Guitar Players, I love all three of these guys. Fans of all of them since the beginning of their careers and have seen them all before. Now an unbiased review of last night's show.

Yngwie!!! I walked in a bit late but I saw the last 15 minutes of Yngwie. His stage show hasn't changed much since the last time I saw Him which was in '86. Yup long time I know! But I must say His playing has. Back in the day He was razor sharp. Last night He was sharp at times and very sloppy at others. By being late, I feared I may have missed my favorite songs by him Black Star, Far Beyond the Sun and Icarus' Dream Suite Opus 4 , but we didn't miss them. He started each one of those songs but did not completely play one of them! That just sucked. I love each of those songs like I do "For the love of God" or "Flying in a Blue Dream" and to not play them entirely was just SHOT!!!

Steve Vai!!! Wow!!!! What an amazing display of everything!!! A somewhat short set of tunes but did Steve and Killer Company pack it FULL of Phenomenal Stuff!!! I won't list anything 'cause I could go on for pages and it is something that just has to be seen!!! In my opinion, In Showman territory, Steve is by far, #1.

My Man Joe!!! The standard of Excellence We have all come expect, Top notch music with Top Notch delivery!!! Of course not enough time to hear all his best songs because the show would go on for Days!!! :-) John Petrucci joining Joe in Summer Song was a real treat. Matt Bissonette is a killer bass player, great tone and style.

The Jam! Joe,John,Steve,Yngwie and then Neal Schon added in to make it G-6, Lets not forget Galen guys! Wow, its almost too much!!! Way,way,way too much talent on one stage!!

Voodoo Child( Slight Return) - Yngwie gets the honor to open one of the all-time greatest songs from the master, He adds just a couple more notes than the original :-) then we are thrusted into a massive E THUNDER. WOW!!! What a sound that was. Yngwie's voc's were fair. Everyone took a solo except for Joe, I think He gave his to Yngwie :-)

Little Wing - Steve gets the honor to begin this classic great song, playing it with a similar beautiful tone Jimi used for it, a little out of tune from voodoo but we understand :-) and before steve gets to finish the opening passage, Yngwie begins to noodle, which became very clear in this song and the last song that He really can't let someone else solo and just play rhythm. Steve's voc's were good. Another song where everyone got a solo and they were all great and Joe had none, Gave his to Yngwie :-)

Rockin' in the Free World- MASSIVE THUNDER in E !!! What a punch all those guitars had together, DAMN! Joe's voc's were fair, Matt and Galen's voc's on the chorus were real good. Matt Bissionette has an excellent voice, check out the band "Jug Head" for more of them. All great guitar solo's. I think Joe may have taken half a solo in this song, gave the other half to Yngwie :-)

In the Jam I am real sorry to say that Yngwie acted very childish, like He couldn't stand for someone else to have the spotlight, which sucked beyond belief! I wish it wasn't true but it is. I will guarentee he will not be back and it is all his own fault. It is too bad He is that way.........

My Suggestions for the next G-3, Edward Van Halen or Ty Tabor!!!

Thank you Joe and Steve for continuing to inspire us all with your professionalism and love and care for music, and putting on these great shows. I hope for many,many more.........rich

JOE SATRIANI WAS ON FIRE IN NYC! He truly is the master!

Yngwie on his own was amazing. I was laughing in shock his entire set. He was so unbelievably fast. It was a lot of fun to see his guitar spinning and pick kicking, and all the smoke was hilarious. Bloody good time! I feel lucky to have seen him play all his hits at least once.

Seeing Steve Vai last night was a little disappointing. The sound mix was so muddled. Steve also looked like he was struggling to play last night, not one with his sound as usual. Still, the band's performance was incredible. It was a real pleasure to see Tony McAlpine play. Steve introduced him as “an incredible musician.” That drummer was amazing too and of course Billy Sheehan. Wouldn't it have been cool if they had busted into "Shyboy?"

I had been reading that Joe was pretty sedate on stage, but last night he was all over the stage rocking out. That was good to see. I was thoroughly impressed to see him getting down to the music. His playing was flawless and the band sounded great! It was sort of a greatest hits show unlike Vai’s unconventional song choices. Seeing JP and Satch trade riffs was amazing! When Neal Schon came out for the Jam, I though it was going to be unbelievable.

Unfortunately, Yngwie hogged all the solos and played over others. I really enjoyed seeing him until he selfishly played his riffs over all these other amazing players. Yngwie cheated us out of hearing Satch and Vai rip it up one last time before the end of the show.

I think Yngwie hit Steve with his guitar as well when he mindlessly tossed it into the air while he wasn’t even playing! We all ended up just laughing at Yngwie every time he played something during the Jam. Or should I say the Yngwie J. Malmstein showcase w/ joe satriani, john petrucci, neal schon, and steve vai on rhythm.

At the end of it all, Joe yells out "Yngwie Malmstein!"

Classy Yngwie...... especially in Steve and Joe's hometown.

Review of the whole Gig;

1. Yngwie. Bach called. He wants his music back. Yes you play better than me...technically. But you managed to just play the same song 6 times (in terms of licks, dynamics and unwarranted attitude) without the benefit of terraced dynamics or contrasting sections ala actual boroque music. The only time your playing made sense (besides the acoustic stuff, you did ok with that) was when the rest of the band was bashing on the V7 chord and you were playing a cadenza (ie what you normally play fit by accident). The harshness of this part of the review is elaborated upon in the "Jam section"

2. Vai. Again, freaking awesome. Your strap broke, and you played that huge monstrosity (but tuned intelligently, i like the addition of the synth on the uppermost guitar) without skipping a beat (well maybe a verse, but who's counting :) ) I like how you incorporated part of the melody of Erotic Nightmares into the second song. That rocked! The song for your mom was cool. I don't know how you managed to work against all the compressors that were on stage, but it was wonderfully dynamic. Ending with for the love of God was great. My dad especially enjoyed that. Thank you for continuing to be so sensitive with the guitar.

3. Satriani. Great way to start off the set! I saw you were playing guitars that you generally don't bring on tour. One bit of constructive criticism. I don't know if its stage volume levels or excessive tremelo bar use before hand, but i could tell you were fighting against the guitar on crystal planet intonation wise. I noticed that on live in san fransisco too. Its a great song but man it needs a fresh guitar! However most people that i have played with can't hit the broad side of the barn with an A440 at high volume. Your choice of songs and pacing was excelent. Bringing John Petrucci out was really great. I missed him on this G3 tour. And i think you should invite him back for the next one (provided mcloughlan and beck decline again). I am sure all the guitarists in the audience noticed how well he was able to adapt to your style for your songs to compliment you without mocking your style (as people tend to do when they copy the nuances of someone elses playing)... he was right with you all through summer song and his harmony was great. Good job Jeff as always. And Walen...man thats gotta be the greatest gig ever (Joe: "Hey, how about this time, you play with us instead of just managing?" Sure!") Thanks again Joe.

You Steve and John demonstrate what it means to have technical mastery over one's instrument while remaining very humble, thankful for the audience and sincere to the emotion of the music. You guys inspire me to be a better guitarist. I hope in about 6-10 years to maybe join you (heck man, it'd be great to just be in one of the bands)...and we can have a big G4 NYC thing! Ok maybe I am getting ahead of myself here.

One last comment, just from a pure audio standpoint. The sound guys mixed way too loud. Yngwie was a square wave pure and simple... and steve's set was a bit too loud in points. Satch's was all around the quitest for the most part. But i mean, part of what makes satch/vai music great is the clarity of notes and tone of the guitars... the sound guys had you either clipping the speakers, or clipping our ears (for reference, I was all the way in the last row of the nose bleeds)... clipping our ears takes away from the magic of listening to you guys. Amps can be high, but the PA needs to be a bit lower, and the bass needs to be *uncompressed* or compressed and mixed a bit lower than normal. Otherwise. It was great.

Now onto the jam section.

Up until this point I thought I was watching the G3 concert. But then i realized i was watching "spoiled concieted swedish guy butcher hendrix and try to steal the spotlight from the 2 guys who invited him on tour, and two other great guitarists." I have to applaud Steve Joe, John and the guy who's name I forget for dealing with Yngwie so professionally when his attitude and hogging of solos and refusing to play anything but violin etudes were so obnoxious.

At the very least though, Yngwie makes me that much more appreciative for Satch and Vai. You guys know music theory inside out, you know your instruments inside out. You also know how to hold notes, and bend notes emotionally, and how to let your other musicians shine (Especially Vai.... whether intentionally or not, thats a bit of Frank's influence coming out :) )

You guys rock. Call up Petrucci next time. He compliments you both very well and you all seem to like eachother. Buy Yngwie an extra mirror or something, and i'm sure he won't notice the difference.

Note: I never really listened to Yngwie in the past, i have no prejudices against him nor do i think i have to make fun of him to make Satch and Vai look good. Rather, his conduct and music set was ridiculously indulgent and rude especially during the jam section. He may be better than me, but if i was up there with you guys i'd know to give everyone space (that and you guys would play me out of the water.)

Oh.... one last comment for Satch and Vai. Piezo Piezo Piezo. Get a hold of one of the great double edge guitars from ibanez... it takes a while to get used to how they sound, but the simple addition will solve a lot of the problems with your music in a live setting... not the music itself..but just the acoustics... the piezos can be compressed without adding much noise at all, and are generally more transparent and have cleaner attacks. Its a bit of a trick to get the signal chain to handle the higher amplitude signal. If you read this satch, try playing a piezo guitar through a lightly overdriven marshall for "always with me always with you". The extra dynamic range of the piezos will allow you to play the softer parts basically undistorted, and as you pick harder there is plenty of headroom in the piezos to send extra gain to the amp... it'll allow the song to be that much more dynamic and sensitive and not take away distortion from parts that need it. And for the songs where you need a compressed signal so the attack stays even (like on the right hand muted, left hand arpegios (hehe the satch arpegio!) on the Power Cosmic Parts 1+2) you can run both pickups through a DS-1 or any combination thereof....

Thanks again for a great concert and sincere playing. Everyone but Yngwie gets a +20 rating, he gets a minus 10 rating... added up, i just take 2 points off for the harsh clipping of the PA and just the fact that it wasn't as special as the last NYC beacon concert (first night) with Vai Petrucci and Satch. That concert almost made me want to cry it was so good and so heartfelt as a home coming sort of thing.

Lemme get in here first... First things first, THIS WAS G5! At the end of Satch's set John Petrucci came out and the both did Summer Song. Then, just when you thought G4 for the final was enough, the guitarist from Journey comes out.

The show was great. I went dreading Malmsteen's antics based on other reviews, but his set was very good. Yes, there was antics, drop kicking picks, guitar acrobatics, and I feel bad for his tech, whom he repreatedly threw his guitar to/at, but he played well. He even broke into Red House (possibly to disuade reviewers that see him as harmonic minor with the metronome at 200). His acoustic song was wonderful.

Vai was great. Very articulate and soulful. He dedicated one song to his Mom, who was in the venue. His set only consisted of three songs (I think??), but they were long and had drawn out endings - not they they were not a real treat, but I could have heard some more songs. His style is his own, and he is the best at it. Also, the strap on his three-neck Ibanez broke for his first song, so he (quite impressively) held the massive guitar the entire time.

Satch was great. I am a real Satch fan, have been for 15 years, and I was delighted that his set was fairly long. If I had to choose, I would see Satch first. His tone was great (as usual) and his band was good. Bissonette is back. Playerd Starry Night, Always..., The Extremist, Boogie.... Great. Then Petrucci came on at the end. He seemed like he was enjoying himself, which translated.

Overall, the sound was very good. I didn't ever have to put in my earplugs, which is nice at a show like that (when you want to hear). I was in the orchestra, so the acoustics were as good as they were going to be at the theatre, I never had too much distortion/dissonance. I don't feel like Malmsteen stole the show, although at the end I though he was going to knock Neal Shon out with his guitar swinging around his neck. He did seem like he wasn't "part of the team", but that might just be his style and I didn't bother to infer anything. Something funny was when his guitar wasn't working (in the seats we joked that they turned it off for a while at the boards) he kept running back to his stack to tweak a knob here-or-there. Then he took his guitar off and put it on top of the stack. Everyone thought it was so that his tech counld't reach it - because he couldn't. Strange stuff like that kept happening.

The only thing that sucked was that I didn't get back stage passes, but I guess everyone had the same chance. Joe, if you read this, thanks, and if you are in my area (which I think you are sometimes), drop an email if you have some extra time.

-CH