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Groove_Thing (Kolt Green) |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 9 | Posted: Wed Aug 25, '04 6:25 pm |
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Whoa! Where to even begin, huh? Well, I suppose from the... beginning. Okay, well this
would be my second time seeing "the man." I first saw him in pretty much my hometown, Pittsburgh, PA when he came in September of 2002 when he was touring with King's X and headliner's Dream Theater (wooo) - so basically two years had passed (waaay too long, yes, I know. Didn't get to see him on 2003's G3, damnit!) Okay, back to the review... First off, the actual "fair" was pretty decent, the biggest fair I've ever been to, lots of fun stuff, avenues of activities, gaming booths, rides, you name it... Now on to the music, first on was Thin Lizzy and to be honest they took me by surprise, I mean I "heard" of them before but nothing what I've heard that night... their technicality - musically and overall songs were much more than anticipated - no complaints here! :-) So, they played a pretty decent half hour-ish set with good vibes goin' on. Played their classics, "The Boys Are Back in Town," "Jailbreak," etc. Then comes the "Chosen One," (noo... I'm not talking about Neo from The Matrix...) Joe who comes strolling from one side of the stage to the other and very pleasantly waves to the cheering crowd of approx. 3,000 - 5,000. Straps on his new, shinny, candy apple
red Ibanez and immediately jams out, "Hands in the Air" which you could tell Joe was feelin' it because he was just bobbin' and rockin' back and forth to the groove of the intro. He was pretty estactic all evening, actually, he was probably the mot energetic I've ever seen him, granted it was only once in person but I'm even considering the DVDs and such - way cool! He in some ways (as he somtimes does) reminded me of Angus Young pacing back and forth and ocassionaly, mechanically headbangs to the beat, haha, he was truly amazing live - very active. A bit of a side note, I saw Galen at the sound engineer's booth and we both made eye contact and I was thinking "Waait.. this IS Galen, right?" I knew who he was but at the same time I was questioning it but he kinda looked at me and paused with the stare of "Oh, so you're probably going to say hi or ask me to sign something or shake hands, huh?" but I just kinda kept strolling back to my seat and he went off on his way. Damn, if I only would've said something, lol, I mean he was, like, two feet away from me! Ah well, anyways, Joe had on a big smile and was interacting with the crowd all night, everything from doing his guitar call and responce with the crowd to just looking at certain people and nodding/smiling at them - even throwing out guitar picks ocassionaly that he regularly does. I took a few pictures with my digicam throughout the first quarter of his set but unfortunately, dumb me had forgotten to charge the batteries and soon it crapped out! Booo! I sent them to the webmaster on here and hopefully they should be posted soon. :-D Overall sound was above average of the expected outdoor concert scenario... nicely loud, fairly clear and punchy. Joe played a good handful off his new album, even his setlist in whole was pretty well situated for being the "co-headliner" which still is limiting in performance time. "Gnaahh," "Up in Flames," "Is There Love in Space," "I Like the Rain," and the aforementioned, "Hands in the Air" were played of his new CD (I believe those were it... hmmm...) The weather was pretty crappy all day, with overcast and looking to just about rain anytime. As luck would have it, the weather held up all day until security started letting people in around 5:30 and then it started drizzling which continued off and on throughout the night. Joe cracked a few jokes in between, "Up in Flames" saying he'd hope this song would heat things up a little and then after, "I Like the Rain" he commented, how ironic it is that its raining and singing a song about raining "...on such a -beautiful- day as this!" (note, Joe saying in heavy sarcasism, haha.) to which Jeff Campitelli drum rolls and hits cymbal. Also to which he played a chosen few of his classics, one of them, a huge favorite, "Cool #9" that starts out in it's very cool band jam/improve/solo and then smoothly enters in. Another favorite, and great live treat, "War" which during the breakdown/backing rhythm over solo part Joe skips/hop scotchs in place to the beat - great vibes he thew off into the crazed "Joe,
you're f*ckin' awesome!" crowd. It was somewhat amazing, I mean, I guess afterall it didn't really take me by surprise, I mean this IS Joe but the crowd gave him more of a responce then it did for Thin Lizzy and arguably more so than Deep Purple during a few moments. Joe then went throughout the rest of his setlist of "Flying in a Blue Dream," "Always with Me, Always with You," "Surfing with the Alien," "Satch Boogie" and I think there might've been some other ones in there as well but that's the gist of it them. Before we knew it, Joe was saying his goodbyes, thank yous, introducing the bandmates, and appreciations to us all and then humbly walked off with the rest of the band after an approximate exhausting hour set, and that was that! I was going to get the Premium Seating/Tickets on the site here but just couldn't scrounge up the cash (you know the story) but I seen a couple lucky front rowers with their special backstage passes on and shirts. As for me, just gotta hope I get the Aftershow Pass Giveaways or I have money next Premium Ticket sale! Though, I guess there's nothing to be too sad about seeing how I will be seeing him again in October when he comes to Pittsburgh at the Rock Club at Station Square! Whoo-hoo! Can't wait for that one, should be a very cool, initmate gig setting... sweeet! Maybe I'll run into him or catch him eating at the Hard Rock? Ending on Deep Purple's rockin' set, they took the stage and well, what can I say other than "Wow!" what a bunch of old school rockers and can still get up there in their mid-50s (60s, haha) and kick it with a tasty groove. This was my second time as well seeing them, first time when I went to see DIO and Scropions opened for them both
back in 2002. Didn't get to hear their new album yet but from what they played off it, it
sounds for the most part, classic Purple. Steve Morse is another absolutely amazing guitarist as well... that solo he did, "Contact Lost" was just mind blowing, kickass Steve! :-D Played all their hits, "Hush," "Smoke on the
Water," "Perfect Strangers," "Highway Star" and list continues... They played for a good two hours and one good thing, about midway through the rain stopped and it was pretty decent from then on... 'cept our (my girlfriend, and two good buddies) drive of over 200 miles back to Johnstown, PA - Uuggh! But it was well worth it, Satriani is the man and Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy kicked! Oh, and whoever has read this in its entirety, you deserve a cookie (either that or you were just as bored as I am now finishing this, in other words, you're just psycho!)
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JMSEAL3 (Jack Mangefrida) |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Tue Aug 24, '04 7:17 pm |
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I just wanted to say this was the first time I saw Joe live, and let me tell ya it was an honor, he and the band were awesome ! I won a random backstage meet and greet with Joe and he is the most down to earth guy I've ever met. It was cold, and rainy, but I would have walked through Hell with gas soaked clothes just to see him play ! Thin Lizzy was very good, I missed Deep Purple, cuz I was just there to see the Man, the Master, the Artist, Mr Joe Satriani.......... Thanks Joe, it was awsome. And this is to Debbie Ritch, thanks for taking the pic for me and my brother, it came out great. I will see you guys play soon. Rock on Joe
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RhythMan (Mike Ball) |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Mon Aug 23, '04 11:25 am |
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This was my first time seeing Joe, and it was truly amazing. In the pouring rain and cold it just seemed like a special thing. Satch Boogie and Cool #9 were 2 of the openers and they blew my mind. I cant remember the whole setlist, but it was pretty ironic that he played I Like The Rain. Truly a great show, hope to see G3 somewhere by me!
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King_Me (Mike Engelking) |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Mon Aug 23, '04 4:11 am |
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Another excellent performance by Joe! Thin Lizzy was good. I'm not much of a fan, but they were pretty entertaining and played a few staple songs and a couple new ones and sounded good. Joe came on next and totally rocked! By this time it was raining pretty well (it rained pretty much the entire concert) but it didn't bother me a bit. I was too busy fixated on the man and his unbelievable guitar playing. He did a great mix of old and new songs and had a lot of energy and great fan interaction. This is the second time I've seen Joe live and it was ever better this time around. Well worth the price of admission. Deep purple sounded good also, but they didn't do much for me on stage entertainment. The lighting and sound quality were great, but they were not nearly as entertaining as Joe. I wouldn't pay to see them live again, even though I enjoy some of their music. I went to see Joe anyway and drove in from Cleveland with a group of relatively new Joe fans that loved it as every bit as I did. For ratings, I give Thin Lizzy an 8, Joe a 10 and Deep Purple a 6 (overall stage performance is key here.) I would love to see Joe back in Cleveland soon, we love him here. Keep rockin'!!!!!!!!
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| JoeFanFor18Years |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Sun Aug 22, '04 12:50 pm |
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One of Joe's best shows that I've seen in years, although his shows are always great. Joe, Matt, Jeff, and Galen seemed very inspired and their energy was contagious, despite pelting rain. Great performances of Gnaahh, Up In Flames, Is There Love In Space, and I Like The Rain. War was a rare treat and a great addition. Always With Me was exceptional. Rounding out the list were Satch Boogie, Flying In A Blue Dream, Cool # 9, and I believe Summer Song or Surfin'. I can't the last song. The ITLIS songs made for a terrific setlist. The guys seemed to have great fun and displayed enormous energy. I only hope that Joe can work in Souls of Distortion and Lifestyle in his Evening With tour. All in all, the Hamburg show was stellar. A rare treat for a guy who drove 16 hours to see the show.
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rg570vette (kevin bartosiewicz) |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Sun Aug 22, '04 8:06 am |
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WOW This is probably the best concert experience I've ever had. Going to the show, I wasn't expecting much from Thin Lizzy to be honest with you, but they played a really solid set. The singer could shred quite well, but I got sick of the same exact pinch harmonic he did in every song. That was my only complaint. Then came the man, Joe Satriani. His set was more than worth the ticket price to me. He played for a good hour or so and he did a great job mixing in the old tunes with the new ones. My favorite part of the whole concert was when he played Up In Flames. After his solo in that song, he was hopping across the stage and just seemed to be truly enjoying himself. Joe also did some cool little improvs and played through a groovin intro to Cool #9. Now onto Deep Purple. I have never really listened to any Purple but I was excited to listen to Steve Morse to play. Soon as they started playing, I couldn't believe how tight their sound was. Very powerful stuff. When Steve Morse played his instrumental, I was completely blown away. He is definitely a new favorite guitarist of mine, right up there with Satch, Vai, and Petrucci. So, combine three solid acts with great seats and you'll have the best concert you've ever seen.
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Squares (Alan Hancock) |
Fri Aug 20 '04 Erie County Fairgrounds Hamburg, NY, US |
Rank: 9 | Posted: Sat Aug 21, '04 10:38 am |
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Thin Lizzy was alright. Joe was awesome as usual. Deep Purple was great as always. Was surprised how much new stuff Joe played. Buddy of mine and I are gonna be framing the autographed posters they were selling. (Hands in the Air, Satch Boogie, Cool #9, GNAAHH, I Like the Rain, Up in Flames, War (Nice Treat!!!), Always With Me, Always With You, Is There Love in Space?, Flying in a Blue Dream, Surfing With The Alien) Set list is really close, order might be a little off. War was a nice little surprise thrown in there. Joe should do that stuff more often. Really awesome show. Looking forward to seeing Joe again in October!
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