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allreet |
Fri Oct 22 '04 House Of Blues Chicago, IL, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Mon Oct 25, '04 7:22 pm |
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Where to begin?! My good friend picked up a pair of platinum tickets for him and I'm forever in his debt! The pre show walk around was infinitely cool.... being on the stage, getting to look at every piece of gear close up was a great way to start the night. Every member of the crew was incredibly nice and very welcoming to the group as we posed for pictures all around the stage. With the pre show expierence wrapped up, there was some time to kill. We wandered around the house of blues and really just counted the minutes till we could get back into the music hall. Finally, 6:30 rolled around and we got our prime positions on the floor. Before I go on about the show, I Just wanted to say what a great choice of venue. The house of blues had a very cool atmosphere and the exclusive feeling that you get with such a small audience really adds alot to the whole show. Great venue! The show started around 8:30 and I was pretty much dumbfounded right away. Joe was 15 feet away, playing like a man possessed. I've heard the albums and watched the dvds and I've been memorized by both, but absolutely nothing can really prepare you for seeing Joe live. Everything was perfect-- a great audio mix was very nice (my friends complained about it being excessively loud, but I've been to louder gigs and this one really didnt bother me). I loved hearing the Crystal Planet tunes and a real shocker was "I like the Rain". I dont know why it's a surprise-- it's one of my favorite tracks from the new album, but man, it really stood out when he jammed on it live. Great song and great first set. Non stop energy. Thank god for the 15 minute break... bathroom break and time to really catch my breath. The second set was perfect... Joe slowed things down and it was excellent. We moved back a few rows and the view was just as good as being up front. As expected, Flying in a Blue Dream absolutely floored me. The encores were great--- the place was really jumping. What a show! After the show, we headed upstairs to meet Joe and that was about as cool as it gets. I've been backstage at a few Doors concerts (doors of the 21st century) and I've met my true idol (Ray Manzarek) and I've actually been able to hold a decent conversation with him without stuttering like a total fool. Not so with Joe! I was really so in awe of him... I was struggling for words to say. I think that has to do with Joe being such an extreme tallent...... the things he did that night as well as everything he's done on his albums are just so far beyond comprehension for me. I've never met anyone that has the kind of tallent and true mastery that Joe has. Thankfully, Joe was incredibly cool and nice. I shook his hand gently and just told him how much I loved his music and how great the show was. I mentioned an article where Joe mentioned Billy Gibbons being one of his favorite guitarists (he's one of mine too) and Joe had really nice words to say about Billy. Too cool. We posed for pictures, Joe signed my pass (I forgot my copy of Crystal Planet!) and we said goodbye. Incredible. All in all, the night couldnt have been better. My friend and I wanted to hit up the Saturday show but honestly, neither of us could have taken it again....the show and meeting joe was just too much. It will take quite a while to come down from the whole expierence
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| JS_rules |
Fri Oct 22 '04 House Of Blues Chicago, IL, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Mon Oct 25, '04 5:18 pm |
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This was only my 3rd Satch experience but easily the best of them. I've been a die-hard since I first heard SWTA. I wasn't going to mess around this time so I got the platinum tickets for me and my girlfriend. I'd like to thank John Iverson for being very cool and personable throughout the whole pre and post show deal. Everyone involved was very nice and laid back. At around 6:30 we got in and went right up to the front of the stage- the only way to see Joe is to have him 6 feet in front of you. Finally, the show started at 8:30. Joe was on as usual- is he ever off? "Motorcycle Driver" was cool as hell! The free-for-all Joe jam at the end of that one and "Strange" blew my mind. I wonder if Joe has to ice his left hand after these shows... The meet & greet was awesome- I met Immortal5150 (The guy who was on night #2 of his 3-nighter.) Nice guy. Joe came right out, all smiles. Super cool, down-to-earth regular guy. No suprise there. I made sure I didn't over-grip the handshake- I heard Eddie VH also prefers light handshakes. So I had brought along my red Ibanez JS-100 to have Joe sign. I thought a silver sharpie was the way to go. Uh, no. Joe graciously signed it above the bridge but you could barely make it out. Oops. Then, super-awesome guy that he is, he attempted to sign over it with a black sharpie. That didn't work. Somebody who brought another Ibanez gave me a rag (thanks dude!) and I wiped off the sigs and got a nice big, fat black sharpie and Joe nailed a really sweet sig on it. Thanks a million to Joe for really caring about his fans- that guitar will be hanging hard rock cafe-style in my basement bar. He then went around and passed out guitar picks to everyone. THANKS JOE! YOU ARE THE #1 GOD OF GUITAR!
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immortal5150 (Terry Evans) |
Fri Oct 22 '04 House Of Blues Chicago, IL, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Mon Oct 25, '04 1:09 am |
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Well its day number two for my satriani platinum experience (read my review from the night before). The onstage tour was even more special than the night before. John (fan fire tour guy extraordinaire) introduced us to Joe’s sound guy, and he proceeded to show us this new prototype mixing board that Joe is testing out on this tour. It’s on the far end of state of the art. After he showed us what it can do I asked him a kinda geeky question. “How many decibels does Joe keep his amps set at during the show? He told me they set them at approx 110 db’s at one meter, and that they match his floor monitors to the same thing so he can walk across the stage and do one of his famous feedback dive-bomb’s from anywhere, and not just in front of his amp’s. After that john guided us up on to the stage and to look around and take pix. This time since it was my second time up there I took the chance to stop for a min and look out into the hall and imagine what it must feel like to Joe or any other artist to be up there. Man what a rush it must be! After that we went outside the hall for a while to give the H.O.B crew time to get the rest of the venue set up. While we waited I had the chance to meet and talk with my fellow die hard fans, which for me was just as much fun as anything else. I love being with people who enjoy this kina of stuff as much as I do. Well they finally let us back in and my new found buddies and I staked out our rightful claims upfront and chilled until the show started. Tonight when Joe took the stage he recognized me from the night before and said “hey man day number 2 for you”. His two opening oddballs from crystal planet, Up in The Sky and House Full of Bullets, were way tighter than last night (and so cool to hear), I know Joe was gonna be really on tonight! Which he was. He nailed “Time” and “Cool #9” and when he played “If I Could Fly” I felt like I could. During the second set “Sleepwalk” and “Starry Night” blended together perfectly and “Bamboo” had seemed really haunting this time. “Searching” was once again the song of the night. And “Flying in a Blue Dream” made the house shake as his last song of the regular set. The encore was a little different than last night. Joe chose to do “Satch Boogie” at the end, which I never get sick of. After the show our little group took our position up stairs for the impending arrival of our reason for dishing out $200. When Joe got there he was just like the night before. Kind, patience and very laid back. I’ve met a few big name stars in my life and the thing that separates Joe from the rest is that he goes out of his way to make you feel comfortable. When my turn came he signed one of his new “surfing live flame” shirts (which is the coolest shirt I’ve seen of his yet). And when the time came to take pictures he did something that surprised me. On the first night I brought this funny little sign that just read” JOE SATRIANI: DAY 1” and we took pictures with me holding it. Now Joe having the sense of humor that he does thought it was genuinely funny that with me being here all 3 day because of my wife that I would do this. So on this night when I brought out the “ JOE SATRIANI: DAY 2” sign he grabbed it from me and made the awesomely funny and cheesy grinning pose when we took our first picture. The whole group busted out laughing. And I came to the realization that Joe genuinely likes hanging out with his fans. Which is why we like him so much and why we have stood by him these many years. If Yngwie malmsteen was like this maybe he could sell a record or two here or better yet ……fill a concert hall …..Now I’m not knocking yngwie by any means….. I love his albums and go to what few concerts he has played around Chicago and Milwaukee. But what he isn’t is genuinely appreciative towards his fans day in and day out like Joe is…..I’ve never heard anyone talk about how Joe was short with his fans or didn’t seem like he wanted to be there. That’s what makes Joe so cool………..alright time to write about day 3……bye
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Spizazz (Steve Spizzirri) |
Fri Oct 22 '04 House Of Blues Chicago, IL, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Sun Oct 24, '04 7:42 pm |
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I went to the show Friday night with my hubby SPIZZAZ and had a rockin’ time!!! Joe was AWESOME!! It’s like he played for my hubby Steve and I---we were that close to the stage!!! All his songs were above and beyond----especially when he played STRANGE & THE RAIN!!! Both Joe and Matt were great singing!!! My hubby really likes “The Traveler”… because it’s about Joe and like Joe my hubby travels a lot too. After the show we met Matt, Jeff and Galen---- great guys and all down to earth!! Joe is so lucky to have them all!!! And of course, we met Joe----who is Above and BEYOND!!! What a humble man!! I wish the best for you, Joe!!! You are the greatest!!! My hubby Steve considers you his idol!!! Keep on rockin’ Joe---we wish you the BEST as always!! As always----your #1 fans!!!……Steve and Jody Spizzirri (Mrs. Spizzaz) * Pictures from the show @ www.spizazz.com
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Dizzy (Pravin) |
Fri Oct 22 '04 House Of Blues Chicago, IL, US |
Rank: 10 | Posted: Sun Oct 24, '04 7:29 pm |
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Fantastic show! Joe was truly unreal! The setlist was great, and I don't know how he gets so much energy, he was really flying around the stage from the get-go!! The House of Blues is a beautiful venue, and also very small, so I was pretty close to the stage. To actually see Joe's fingers move so deftly across the fretboard, made me appreciate his talent all the more. Joe does not work within the limits of the instrument, the instrument works within his limits.....which are endless. My only complaint about the show, involves the volume. For a place as small as the HOB, the volume seemed especially loud. Besides the obvious this can be a problem b/c the intricate details of Joe's music tend to get lost in the extreme volume. I'm a dedicated fan, and I can recognize almost all of Joe's songs from just a few opening notes. Still, there were times where I found myself unable to recognize the song until well into the intro b/c the extreme volume had muddled the sound so much. Oh well, maybe I should have brought ear plugs! All that being said, it was a terrific show, and Joe never ceases to amaze me!!!!
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| mley87 |
Fri Oct 22 '04 House Of Blues Chicago, IL, US |
Rank: 8 | Posted: Sat Oct 23, '04 6:39 pm |
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