show review
coolmomrocks Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sun Feb 04, '07 7:01 am
I took my son, we had 2nd Row!! Hahaha I wonder if Joe was getting dizzy on that spinning stage! Was an eventful night especially for my son who has been playing guitar for almost 2 yrs now. After seeing Satch I had to buy him an Ibanez guitar! Great music Joe and a great experience for my son. We are gonna be there for the kick off for the G307 in March at Dodge Theatre! CAN'T WAIT! Love you Joe!

bjdevil
(Bryan Roseberry)
Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Wed May 10, '06 9:57 am
It was awesome! My wife and I were in the 2nd row and we had a blast.
Get this story - my wife is sitting there next to me, having a good time, but not getting into it as much as I was (I'm the Joe fan of the family). A few songs into the show, I tell her, "If you catch a pick, I'll give you a thousand dollars!" She says, "sure, I guess..." and leans back into her seat, a little disinterested. A couple of songs later, at the end of "One Robot's Dream", Joe flicked a pick into the crowd, and it nailed her right between the eyes! The pick then fell at my feet. While a few others scrambled around with a flashlight looking for the pick, I reached down and picked it up, and told her "Thanks!"... Best moment of the show for me, and we laughed about it for a long time afterward...
Anyways, it's a pleasure to see Joe play everytime he plays. Joe was an energetic showman and virtuoso. How does he play that "Potato Head" one-handed arpeggio riff perfect every time?? On song selection, he didn't play anything off of Crystal, Engines or Strange that I recall (the show is a blur), and he played at least 7 or 8 tracks off of Colossal. You would think that would be too much off of one album, considering his library of songs. However, it came off REALLY well. Perhaps that's a testament to how good the song writing was on Super Colossal.
The rest of the band played well too. When looking at the long touring schedule, I had wondered if they'd have a lot of energy on stage, playing night after night. I was pleasantly surprised! The new bass player was really awesome (like others have said, there's a hint of Stu Hamm in his style), and the rhythm and drums were very solid as well. The sound seemed better balanced at this show than the last one put on at Celebrity - it was perfect!
Bottom line - THANKS JOE! Please come back soon!
On Eric Johnson's performance, I had mixed feelings. On the plus side, he is an AMAZING player, and that came out through all of his songs. However, the song selection overall left me wanting. I own Ah Via Musicom and I love that album (a lot of great grooves on it), but he only played "Cliffs of Dover" off of it (was the highlight of his set for me). The rest of the music he played was unknown to me, other than a couple of songs. Also, I couldn't hear his singing hardly at all, and the bass was overbearing at times. Where it was an ok performance that peaked at the end, it left me wanting more... If my ratings were split up, I would've given Joe a 10 and Eric a 7, instead of the 9 overall. UPDATE: PatrickAshe (and other reviews of other shows) pointed out Trademark being on EJ's set list. Thanks for catching that error...

PatrickAshe
(Patrick Ashe)
Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 8 Posted: Wed May 10, '06 3:11 am

Unfortunately, since the venue website, the "up-to-the-minute" ADOT website, and several other sources told me to take Grand (which ended up being partially closed) to get there, my new-to-Phoenix self got lost in a bad part of town and managed to make it to the show right on time. I tend not to write sour-puss reviews, but all of the trouble leading up to the show (and a few obnoxious "fans") kinda tainted my enjoyment of it. (That doesn't affect my "rank" of the show, of course.) That said, i did like the venue, despite the aforementioned.

ANYWAYS! On to the show. I highly enjoyed Eric Johnson's performance. As i'm just about as big of an EJ fan as i am a Satch fan, i was quite pleased when i heard that they were touring together. He played Summer Jam (which was great), My Back Pages, Manic Depression, Trademark (which, for the reviewer below, was also on Ah Via Musicom), SRV, and of course, Cliffs of Dover (which was totally awesome). I can't recall the two or three others that he played, including a country tune of some sort. Any help would be appreciated. But yeah, Eric performed flawlessly, and seemed a bit more into it and less shy then i've seen/heard him before. A very cool first time seeing him!

Satch was as good as ever. I've seen him twice before, both on G3 shows. He didn't seem to have quite as much energy as i've seen before, but that's not to say that he didn't still rock the house. Perhaps he was just going for a different feel overall. He played a few slower songs off of the new album. Now, SC isn't my favorite Satch release (and it was a HUGE part of the setlist), but i did like the title track, Just Like Lightnin', and Ten Words. And the Rubina intro was excellent. So yeah, i wasn't completely into the setlist, but it was still nice. Satch Boogie was awesome, as was Flying in a Blue Dream, Circles, Surfing with the Alien, Crowd Chant, and Summer Song. (Anyone have the setlist?) Alas, it was a good show altogether. I hope to see Satch again sometime.

SteveAllen
(Steven Allen)
Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue May 09, '06 6:56 am
Great Show! The last time I was able to see Joe play was on the Flying in a Blue Dream tour. A friend of mine worked at Celebrity Theatre and got into the show. I was able to sit right next to the stage. During the bass players (Stu) solo, Joe came over and sat right next to me. I said hello and thanked him for coming to Phoenix. The very first song he played that night was Flying in a Blue Dream. It sent chills thru my body when he started off his set on May 5th with Flying in a Blue Dream. The show was amazing and the crowd was awesome. Thanks for another awesome show. I only wish he could have played longer.

mikefr Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sun May 07, '06 6:36 pm

You never cease to amaze.

Once again, another great show. We had 5th row seats and felt like we were right on stage.

The night was unbelievably electric. It felt like we were with family. Each show that we attend seems to feel more personable than the last. Every tune was delivered with the same comittment, the same attack, and the same Satch punch in the gut. It was completely breathtaking.

After signing my JS at Milano's Music, this put the icing on the cake. And I can't imagine what backstage was like. Hopefully next time.

Thanks Joe. Thanks for playing for us!

Mikey.

KurtBarlow Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sat May 06, '06 2:50 pm
Absolutely awestruck. I have seen Satch twice before, Extremist and Strange tour and those paled in comparison even though I loved those shows. He is without a doubt transcending the electric guitar. I'm beginning to believe that one day the guitar will actually "physically absorb him" or the other way around! He is completely one with the instrument. The stage rotated a full 360 degrees as Joe played so every seat was a good seat. The new songs totally rocked with the title track "Super Colossal" coming off sounding even better than the album. It was HUGE sounding. Joe's fluid legato and other-worldy improvisation has reached even new heights. Everytime he would hit the suspended chord in "Cool #9" it was gorgeous. You could tell he was having so much fun. Every time Joe would come off the leads and just play power chords it shook me to the bone with the heaviness and power. This is rarely achieved and often imitated by blokes who just don't have a decent guitar sound. I have to say that Jeff on his drums flabbergasted me. Whatever he is eating or vitamins he's taking, I need to get some! Oh, I forgot it must be the Starbucks! Talk about endurance. Flawless and very crisp sounding. The dynamics of the entire band was also outstanding with them ending certain songs extremely soft and delicate and than returning with sonic power. Other highlights were, "One Robot's Dream", "Just Like Lightnin'", "Ten Words" and "Circles" with the elongated ending and the 'Enigmatic' reference! YES! I was expecting a lot from this show with EJ on the bill and Joe and I'm happy to say it clearly delivered and so, so much more. Joe is the best.....hands down. Nobody is even in his league anymore.

Robear Fri May 05 '06
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sat May 06, '06 11:49 am
The art of live guitar mastery at it's best, Joe you are COOL #9. My wife says Jeff is the best, stay cool, timkeeper, and fun drummer. We've been to most of Joe's concert here in AZ since the first G3 tour and when he came by himself and still his show gets better every time. See ya next time Joe!! Robern & Monica