Man OH Man! I couln't believe what a fantastic show. I am 34 and have seen at least a hundred shows, but this one was by far and away the single most entertaining show of my life. I actually got a bit teary-eyed for a minute when they did Little Wing together... Made me have Vaughn and Hendrix flashbacks. And let's not forget little Nick Sterling, the shy guitar. He's going places!

John Petrucci is now an active part of my playlist. He was brilliant.

Simply incredible. John started the show with a couple of orignal tunes then played a LTE/Dream Theater Tune. Vai was awesome with Billy Sheenan playing bass. They really add an element of showmanship that elevates the music they were playing. Probably the best Vai show I have see. Joe comes on last and blows the whole place away. Joe was on and Stu as usually performed flawlessly. The 'encore' after Joe's set is truly special.

After the show I went to the party and met everyone. Its something I will always remember and cherish. Many thanks to Joe, Steve and everyone else!

Act 1: John Petrucci - John started out with some technical difficulties for the first 2 songs of his set. His guitar kept cutting out to the clean channel. Dave LaRue, bassist for Steve Morse/The Dregs, filled the gap nicely with some excellent bass. Once everything was working, John, Mike, & Dave did an excellent job. I was quite surprised at the quality of John's songs that he wrote for the tour. Not being an instrumentalist per se, his songs lacked that certain something that guys like Vai & Satch have, but his were definitely good. John's definitely a better music write in collaborative environments. Which was apparent with his final song, Paradigm Shift which bled into Erotomania. Wow! There are definitely a lot of Dream Theater/LTE fans in Phoenix. The crowd went wild.

Act 2: Steve Vai - This is the guy that I was waiting for. Vai is the perennial showman and, of course, THE guitarist. I sure would like to see him with just a bass player and a drummer. Instead, I got Steve, Mike Keneally(guitar,keys), Billy Sheehan(bass/vocals), Virgil Donati(drums), and Dave Weiner(guitars/sitar). Steve opened up with Shyboy, a David Lee Roth/Talas song, with Billy cranking the vocals. He sang quite well. Steve still puts a smile on my face when he plays. He played a few songs I wasn't familiar with, but were beautiful. They must be off his new live CD. He played some of his "standards" like The Animal, and For the Love of God. The only song off of Ultra Zone he played was Jiboom. I know for a fact that there are better songs on that album for him to play, but he still shredded, which I guess is the theme for the evening. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the mix, but I didn't enjoy his performance like I had in the past. It left me wanting... which, perhaps, is good.

Act 3: Joe Satriani - I love Joe... of that there is no doubt. In the past, his shows have often been boring to me. Not this time. Joe, Stu Hamm, and Jeff Campitelli rocked! Even my girlfriend was hooting and hollering. I can't remember what he opened with, but he just kept playing like there was no tomorrow. From Satch Boogie, to Flying in a Blue Dream, he was just non-stop. Joe had the best performance of the evening.

Act 4: The Jam - I was a little worried for John... let's face it, he's in a different league than Steve and Joe. Let me tell you, John held his own and did it well. The guy never ceases to surprise me. The guys started with La Grange, a classic ZZ Top song. Billy Sheehan sang, and the boys took turns at giving their best wanking they could. If this were a head cutting, Joe would have taken it. The man can play the blues. Next up were a couple of Jimi Hendrix tunes, Voodoo Chile and Little Wing w/ Steve on vocals. John started up Voodoo Chile with some wah and a grin. They all ripped it up. Little Wing was just amazing. Steve started it out and sang sweetly. John's solos were very jazzy, lots of chromatic playing between the change ups: very nice. Steve started smiling and giggling when John was playing it sounded so good. John took the prize for best soloing in this round for inventiveness. Joe and Steve did a fair job with their solos.

Summary: All-in-all, this wasn't the best G3 I've seen, but it was good. I just wish Mike would've got to play in the final jam. He was definitely the best drummer of the evening, with Virgil in a very close second, and Jeff dead last. I'd have to say that Dave and Stu were tied for best bassing. Billy definitely belongs in bombastic rock bands. ;) Technical difficulties aside, John had a very good show. I hope he pursues his solo writing and fleshes it out more. We all know how good he writes when he's in DT, I think it holds promise for his solo writing. Steve is Steve. He's the only guitar player I've ever heard that can communicate so easily thru his playing. He makes it look so easy, too. Joe has his feet firmly in rock-n-roll. He's good at it and he knows it. He is a musician's musician, meaning, he put's the music before the shred and shreds only when appropriate.

I think my girlfriend put it best: "This was a night to show how many notes you can cram into a set. Joe actually played songs." I guess I must be getting old because I agree with her.

Peace!!! :D

This show was phenominal! I went to this show mainly to see John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy. I had heard alot of Satriani's stuff and very little of Vai's, but I have to say I was quite impressed with all the acts on the bill. Petrucci started things off, with Mike on drums and Dave LaRue on bass. As he was playing through his set, I did not recognize a single song, till the end when they did Paradigm Shift/Erotomania. I loved all the songs, just hadn't heard them before and was wondering if I was missing some rare Petrucci album/side project somewhere. WHen he was done he said he had written all new material for the G3 tour. I was INCREDIBLE! Then Steve Vai took the stage. I did not know what to expect from him, but this cat put on one hell of a performance! He is a bit excentric, with the shirt changing and the feathered purple pimp hat, but the dude can play! He had Billy Sheehan on bass, Virgil Donati on drums, Mike Keneally on guitar and keyboards, and Dave Weiner on guitar. I am a big fan of drummers and love Portnoy and Peart. But, holy crap can Virgil bang those drums. He had a very short but very powerful drum solo. He was twirling his sticks in both hand while hitting all his cymbals....I was in total amazament. Lastly Joe Satriani took the stage with Stu Hamm on bass and Jeff Campitelli on drums. His whole set was exciting and full of energy. He was really on this night. And for the finally, everyone came out on stage for an all star jam session doing Z.Z. Top's "La Grange" and Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" and "Little Wing".

I would highly recommend going and seeing this tour if it is anywhere near where you live. You will not be disappointed!