I drove ~6 hours each way for this show and it was totally worth it. After discovering Satch about a year ago I bought all of his CDs and promised myself that I'd go see him someday =) I was not disappointed with Joe's amazing speed and precision. I wish he'd played more songs, but I realize this was G3... I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for leaving early and missing the autograph signing session. Next time I won't leave so quickly...even if I do have to drive 6 hours.

I had never heard of John Petrucci, so I wasn't expecting too much, but was I pleasantly surprised...Petrucci was frickin' awesome! Very skilled player with a very cool style...some hard riffs, etc.. I now have a 2nd favorite guitarist =) I can't wait until the songs he played are available on a CD somewhere...they were really hard hitting. I have to disagree with the others about John looking nervous. I think he looked pretty good up there and cool as hell with his spikey hair and down to earth look.

As far as Vai goes, I think he's a total 80's geek. Sure, he's got mad guitar skills and a few of his songs were actually enjoyable, but he's a geeky freak with his hair being blown around by a fan, Aerosmith-ish costumes and the guitar licking. Do chix dig that? I just don't think he's a well refined as Joe is. Sometimes the melody and progression is totally lost in a slew of endless scale picking, but Joe's is always done in a way that makes the song sound complete and full.

Vai's drummer was the best of show from what I saw tho...

-Wes www.warptoken.com

First, I need to say THANKS JOE! for coming to Denver and putting on an Incredible show. I was introduced to Satriani about a year ago and until I saw him in concert I couldn't quite believe that all of those amazing sounds could come from just one guitar. Seeing is believing and Joe Satriani blew my mind with his percision, speed, and creativity. Also I was VERY happy to hear John Petrucci for the first time. Standing in the middle of the restless herd of people, that didn't seem as excited as I though they would be, could have been very distracting but when Petrucci and Satriani played everything else seemed to just fade away. La Grange was a great choice for the jam session and Petrucci shined on Voodoo Child. Joe is only human but his hands and mind have been blessed by the universe. THANKS JOE!

Downside: In comparsion Steve Vai gave only an average performance. The showmanship is nice but it all comes down to what the note are saying. As one of the masters of the guitar he could have done so much more than hitting the highest octives possible for as long as possible. PS: Don't Get me wrong the show was still a ten and right up there with Santana as the best show I've ever seen

I saw Joe on the Engines of Creation tour spring '00 and I was much more impressed with that show. I've been following Satriani since '90 and I've *always* loved his music, but I didn't quite care for this show. I think the detracting feature in this show was the crappy Denver crowd. When I saw the EOC show, everyone was really cool and watched the show and didn't act like a bunch of idiots. This time there were pot-heads everywhere, getting piss drunk, jumping around like fools. You couldn't even enjoy the music. I didn't drive 8 hours to see a bunch of jerks, I came to enjoy Satch, Vai, and Petrucci. Unfortunatly, I was pissed off most of the time during the concert trying to find a decent place to watch from where there weren't a bunch of A**holes.

On a lighter note, John Petrucci was amazing. I've been following Dream Theater since Images and Words came out and I've never not been impressed with his guitar style. I hope the tunes he played makes it to a CD like he played it in the three piece band(Yea, I know about Liquid Tension Experiment, but I don't care for the keyboards in that lineup).

I'm sorry, but Vai needs to come up with a new act. Mike Kenneally can play circles around Vai. Anyone can hit a harmonic and bend a note with a whammy pedal. I think you all know the part of the show I'm referring to("Mr. I like to lick my guitar strings"). This was a very arrogant part of the show.

Joe, you never cease to amaze me. You played an awesome show. I wish you would have mixed it up a bit though...it was almost note for note the same as the "Live in San Francisco" CD.

Over all, I liked the show, but I can definately say I'll never drive 8 hours for a concert again.

Let me just say that this show absolutely blew my mind. It was my first time seeing any of the guys live, but I was familiar with all of their material and styles. Petrucci started it off and played these absolutely awesome songs that he wrote in less than a week. He impressed me the most out of the three. His style, his tone (even though it's mostly digital) was awesome, and unlike Vai, he could hold off on the tapping, sweep-picking guitar wizardry and just play a great solo. He had decent stage presence, contrary to many of the other reviews. Vai was exactly what I expected, a load of tapping, pinch harmonics, stage antics, and general arrogance. I honestly think that Mike Keannealy is better than Vai...he relies on none of the tricks and just plays. Vai is an awesome player, but the arrogant, circus factor kind of detracted from it. He had an awesome band, though. Billy Sheehan was really awesome, he has a great voice. Satch was also exactly what I expected, though I enjoyed his show much more than Vai's. His band was tight, as always, though I was dissapointed in Stu because he didn't take a bass solo. But Joe's songs alone were worth the price of admission. He played all the old favorites, but he also did "Devil's Slide", which was REALLY awesome live, they interlayed the lights with the melody and stuff...it was cool. He also did "Raspberry Jam Delta-V", which is a cool song. But the thing that made this show a "10" was the jam afterwards. They played the "set" with Little Wing, Voodoo Chile, La Grange, and Goin' Down. The Hendrix stuff was the coolest and Billy Sheehan sang them really well...La Grange was just cool. The thing that impressed me the most was Petrucci's ability to play blues, without all the frills. Vai's solo on Little Wing was the most tasteful thing he's ever played. It was simple and melodic. He redeemed himself with that alone. Petrucci is a must-seee for me now. He is my new second favorite guitarist, next to Eric Johnson, and Satch got bumped to #3. Petrucci's picking technique also boggled my mind. He really is great, I'd say the best pure guitar player in America, excluding Alan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin...those guys are unsurpassable. But for this kind of style, he's the best. He's a great composer and an outstanding technical player...mind-blowing.

--Ry