Joe Satriani - home > show review

silvamorphis	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Wed Nov 09, '11 7:06 pm
Great show. Satch, Vai, Petrucci (with new music he wrote just 4 the tour), & Eric Johnson (who's from Austin) as special guest. HARD 2 BEAT!!!!! SRO. Venue was very hot. AC could not keep up 2 cool the attendees...........................but it was still well worth it. Shoulda brought my own fan like Steve always does!! It was my my 1st out of town trip with my then girlfriend (Now wife). 900 mile round trip from Avery Island, LA (Tabasco land) as the only driver (GF didn't drive stick). I'd do it all again @ the drop of a hat!!!
erox420	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Tue Apr 09, '02 12:27 pm
The show was the best G3 tour show ever!!!! I won some after show passes and got to meet pretty much everyone from John Pettruci, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Mike Kenneely, and Stu Hamm. I got my EX Series Ibanez autographed by all the guys and the show fuckin rocked. I have never seen so much talent in one place at one time like Sat. I drove all the way from Dallas, and let me tell it was well worth the HOT SUMMER HEAT and the drive to see this historic event!!! All the guitar gods in one venue, who could of asked for a better night. Wish I could've met Eric Johnson as well, I loved his new guitar he was jamming on. Joe had some kick ass guitars that I had seen when he came to Austin by himself and jammed for 3 and half hours. John's new PRS guitar was sweet and he has some kick ass music he's coming out with. Who ever missed the show.... too bad!!!!
aqua_ape (Scott Leever)	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 7	Posted: Tue Dec 18, '01 8:53 pm
Good show, like seeing you guys jam with Eric, but got a little sick of blistering fast solos by the end of the night. But I enjoyed myself, and felt it was time well spent.
damiensdd1 (Damien Moreno)	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Tue Sep 25, '01 1:09 pm
This was not the best accomidation for the show, but none the less it was awesome.Having never seen john before i was intriguedby his playing . Plus his drummer really rocked.Steve and billy put on a great show. The way they get sounds from their instruments is artistic. When Joe came on the stage you knew. The music and atmosphere was just grand. I hadn't seen joe i at least a year and a half and i must say he stole the show. To me the most inspiring thing was the jam. With a surprise visit from eric johnson the four guitar gods jammed the place. By far the best show i saw all summer. Keep up the great work and looking forward to the next cd.
kspunkyz (kristofer zarling)	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Jul 23, '01 9:38 pm
This was my first time to ever see Joe in concert, well, any of the guys, for that matter, so that partly explains my satisfaction and, frankly, complete and utter awe at this performance. Yes, the Austin Music Hall isn't a great venue, and I would have enjoyed sitting down much more, but the only problem that I had seeing was when a 7 foot tall person stood in front of me. Oh, and I wished that there hadn't been smoking. But anyway, this was the first time that I had even heard John Petrucci, and damn! I was impressed. The brand new stuff that he played at first was pleasingly heavy and spectacular. Well, all of his playing was spectacular. Oh, and I was also slightly bothered by the set changes - at least 15 minutes after Pertucci, Vai came on, and he was really amazing. He's really a performer, and, of all the guys, he's the one that you really have to watch. My only complaint (and my dad's too) was that at times Vai almost seemed to lose his melodic continuity and was just up there showing off what a master can do with the guitar... not that that kind of showing off is bad, we just like melodious music. Then, about 20 minutes after Vai, Joe snuck on stage. He even hid just out of the lights for the first few minutes while he played. With those sunglasses that match Chrome Boy and that shaved head, he just looks so damn cool! Needless to say, to see Joe was totally awesome. He is a living god of electric guitar. And when Joe played some of his most familiar stuff, like Summer Song, my dad got completely into it. I'd say it was a great bonding experience. My dad had to go find a place to sit down later, but I just had to stay and watch the entire jam (I had made it up to about 20 feet from the stage by now) and it was worth it. We definitely got more than our money's worth when it became G4 and Eric Johnson came out! Oh, man! Anyway, I loved this concert, and I vow to see Joe every chance I get from now on!
JGART335	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Jul 16, '01 4:00 pm
The show was great, but the Austin Music Hall could have been better. There were no seats and after standing outside in line for an hour, and another hour inside before the show started, and standing through the show as other folks shoved to get closer to the stage, my back was killing me. People were smoking cigarettes and joints and the ventilation system was not turned on to clear the smoke. On to the show. Never heard John Petrucci before or DT for that matter. But with only a bassist and a drummer to back him up, it sounded like two lead guitars were playing. Steve Vai was good, but his improvisations went so far out I didn't recognize half of what he was playing. I enjoyed how he and Billy Sheehan were playing each others instruments. Joe Satriani was great. I had seen him twice in Detroit, once in Seattle, and now in Austin. The G3 Jam was good, but being in Austin, where Stevie Ray Vaughn started, the G3 plus Eric Johnson could have played a SRV song. Voodoo Chile is a Hendrix jam. But even that was great. Can't wait for the next Joe Satriani album and show.
ac_rox	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sun Jul 15, '01 10:21 am
http://www.offendedhomeless.com best show ever joe. hats off to you steve and john AND special guest eric!!!!!! your music and presence was awsome. that was the largest mass gathering for a guitar lesson i have ever seen in this town. you are the best. adrian
Budlyusa (DAVID WARNER)	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Thu Jul 12, '01 12:59 pm
Petrucci Rocked with the new DT tunage . Vai was very good but still a bit too smug for me . Was happy to see Billy Sheehan BUT was disappointed when they started ripping into Shy Boy .(a tad too predictable) Satch , well , i can only say that there should be an 11 for him . He's still got the smokinest fingers on this planet ! When Eric Johnson came on , I was very pleased , that white boy can play ;-) The finale was cool . The Hendrix stuff rocked .
jenarom	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 8:24 pm
This show was amazing! I attended the first G3 tour, and I can say that this show was a lot better, more fluid between sets, and a whole lot of fun. I had a bet that Eric Johnson would come out at the end, and I got really excited when he did. Seeing so much talent in one place at the same time will be unforgetable. I had never seen Petrucci before, but had listened to LTE and some of DT, and I was really impressed with him. Of course, he still has some way to go to play with the same confidence that Vai and Satriani have. Petrucci played for 45 minutes. Next up was Steve Vai. Oh man...he's the master. This is the third time I saw him, first on the 96 G3 tour, then on the Ultra Zone tour. Vai is the showman of G3. Even with Satriani you can be looking at Stu and not miss much of the action....but, if you dare take your eyes off Steve Vai, you'll miss half the show. His personality really shines on stage, and he has something very important that none of the others have, and that is eye contact with the audience. We were right at the front and he really looks at you, makes faces, plays with you and stuff. He is amazing. Next was Joe Satriani, and I'll say that although he's an excelleng musician, I felt nothing new from him. This was also my third Satriani concert, and I got the feeling of getting the same stuff than before. His show was great, no doubt. And finally, the G3 encore was the best part of all, even better when Eric Johnson came out. Four guitar gods and two bass greats together with a great drummer, was a time of glory. This was a great experience. I'm from Mexico, so I programmed a vacation that week in San Antonio, and then drove to Austin for the concert. We got there at 4.30pm, and we were of the first ten people in line. Now, waiting for almost four hours for the show to start was very tiring, and then the horrible heat inside during the show was almost unbereable. But, being a fan, once it started I forgot about everything. The show lasted for four hours. Reading the other reviews here, I also want to complain about the venue. The Austin Music Hall was terribly bad. They did open the doors on time at 7pm, because I was one of the first to go in. But the venue had no chairs (as in the other G3 show that I went), so after waiting for four hours then we had to endure another four still standing. My wife and her sister came with us and they had to go to the back of the venue after Vai's set. And let me tell you that I will not forgive myself for letting them go alone. Every drugged and drunk guy in the back of the venue was trying to have a chat and God knows what more to them. Fortunately, nothing really happened, but they had to survive those two hours. They wouldn't even let them watch the show. And the guys from the AMH were very rude to them and wouldn't help them for nothing. This venue should be avoided for any other show in the future. Well, thanks for reading. I really recommend this G3 show to everyone. You'll have a lot of fun and be satisfied with the experience.
gtrslim	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 2:03 pm
First off-HOLY S*%T!!!! It seems that they need to add a number to G3 for this gig. A former participant from a previous G3 tour was a special guest for this performance...Eric Johnson(hence,G4) I unfortunatly was a couple songs tardy for Petrucci's set but was overwhelmed nonetheless. I have both LTE cd's and was expecting some tunes from them(Thanks for Paradigm Shift). The stuff I heard was great. Great new haircut too!! Next up was Mister Vai with a slight flashback to the David Lee Roth era. Billy Shehhan on bass!! Another big surprise. As expected, the music was flawless, entertaining, and being Vai, very "left of center". I knew when I heard Steve & Billy start "Shyboy" that I was in for a real treat. Joe then came out to impress me like few have done in a long time. This was the first time I have seen Joe and even though it was hard to tell with the shades he was wearing, I don't think Joe looked at his fretboard!! Now THAT is mastery and confidence.The set flowed easily and I could tell that they were having a blast. Then the finale came. First the introduction of Eric,a blistering take of "La Grange", followed by some fantastic Hendrix covers(with TWO bassists) and a groovy song from the first G3cd,"Going Down". Each guy doing what he does best. By this time I was hoarse and swearing when I got home I would pack my gear up and sell it. Having seen Vai twice, Petrucci,with DT, once(great call in getting Mike & Dave),and Eric 4 times... I'm from Austin. Joe was a totally new experience for me. The show floored me and I can't wait until the cd comes out. Great job guys!!! Later, Gtrslim
picktooth	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Jul 09, '01 10:33 pm
This was a truely amazing concert, each played flawlessly. I was able to stand near the front of the stage. After Vai's set Virgil threw out his sticks and I didn't notice it until he hit me with one. It fell to the floor and I was able to get my hands on it before anyone else!
SPANKLEBUNNY	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Jul 09, '01 2:15 pm
Let me put it this way, if heaven was ever a rock concert...... Probably the best aspect of this show was that each of these guys put on a great performance that was different from the other two. The show had variety and good variety at that. Each person on stage had a moment to shine too, the incredible bassists of each band had a lot of shit to show, that was realy cool. Vai's rythem guitarists where great as well. The jam session was incredible, especially the Eric Johnson surprise, and the songs they played included my two favorites, "La Grange" and "Voodoo Chile". I have to say, their performance of Voodoo Chile would have made Hendrix shit in his pants. Most things in the show I can't even describe, you just had to be there to see it. One thing is for sure, Im never going to look at my practice scales the same way again, nor my picking technique. If your a guitarist, and you want to discover more ways to play the guitar, this is the show for you. Each one of them are gods at what they do, and to be quite honest, seeing this show once makes you want to see it again. Keep on playing Satch, some of us live off of your music.
GuitarDojo (Brian Stegall)	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 8	Posted: Mon Jul 09, '01 11:18 am
OK, First off ...The Austin City Music Hall should be condemned. That place sucks big time. It is a huge room with terrible views (Pillars In the Way). Horrible air conditioning. Not to mention the place smelled like a huge Porta Potty. My wife nearly fainted from the smell and the heat. Peolple were having to go outside to recoop. Why cant you guys book a show in a place with seats? I saw Eric Johnson the night before at the Empire Theater in San Antonio. That place had the best acoustics and seating. Next Time! Book it there! I dont mind standing up to see my favorite guitar players rip but not in 100 degree south Texas heat. Austin City Music Hall gets a 0 rank. Keeeping it simple for the fans. Petrucci is a must see. Portnoy on drums and LaRue on bass. Cant wait for the next Dream Theater gig. Steve Vai... ..Oh my !!!Came out and kicked our ass with shy boy. Sheehan on vocals all night. Vai rocks but did not play but 1/2 of my favorites. Joe Satriani... what can I say.....I thought that I might get bored because I have seen him so much in the past 5 years....NOPE!!! Blew me away again. Awesome! I had a feeling since Billy Gibbons payed them a visit in Houston, that Eric Johnson my pay them a visit in Austin. Like I said, I saw him the night before in SA, it was the best I have ever seen him play. Yup! Eric took the stage with G3 at the end for La grange, and Voodo chile. I dont know what the last song was cause I had to leave and get my wife out of that cesspool of a place. ( she was admitted to the hosptial the following evening). Need longer sets from Vai and Satch..........Come to San Antonio
cup o Joe (Jeff Fisk)	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Jul 09, '01 10:26 am
I brought 2 freinds with me, and a third one wanted to go, but, you know, his loss(heh heh). The show was AWESOME, and Vai, that was the biggest compilation of CRAP that I've ever heard, BUT IT SOUNDED GREAT! It kicked serious monkey with the whole tongue thing and the bassist and Vai playing each other's guitars, it was just wrong on so many levels! And Petrucci's songs were a lot harder than I expected, but they were cool, and before Joe came out, EVERYBODY was making noise! Either cheering or saying "Joe, Joe, Joe!". It was my first concert to ever go to, and it was the stuff of friggin' legends. Poor Eric Johnson looked like he was not well, so thin and... puny. Joe's clear guitar was sweet, first he said, "Like my new guitar?" and people went crazy, then he said "here" and I thought he was going to pass it around, then he acts like he's going to throw it in the crowd, but he stopped and said he couldn't do it because of insurance. Sorry to jump around so much in the timeline, but, in Joe's set, I said told my sister that he needed to play Rapberry Jam Delta-v, but then he played summer song, which is just as good. The NEXT song was Raspberry Jam, and he said the key words, "how 'bout some" and I new what he was going to say, so I yelled out "YES!" before anybody else had made any noise, then he finished his sentence and everybody went crazy. I've only been awake for 45 minutes, so if any of this sounds warped, that's why. I give Petrucci an 8, Vai a 9.5(it would have been a ten, exept the first song started out the fire thing, but then the bassist started singing and I couldn't understand a word he said), and Joe gets the big 10.
RaspberryJamDeltaV	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sun Jul 08, '01 11:23 pm
Yes, everybody's back hurt. Standing for 5 hours does suck. For some strange reason, when Joe came on, I didn't mind so much. I'm a fan; what can I say. I'd known who John Petrucci was for years (Those of you who didn't, or worse - COMPLAINED about it, need to do your research), but I had never heard Dream Theater play. I had heard nothing but good things about Dream Theater, so my hopes were high. I'd heard some people talking, within the seemingly ENDLESS line of people waiting to get in, that John had written these songs SPECIFICALLY for the G3 tour. To hear that he put that much effort into playing with Satch and Vai, my hopes were heightened even further. He was NOT disappointing in the least. Yes, he BELONGED there. He had the showmanship and the talent to back it up to belong in G3. That new MUSIC MAN guitar he was playing was a pretty well designed playing machine. It's cool that there is even a 7-string version he was playing for the first song. It was nice to hear a new, low, heavy flavor in G3. I wonder what happened to the Ibanez Picazzo he had. Joe and Steve each have their OWN Ibanez signature series. Imagine: G3, brought to you by Ibanez. I loved his choice of a bass player, David Larue. It was genius to pick someone who is used to playing with OTHER instrumental geniuses. Petrucci = G3 Perfection. Yes, Vai was next. Yes, Billy Sheehan was with him. I'd been to the second incarnation of G3 with Kenny Wayne Sheppard. I knew what Vai could do, so his personality and showmanship was neither shocking nor (and this is REALLY funny) offensive to me. Like all the fans say, that's just Vai. Billy... well... I knew who Billy was for years, but I had never heard him play, officially. He has talent out the butt, but his tone was WAY too distorted. I mean, after hearing David play, Billy's sound was almost HARD to decipher. He was still cool to watch, though. By the way, where was "Attitude Song"? I thought that was VAI's song, like "Satch Boogie" is Joe's. I guess it was his decision. That's Vai. Yes, Joe is not of this Earth. He's just so damn good! It was a nice touch that he started his set with "Cool #9." Must be a G3 tradition. His set featured all the songs that would otherwise have him lynched if he didn't play them. It was wonderful to hear him play my favorite song. (Praise for those of you who figure out which song THAT is.) What was even better was seeing HOW he performed. Being a guitar player myself, I love watching Gods at work. My eyes never left any of the players' fingers, especially Joe's. (From what I could see, anyway. I was kind of close to the stage, so every tall person in the building had to line up in front of me. I'm sure you can relate. So it goes.) Yes, the jam session was REALLY cool. Joe's "Crystal Planet" guitar was incredible. I'd seen pictures from the NAMM show of it, but I didn't think he would actually play on it that night. When he called out Billy to join Stu (Joe's bassist, if you didn't know), I felt it was an interesting catalyst, so I went with it just to see where it was going. When Joe pulled THE ultimate surprise out of his bag of tricks, I was floored! Here's why. I spent Friday night in San Antonio, my home town, watching a concert in a nice discrete venue downtown called the Empire Theater. The artist we came to see: Mr. Eric Johnson. My only experience I had with Eric was the concert CD of G3 and what little I'd heard on the radio stations. That was impressive enough for me to buy tickets to that night's show. I was blown away by his talent. NOBODY plays like he does. Totally unique; I guess that's why Joe admire's him so much. There I was, amongst this guitar admiration society of a crowd in Austin Music Hall, when Joe said that line that I'll never forget. You know what it is. I felt like an idiot not seeing it coming. I drove up from San Antonio; why couldn't Eric do the same? Austin IS his hometown, anyway. It was a wonderful surprise. Two Nights of Eric Johnson. Two Nights of Guitar Heroes. Eric stayed in the background with the rhythm section the majority of the time. I admire modesty in a person. That's just Eric. When it came to the solos, that was his time to shine. It was also wonderful, but not surprising, that they did two Hendrix tunes. (Yes, TWO! "Little Wing" was Hendrix's before it was Stevie Ray's, dammit.) The nail in the coffin was "Goin' Down," "just for old time's sake," as Joe so eliquetly put it. The original G3 lineup was in front of me! That was something special. I never got to see the first tour of G3, so THAT was a sight! Seeing the bald one again was a great experience. The same goes for Vai. Seeing John Petrucci for the first time was inspiring. I look forward to hearing the new Dream Theater album, as he said they were recording it when he got "the call." Eric Johnson's special appearance was the absolute best experience of the night. (Take THAT, Houston! You, with your Billy Gibbons! Ha!) Being so blown away by him one night, and then seeing him AGAIN with other legends the next night was a real treat. I stood for 5 hours and 15 minutes, 45 minutes of that out in the sun. My back was in absolute agony, my knees didn't work any more. I got a t-shirt and a key chain. I was standing next to a drunk guy from Corpus Christi with a cane who thought it was a guitar and proceded to play along with Joe, hitting everyone around him with it as he was shredding. Yes, we fans of Joe come in all shapes and sizes, don't we. If it's possible to overdose on guitar gods, I think I may have this weekend. I'm going to go take some motrin now.
DCW1972	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Sun Jul 08, '01 10:23 pm
Last nights (7-7-01) show was incredible! Petrucci tore it up and Satch was just plain awesome (to be expected). I have never seen Vai before until last night, the only thing I can say is HOLY S**T! The lick trade-off between him a Sheehan was great, Virgil Donati is in my opinion (being a drummer), one of the greatest drummers around!!! Well, maybe next to Mike Portnoy, he is the reason I started playing drums again. But the capper of the evening was the final jam, I was completely blown away when our "hometown boy" Eric Johnson came out and sat in...that was the best. One of the other high points for me was meeting Mike Portnoy, all be it a brief meeting, it made my evening, also getting to chat with Dave Larue was really cool, he is a very nice guy and it was a joy to be able to just talk with him for a while. If anyone out there has not been to the show and has the chance to go, well let me say you'd be a FOOL to miss it!!! The only reason I ranked this show as a 9 was that the idiots at the AMH did not let people in on time and I missed (as well as countless others) the first song or two of Petrucci's set. I also wanted to state that the venue felt like it was on fire and not just because of the music.It was so hot in there, I can only imagine how the artists felt with addition of the stage lights. All in all it was a night to remember...
Falling into Infinity	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sun Jul 08, '01 6:24 pm
I had already seen G3 in Ft.Worth on July 5th...now I made a journey from Dallas to Austin to see it again with a friend of mine. First, I must comment on the Austin Music Club....morons! We got there with tickets in hand before the show had started. Evidently, they didn't open the doors on time,...there was a line of people waiting to get in. As we got closer, I could hear music (mostly bass) coming from the building. Of course after seeing the first G3 in Ft.W...I recognized that it was JP's first song. I was so angry! They were frisking everyone at the door...and by the time I got in, he just began playing his second song. (And there were ppl behind us still WAITING to get in!?!) Anyhow, it was all standing room...so, as the show progressed I was able to get a pretty good view of all performers. John's set was excellent, just like his last one I saw! The sound quality was a factor in the last show...and even though this was just a smaller club, the sound quality was quite good. Everything was very clear. I absolutely love JP's tone...and his new guitar! Okay, he left and Vai took the stage. This was Vai's night to shine! He was so brilliant..the crowd just loved him. And he could really pick up on it..so his performace was just that much greater! It was pretty hot and steamy inside the club...half-way thru the performance, Vai took his shirt off and came out playing his other songs with such precision. After he's set, the crowd showed their appreciation by cheering and clapping for what seemed like forever. Now,..it was Joe's turn! Joe came on stage...and played some nice blues before getting right into cool #9. He sounded excellent! I thought this to be one of his best performance I've seen of him. The crowd just couldn't get enough! And after just tearing thru surfing...he brung the rest of the players out..and yes, as I hoped..he announced Eric Johnson!!!!! The crowd absolutely blew up with cheer! He really didn't look well though...he was so slim and pale? Anyhow, he played great. Unlike the Ft.W show...where the guitars were some what cluttered during the jam...they came out really clear...I could make out everything everyone was playing. To have added G3 veteran EJ to the jam ...was like "Heaven". LaGrange sounded sweet..and again Vai really stood out thru-out the jam with his solos! JP started off Voodoo Child,...I have never heard this song sound so POWERFUL!!! It was so intense....EJ pulled off a great solo.(as well as in LaGrange). And Little Wing.....oh my. Satriani announced the song..and Steve was about to say something in the mic...right as EJ started off the intro unexpectedly. But it went off so smooth....I must say that JP's solo on Lil'Wing was the BEST of the night(or at least my fave)..such a sweet solo! And at the end...Everyone of their guitars were "singing" the melody so perfect...very inspiring!...awesome tribute. Then Joe said "For old time's sake...we're gonna do Going Down!" Again, they pulled off such a great performance..with Vai's solo really sticking out on that one. Thru-out the jam performance..I was watching Joe at certain moments..you could just see the emotion he had when playing these songs with these players...he was soooooo into it!!!!!...it was just pouring out. Each player I gave a rank of 10 for their performance! It has to be the best G3 show I've seen....and that was my 4th one (1 w/EJ, 1 w/KWS, and 2 w/JP). It was a night to remember. It would have made for a great G3 album/dvd...it was so PERFECT!!!
Harveytherabbit	Sat Jul 07 '01 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sun Jul 08, '01 9:33 am
Best show ever. I didn't think it could top last G3, but it did. Petrucci started things off with a great set that showed he can definitely stand on his own as an instrumentalist. His songs were a little harder than I expected, but excellent nonetheless. He had Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater as his drummer, who seemed to be having a blast banging the living hell out of the drums. Petrucci played for about 45 minutes, then it was time for Vai. STEVE VAI IS NOT FROM THIS PLANET!!!! Vai was absolutely unbelieveable with his energy, showmanship, and guitar skills. His set was probably the funnest time I've ever had watching live music. People that think he's conceited because he shows off don't know him because that's just his personality, it's what makes him Vai and what makes him great to watch. Billy Sheehan was on bass and was a great match for Vai. The highlight of the set had to be "Whispering a Prayer" off his new live cd, it was perfection. He changed clothes about 3 times (one was a pimp outfit) and had this huge fan by the mike that made his hair stand straight up. Loved watching him play harmonics with his tongue and he and Billy Sheehan having several musical duels. I was sad to see Vai's set end, but he went out with style with "For the Love of God"...Steve is the king of guitar, that's all there is to it.... Then it was time for Joe and if there's one thing that's guaranteed, it's that Joe will kick ass. He's like a well-oiled machine, he's got everything down perfect, and half the time looks like he could play it in his sleep. Outstanding performance, only thing I would like is for him to change up the setlist. I've seen him a few times now and he seems to always play the same songs. He should ditch a couple of his older songs to play more than 1 each off his last two cd's....Oh well, no biggie, it was still great to see him do his thing. Then it was time for the jam and everyone was wondering if Eric Johnson would make an appearance (since he's from Austin of course)....Hell, people were even making bets on it! After Joe brought all the musicians out, included two bassists, he finally said "And 3 guitar players doesn't seem like enough, why don't we bring out Eric Johnson". The crowd went absolutely crazy (and this seemed a great reunion of the original G3). They played four jam songs and each one of em had a permanent smile plastered on their face (except Eric of course, who played in the background most of the time, but that's how Eric is....) Sheehan sang two songs, Vai sang Little Wing, and Satch sung I'm Goin Down. When they all took their final bow, everyone in the audience's back was probably hurting (since we had been standing crammed in for about 5 hours) but it didn't matter because this was the stuff of legend. On a scale of 1-10, I give Petrucci a 8.5, Satch a 9.5, and Vai a 10...And the show of course a 10, because with the addition of Eric late in the show, I just don't see how it could have been much better....Hope they do it again soon!