My first Joe concert.

First time hearing Petrucci. Incredible! I'm now a Dream Theatre and LTE fan. I give him a 10.

Vai was good. I'd say he drug his songs out too long though. I give him a 7.

Joe? Awesome! Definite 10.

Warner Theatre was nice and so was the staff. It seemed there were no bad seats in the theatre. If you go to this Theatre use the Metro and stay out of DC traffic. Be advised there are a lot of panhandlers in the area. We were asked for money before the show at McDonalds, during intermission when I stepped outside and I think maybe even when we left. Don't give them money unless you want to support a drug or alcohol habbit. Give them food; if they'll take it. Protect yourself though.

God bless.

Awesome! It was a very enjoyable & remarkable performance at the Warner Theater.

I also, saw the Surfin' tour at Pensacola near the Civic Center (88 or 89). That was my introduction to Joe & the definition of excellence with a guitar.

The Frankfurt, Germany show (Flying a Blue Dream) was also a very good show that goes back a few years.

Thanks for all the great tunes & times. God bless, take care, and breeze on...

hi joe, steve, john and the G3 crew, thanks for giving us a night of great jammin'! hey steve, i told my friends in HK about your upcoming show there, goodluck there, we'll support you, no matter where you are in this Ultra world! gig on 7/17 is always good..though..here it goes...=-)

I got my ticket just minutes before the show & have the center spot right in front of the control panel (great balance sound and sight! esp on steve's 'stereo' sounds..) Jimi's magestic redition of the American anthem open the night show gracely...then come Petrucci! John gave his best in delivering a SOLID set of melodic impovisation, great hear the new tunes & keep it tight, john! Some rest follow then the fire garden is lit! Steve and Billy jump out and deliver good olde jammin tunes, each playing amazing and cool solo bits! Steve's tongue work on Evo is indeed amazing as it was the first time i see him live to do it! O, how he rub those strings with such fludity and pure liquid! did you use wax, steve!? 'Whisper''s Eventide surround-echo sound got everyone excited and shouting! The drum solo got funky beats and is awesome! Finally Joe come out with ...my goodess..the amazingly guitar live tone! Loud , yeah..but very beautiful and balance! Those harmonics and feedback control techique awe me as it is also my first time to see Joe! Who say Joe is all techique and no emotion..i close my eyes in 'Always',...it is so beautiful, little notes each layed out with contruction of the soul felt guts! he also look so cool with the chrome boy, make me wanna have one! Finally, Vinnie come in and the 'G4' (as joe say..) jam their way thru familiar tones, well yeah, just a nice night of jammin for the electric and acoustic man and woman alike..

*star-spangled banner (JH version)

@john petrucci set

*jeff beck's blow by blow intro

@Steve Vai set fire garden intro shyboy incantation erotic nightmare whispering a prayer the animal for the love of god

@satch set

@G3 (guest vinnie moore) jams La Grange (billy/joe?) voodoo child (billy) little wing (steve) goin' down (g3, vinnie)

@@IF any fellow fans here can correct the order of the set of the night or the petrucci or satch setlist, please feel free to share, rock on, guys =-)

Ok here's my 2 cents worth......no refunds either.

Overall the show was spectacular. The Warner Theater is a great place to see AND hear a performance such as this. When compared to the God-awful Capitol Ballroom where I saw the original G3 tour the Warner Theater is positively majestic. For instance the Warner has actual seats to sit in and they're even cushioned! ! !. Oh and get this...the audience actually DID sit for all but the jam session. This alone made the show worth the price of admission. The Capitol Ballroom on the other hand was an acoustically nightmarish, smoky, dark, terrifying cave-like place. Made even scarier given its location in D.C. Ok..enough about the venue...... for now.

John Petrucci opened the night off with a kick. I don't know the names of the first three songs he played but they kept my attention, which is unusual for such uncharted territory. Mike Portnoy was a bit of a surprise however. I don't know if he was maybe a little conservative because it wasn't a D.T. show but he seemed content just to back off a bit from his usual unrestrained self. John's last song was from the first L.T.E. CD. If you liked John's set and his Dream Theater stuff you really need to check out what he did with Mike Portnoy, Tony Levin and Jordan Rudess on Liquid Tension Experiment. As for the sound I was on the aisle [11th row orch. right] and everything seemed very flat,...all mid tones. There was a specific moment when Mike was going off on the bells of his cymbal set, and I didn't actually hear a single ping. While returning from a beer run between songs, I asked the sound man if he thought the overall brightness could be raised a bit, he asked where I was sitting and then proceeded to tell me that up stairs in the balcony the highs were excessive and that he was getting 3 different sounds in the front, middle and rear sections of the floor. To his credit I know I saw him leave the board and come down the aisle at least a half dozen times through out the night to get an assessment of the current situation.

Steve's set......what can I say? I know that technically speaking Steve is an incredible musician......hell he used to give Satch guitar lessons,..... but his excessive stage antics tend to distract from that fact. That said, when you add Mike Keneally and Billy Sheehan [both equally fine musicians] to the mix what you end up with looks like a psych ward when the med cart is running late. Ok, plucking the harmonics with his tongue was cool but some of the other theatrics were just nerve wracking. Who goes through 3-4 costume changes in a 40 minute set.... other than Elton John and even he's mellowed since the 70's. BTW where'd you get the hat and glasses Steve?...Bootsy? Was Steve the only one that was really hot up there on stage or was that 22" fan blowing on him there for the sole purpose of making his rock-star hair look cool for the pictures? Tonally Steve's set was right on target. In a lot of the previous reviews at other venues there were numerous comments that his set was way too loud, well I was sitting less than 30 feet from and directly in front of the right PA stack and I thought it was not overly loud. Granted there were some dynamic increases in volume but not the sustained 120+db level that cause acute tinitis. I brought a set of noise filters but never even considered using them. For the most part Steve's set was inspired and exciting but I expected nothing less. The drum solo was wicked nice but even he couldn't resist the urge to join the circus act alternately twirling his sticks in mid roll during the solo.

Joe's set..... I missed his last solo tour, although I must confess the techno-esque Engines of Creation CD left me yearning for the Joe of old, but any Joe live is better than no Joe live and I was happy to have recognized only one song from EoC. Joe likes to open his shows not with a bang but with a whisper and Cool #9 is a perfect choice for this purpose. Unfortunately for me when Joe took the stage I was in negotiations with the Warner management trying to get my camera back after being asked to either "check it" or return it to my car. There was a guy in the second row bangin away all night with a flash on presumably a disposable camera and I was told that "that" was ok because it wasn't a professional camera with a zoom....hello?? the guy's in the second row what does he need with a zoom. Eventually management acquiesced [thank you Tony and Ruis] and I was able to retrieve the camera and be back in my seat before Joe finished Cool #9. [ystejohn the photos are on the way] The rest of the set ,...Raspberry Jam Delta-V, Motorcycle Driver, Summer Song, Flying..., Surfing,...., Always with Me...., Satch’s Boogie seemed oddly reminiscent of Joe's original G3 set list, but I'm not complaining. The sound was dead solid on,...again no complaints. I do however agree that Stuart Hamm should have been afforded an opportunity to step out for a solo.

The Jam,......nothing much needs to be said here. I once saw Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jeff Beck on the same stage....coincidentally they too jammed out Goin' Down,.....and I remember thinkin' "Wow, I'll never again see that much guitar talent on one stage." The first G3 tour quickly disproved that theory, and this one did also. I concur that the guys genuinely seemed to be enjoying playing together...no egos....just good friends jamming for several hundred other good friends. As for the song selections......I guess Goin' Down should remain a staple...La Grange is a quintessential party favorite as well,....and of course Little Wing and Voodoo Chile go with out saying as being true classic guitar compositions. I refrained from suggesting on the web site songs for the jam session but maybe next time Joe you guys might consider paying homage to SRV,.. The House is Rockin ?...and I don't think anyone would be upset if you threw down a Zeppelin tune either.

The personal highlight of the evening for me was having my 5 yr old son there [his first concert] and seeing the show through his eyes,.. swaying to Always With Me.....like I used to do with him when he was a baby,....and dancing in the aisle with him singing Goin Down. I'm old enough and have had the chance to see many memorable concert events like Pink Floyd [4x], Led Zeppelin on their last tour, and the original Skynrd on their last tour among others. Night before last ranks right up there. Thank you Joe, Steve, John and everyone else for a truly memorable night. I apologize to all for goin’ on so long.

Unfortunately, I must say, this show didn't live up to my expectations. Being a huge fan of Joe's these past few years (he opened up a new world of playing for me), I bought tickets for this mainly to see him in concert again, I'll admit. However, I was still excited to see both John and Steve, since they certainly aren't bad company to keep.

When John took the stage, I was immediately impressed by Mike Portnoy, who, I find is an exceptional drummer. He was probably the best one of the night. Aside from that, though, I was disappointed at John's set. It sounded much more like a frivolous shred-fest than what I had come to expect of John after listening to some of his Dream Theater stuff, which I did enjoy. They could have turned the bass down a little as well, since the lower registers were very muddy.

Steve Vai was is usual, over-the-top self, with a fan on stage blowing his hair and all. I was expecting a much better tone and balance out of his live rig than what I heard, however. His much-anticipated dual lead runs with Mike Keneally (e.g. on "The Animal") were great to see, but I was not nearly as impressed as I could have been since I was unable to distingush between the two guitarists. Billy Sheehan was also too loud (not to mention over-the-top himself), stealing much of the focus away from the other members of the band. Steve is quite the showman, though, touching those harmonics with his tongue. All in all, he played a good set, especially since he close with "For the Love of God," one of my personal favorites.

While the previous two performers were great, Joe stole the show. He opened with "Cool #9," one of the funkiest tunes I've ever heard, and always one of my favorites. His sound was well-balanced and at an acceptable volume, contrary to Steve, who was often too loud. It was great to see him in concert again, playing some of my favorites like "Satch Boogie" and "Always With Me, Always With You." Seeing him alone was worth the price of admission.

I also really liked the G3 jam at the end, when they brought out Vinnie Moore, who was exceptionally lyrical. They picked some really nice tunes to jam on. It was great to see them all play so freely and to see them really having fun. Steve messed with Joe's whammy pedal during his solo for "I'm Goin' Down!" I was on my feet the whole time, as was the rest of the audience.

The thing that really made me like this concert less was the fact that Joe and Steve didn't come outside to sign autographs after the show. John, Mike Portnoy, Mike Keneally, Dave LaRue, and lots of others came out to talk with the fans and sign some autographs, but Joe and Steve were nowhere to be found. I was really looking forward to thanking Joe in person, to whom I owe a lot. I expected him to come outside because he seems like someone who really appreciates his fans. After hanging around for over an hour after the show in hopes of seeing him, since I didn't have an after-show or VIP pass, I left extremely dejected. Maybe next time.

This whole G3 concept is really a rare thing to behold. Great venue too. I've seen Joe and Steve before, not John. You could really feel the respect they have for each other. Joe is the patriarch of the family, the one with the best songwriting ability in my opinion. Steve is the wild man always trying to redefine the edge. John was a fantastic addition and for my money, had the best tone, punch and clarity of the three rigs. Steve likes to be mixed overtop of everyone else in the band (so do I, unfortunately) and could stand to back off a hare and lose some of that high end. Joe's band had the best total mix. A real treat of this show is Donatti, Portnoy and Sheehan - what a backup cast, and guitarists just love to lay into great rhythm sections. It was interesting in the finale jams that when Joe's turn came he would really try to play solos that were appropriate for the context of the song - very often this meant playing slow with a melody. A high point was everyone hitting Jimi's signiture solo phrase on Little Wing, all on cue - 6 little notes, but how effective. A great tribute show to Jimi, as it should be.

PS: Watch Steve mess w/ Joe's whammy pedal for an entire solo spot - you can see the love. Thanks you guys.