Joe Satriani - home > show review

spassalacqua	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Tue Sep 02, '03 6:19 am
First time seeing Jow live, Excellent show!!! I plan on seeing G3 thie year in Atlanta, that should be a kick-butt show!
Chayet	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Jun 24, '02 6:37 pm
Again Satch is the man. Also Vai is not human. Between Vai, Satch, Billy, Virgil, John, Mike and all of the other musicians, that G3 tour has to be the most insane combonation of musicians ever. I rate Satch and everyone from 1 to 10 I give them 1,000. I'm still in shock from that show I have got so much inspration from all those musicians. I'm looking forward to the show in Clearwater FL.
Caseman984 (Robert Crandall)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Tue Apr 30, '02 6:19 am
This was my first Satriani concert, and i have to say it rocked my world!! Petrucci was much better than I had expected, I hope to see an album containing the songs he played out soon. Vai was everything I could have hoped for and more, The man is an animal on stage. Satch came out and did his thing, blew me away, as expected. The jam was awesome, excellent choice in music, and I loved watching Satch jam out on his harmonica. After the show, the only people who actually talked to the eager fans outside were Stu Hamm (awesome guy!!), John Petrucci, Billy, and Mike Keneally. Much love to all ya, can't wait till the next show!
baugustine	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 7	Posted: Sun Aug 19, '01 9:36 pm
Petrucci & Satriani were awesome. Having several Dream Theater CD's but never seeing them live, Petrucci demonstrated incredible technical guitar talent. Way too much bass or drums, not necessary to overpower Ruth Eckerd. Satriani was great as ever, got to see him up close (row 5), the sound was much better than higher up. Vai, although a great guitar player, needs to play more guitar, spend less time flipping his hair & changing outfits. His ego didn't quite fit in the hallowed halls too well. Next time G3 needs someone who wants to play, not strut...
g3fan (Kevin Carey)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Aug 11, '01 8:02 pm
Everyone was incredible, you guys seemed to click in the final jam, Petrucci did'nt seem mesh with Joe and Steve though. All the sets were incredible, Vai and Satriani were on fire, Petrucci's tunes just did'nt have the same effect though, they seemed to be intended to impress.... Petrucci was still incredible.
boylegato	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 6	Posted: Thu Jul 26, '01 9:25 pm
Let me start by saying that I am a DIE HARD SATRIANI WORSHIPPER!! Opener John Petriucci far exceeded my expectations. The sound was great, and the songs were well written and flawlessly performed. Killer drumming by Portnoy as well. Great job John and crew! Next, Steve: Who was running the sound here?? Maybe its where I was sitting, (2/3 the way up just off stage right) but I couln't distinguish one thing from another. Playing three guitars at once doesn't really help either. Nevertheless, Steve Vai puts on a fantastic show! He and Billy Sheehan were a lot of fun to watch, I just wish I could have heard them too! On comes Joe. I saw an incredible Satch show at Tampa Theater recently and this one did not compare. I got the feeling these guys were just ready for this tour to be over. And where was the new stuff Joe?? We all love the hits, but it seemed like a generic set list to me. And later on when there were 3 guitars and 2 basses playing simultaneously, it was way too much. By the end, I found myself more sitting through it than enjoying it.
kirkbolt (Kirk Andrews)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Thu Jul 26, '01 2:13 pm
The show here in Clearwater was amazing! I missed John Petrucci's set (which made me mad)but did see Vai's and Satch's. The first thing that blew me away was that Billy Sheehan was playing bass for Vai. I had heard he might be. What a lethal combo! They played "Shyboy" from the David Lee Roth days together which I thought was agreat idea! They started the set with that, then various other Vai tunes ending with the great feel good masterpiece, "For The Love Of God". Satch's set was great (Stu Hamm - amazing as always). A few things from his set that really caught my ear was "Devil's Slide" from "Engines",it sounded very intense live and "Always With Me, Always With You" (which is my favorite Satch song) was smooth and mind altering. The "jam" at the end of the night was the best part of the show. I am a guitarist of 20 years now and it was an honor to see John Petrucci, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani jamming together along with Sheehan and Hamm playing the bass as well!! I just ate it up! They played "La Grange" (ZZ Top), "Voodoo Chile" and "Little Wing" (tribute to Hendrix)than last but not least, "Going Down" (Jeff Beck?). Billy Sheehan sang the first two songs while Vai sang "Little Wing" and Satch sang "Going Down". All in all it was great experience and a great time for everyone enjoying the guitar playing of some of the best rock guitarist in the world! Thanks for reading, TTFN. Kirk
Ethn Hayabusa	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Thu Jul 26, '01 12:56 pm
not as good as house of blues ,but still amazing.john was amazing.hope they have him on board next time.(needs a longer set though.)vai was amazing,personel fave was whispering a prayer,and the 10 minute or so incantation.(i did not know a guitar could do all that stuff.mine sure won't!) joe was joe.(the masta,the ayatolla rockarolla,you know..the man!)i just wish i did not have to hear summer song so many times.love the led zep intro though. raspberry jam was sweet with the little bass break(this IS a tasty bass line) i cant get enough of surfing with the alien.purfecto.the jam was inspirational, to say the least,i was surprised when joe played with his teeth during voodoo child.little wing..amazing.anyone who missed this tour should write joe ,steve, and john ,and BEG FOR FORGIVENESS YOU SILLY BASTARD!!
chromedomeboy	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 7	Posted: Wed Jul 25, '01 2:25 pm
I can't complain to much...at least Joe kicked ass. John Petrucci did a good job as far as an opening act goes. Steve Vai and company were just way too loud and the mix sucked. Steve, just play the guitar and use your tongue for licking something. Let your fingers do the talking. This is why Joe is the MASTER and you are the student! The only bad thing about Joe's performance was that it was not long enough. Thank God I was able to see Joe last year at Tampa Theatre. Three hours of nothing but Joe!!! Hey Joe, for the next G3 Tour,how about giving Mr. Vai a vacation? Bring on some new faces and more talented ones at that. How about Vinnie Moore and Steve Morse? There are plenty of talented guitarists out there. Isn't that what the G stands for in G3? Guitar??
Dapbert (Dale Peters)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 8	Posted: Tue Jul 24, '01 7:24 pm
Joe played flawlessly; even the songs that I previously thought were studio trickery. Joe musta been the only one to bring a sound engineer! John and Steve just turned everything up to 11 and said just make noise cause we already got the audiences money! Steve coulda unplugged the guitar and I still woulda been impressed with the performance though WHAT A SHOWMAN! I was very disappointed because I have just recently discovered Dream Theater and very much wanted to hear John play, all I heard was a VERY distorted bass guitar going BRRRRRRRRRRRR! This usually only happens when the bass player owns the PA system!
mikemo1	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Tue Jul 24, '01 6:32 am
This is one of the best concerts I've ever seen. There was an abundance talent up there on the stage. Joe was phenomenal! His guitar playing was masterful, with tons of soul and energy. I was disappointed in the Vai performance. Steve is a fantastic guitar player, but the mix was bad and there was just too much sound. All those guitars just made for a harsh "buzz" on the ears. Vai also used his guitar as more of a noise-maker than a guitar. Don't get me wrong, his performance was great, just not what I expected from him. I would have to say that for me, Petrucci stole the show. His guitar sounded FAT, and his playing was clean and powerful. He wrote most of the music he played specially for this show. I had never heard him before, and I was surprised by his tallent. The rest of his band was fantastic too! Quite a trio. I wish I could have recorded the show and listened to it again the following day. I'm sure there were things I missed. After all, four hours is a LONG time to listen to live music. They were all so good that I kind of became "numb" to the shock of such great guitar playing.
neuronik	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 8	Posted: Tue Jul 24, '01 12:13 pm
Just to get any questions out of the way ahead of time: This concert was fantastic. I am a drummer primarily and I only dabble with guitar, so my review will be skewed that way. The show of course began with Petrucci, and my group missed about 4 or so minutes of the first song, because we left from Gainesville about an hour and 45 minutes before the concert start. From the moment we walked into Ruth Eckerd, we knew the venue was outstanding, and were glad we didn't wind up seeing the Orlando House of Blues show. The sound with Petrucci was amazing. Dave Larue basically played bass as a backup unless he was being showcased. Mike Portnoy plays like he usually does, even though it was Petrucci's show. Petrucci concentrated mainly on playing music on the guitar. He looked genuinely happy to be there. Also, of course sporting a new haircut - he was throwing me off for a while. Being an enormous Dream Theater fan, I was not disappointed, and cannot wait to see another DT show, but I'd hope that they might steal from the g3 tour and use some of these newly written songs. I think he played a little bit from a videogame that he wrote a peice for. Vai of course was the campy/flashy/showboat of the group. Do you guitar players need to take EVERY solo in front of a fan in order to have your hair fly about wildly? Vai of course is a great player, no doubt, but he should learn how to use his volume knob. The guitar player that I went with had seen previous G3 concerts and Vai/Satriani separately.. and said that Vai is always too loud. Anyway, Vai was sporting Keneally (sp?), who I was used to hearing from Mullmuzzler. I was expecting to see Mike Mangini (Vai/Mullmuzzler/extreme I think) but wound up with the thunder from downunder, Virgil Donati (Planet X). Vai is not the odd-time monster, but instead opts for chops in a usual 4/4 most of the time. This lead to Donati being rather tame (compared to what I have heard before). Vai did say at one point while introducing the band to keep an eye on Virgil because he was going to knock everyone out. He did. The drum solo began and he displayed chops that left everyone floored. He is of course known for having the most incredible feet in the business, but he began to do a stick spinning trick during the bassdrum action where they were in constant rotation but he was still hitting cymbals on the up and downstrokes with both hands. Playing drums 8 hours a day, everyday? No girlfriend? No life? Complete dedication to his craft at the risk of everything normal? I believe. He is a beast. Anyway, aside from Virgil, Vai just concentrated on playing the most obnoxious sounds possible. Put the tremelo away, buddy. Its 2001. I understand using it for accents but should you really take what felt like 3 or 4 separate 15 minute solos that showcase your ability to get a loud squeak out of a guitar? Why don't you move your fingers? Past that, they had what looked like a random guitar player with them that they found at Sam Ash before the show. "Yo dude, wanna play with me on stage tonight?" "Duuuuuuude, are you the guy from whitesnake!??" - Seriously, without Keneally and this punk kid, Vai should have been able to get the job done. Personally I would have enjoyed seeing Keneally and Virgil doing a duet. Billy Sheehan is a great player, and I enjoy his playing on Explorers Club very much, but please - the 80s are past. Keep the music because the rock was great, but you have to remember that lifting your guitar above your head after every note you hit makes you look like Kip Winger. Ahhh, satch. Definately looked like he was having the most fun. He was not trying to impress anyone. He knows he is the man. Instead he opted to play phat solos without any wind blowing over his bald head. I must say, Satch was a blast to watch. I am not a fan of primarily major key'd music. If it sounds happy, I tend not to like it. But - how can you not like satriani, right? I would have loved to see Jonathan Mover, but Jeff Campetelli (sp?) was an extreme pleasure to watch. He moves around the kit with incredible ease and quite frankly played with a lot of taste considering what a guitar-oriented band it is. He played a LOT but never interfering, which is what we drummers like to strive for (if we cant do it, we are satisfied playing a lot, and severely interfering). Stu Hamm didn't have a bass tone that my bass player or I liked, but hes definately a very talented player, as everyone on the stage was, even if I sound harsh. I liked the fact that Satch showed blazing chops but liked to mainly use the fretboard instead of the tremelo or other such devices. He pissed off my guitar player though, because my guitar player learned how to do something involving a very fast slide-to-bend of an octave, that took him quite a while to master, and live Satch plays it using an octave style expression pedal (or something like that) - so he doesn't actually play the notes that come out. My guitar player thought that was sorta lame. There was an overload of music at the end, but it was enjoyable to a point. Campetelli/Sheehan/Stu Hamm/Vai/Petrucci/Satch were on stage. Then Donati switched out. Eventually Dave Larue replaced Vai. Campetelli began to play guitars while Satch sung I'm Going Down and Donati was replaced by Portnoy. It seemed as though Vai was trying to outdo everyone during his solos, and it seemed like Petrucci and Satch were genuinely trying to make the music feel good (w/ chops of course). At least Vai had put his shirt back on by this point. Overall, the night rocked because it was my first time seeing Donati, and my second w/ petrucci and portnoy. Aside from Vai (who has potential to really blow people away moreso than he does now if he became a little less self-indulgent), everyone was extremely enjoyable to watch and hear. Now I'm going to do what everyone else should do, and listen to Planet X. Tony MacAlpine and Donati, how can you go wrong? If Vai wants to learn how to become MORE self-indulgent with his playing, and wants to really show off, he should listen to Planet X. Past that, I can't wait until the next G3 - maybe with Jim Matheos this time.
Binadar (Chase Mitchell)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sun Jul 22, '01 12:28 pm
To be honest this was my first concert EVER and now i think Im spoiled cause I probably will never like any other concert mainly because this one was so incredible. See those 3 guitarists up on stage made my day cause I was pissy the whole week. With the show starting off with Petrucci I knew it was gonna rock. As much as a lot of people would disagree with me... I think Petrucci was the best. Ive been a fan of Dream Theater and LTE for a while now so that was a great sight. Vai came on and made my jaw drop (I had to pick it up more than once). His versatillity and skills are hmmm how should i say... JAW DROPPING. When he played with his tongue I thought i was seeing things. Satch... HAHAHA AWESOME. Kick ass. WOOHOO. Enough said. Raspberry Jam would have to be my favorite that he played. The accuracy that all 3 have is excellent. The most amazing part of the show was the duel between Vai and his bassist. Those 2 rocked. EXCELLENT SHOW. If you missed it well... sorry... you missed out.
gmc1915	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 10:22 pm
Everytime I see Stu Hamm I am completely amazed at his command over the instrument. Rubina was just unbelievable. And what can you say...Joe was perfect as usual. This was my 6th time seeing Joe, and he just gets better everytime. Vai sucked, but only because the mix sucked so bad...at first he was getting drown out by his band (and Billy's vocals were harldy audible during Shy Boy), and then it was like the sound guy just said "screw it, I'll just crank Steve...that'll fix it". Ya, thanks dude...my ears are ringing today. I still rate the show a 10 though, because as far as musicianship, these guys are all amazing. You can't fault them for bad acoustics or a bad engineer.
Fo (Forrest Greene)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 5:48 pm
GOOD GOOEY ALIVE!! ok ok ok so all i've seen are johnson zakk wild and BB king as far as guitar heroes go. so pretsucci comes out and shows off , seemoingly more comfortab;e with the theatre of dreams. so now vai comes out WOO HOO HAHAA!! man i was wowed i thought onyl the sea serpents did a stage show lkike that!! man i wsa impressed with the dregs bass player in touch with petrucci but vai and his player woo haa!! oh yea and it was none less than billy sheehan (you know the david lee roth guy) good gooey i couln;dt take it and oustanding show with colors and movement and and outstanding stage performance byall members. i like his drummer better thatn DT (sorry guys) ohh man it was great , satch came out with a totattly different stylee just bobbing ip and down dressed like he was notr any older that 16. man it was great then the jam at the end was a little over whelming seemed like every one had to tone it down to stay with in the bounds of stage presnce but the notes did move away from the guitars like lava the a volcano the only thing i would've liked it a stu solo
Donkey boy (Jim Murphy)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 2:20 pm
LAST NIGHT'S SHOW IN CLEARWATER WAS FAN-FUCKIN-TASTIC. THE VENUE WAS REAL NICE, UNFORTUNATELY THE USHERS MADE EVERY EFFORT TO DISUADE THE CROWD FROM ENJOYING THEMSELVES. IT WAS AWESOME TO SEE STU, JOE, AND JEFF AS A THREE PIECE. THE INTRO TO SUMMER SONG, VERSION OF ROCK AND ROLL WAS SUPER COOL. BASICALLY PETRUCCI AND PORTNOY KICKED ASS. VAI AND SHEEHAN DEFY ALL DESCIRPTION. HAVEN'T SEEN THAT COOL SHIT SINCE THE EAT EM AND SMILE TOUR OF THE LATE 80S. BACK TO JOE---KILLER SHOW AND MAJOR EFFORT TO GET THAT LAME AUDIENCE UP WAS MUCH APPRECIATED.. EXITED TO SEE THE SHOW TONIGHT IN SUNRISE.
danncal (dan calvagna)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 1:57 pm
BEST G3 YET.JOHN PETRUCCI OPENED THE SHOW WITH A LOT OF ENERGY AND THE LEVEL NEVER DROPPED. HE DEFINED WHAT THE EVENING WOULD BE ABOUT. VAI AND SHEEHAN PLAYED OFF OF EACH OTHER ALL NIGHT. PUSHING EACH OTHERS PLAYING AND SHOWMANSHIP. WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT JOE? GREAT SONGS, GREAT PLAYING, GREAT GROOVE.SURROUND THESE GUYS WITH STU, JEFF, LARUE,PORTNOY, AND THE REST WOW!. THESE GUYS WERE HAVING A BLAST DURING THE JAM AD IT SPILLED OVER TO THE AUDIENCE. A TRULY COSMIC SHOW
MDani	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 1:16 pm
Petrucci's drummer was an animal. Petrucci was fast and did a very tasteful, bluesy number using the volume pedal to sound like a violin...the rest of his set was typical speed metal stuff. Not too creative. I had never seen Steve Vai before (except on video) and I had always thought he was too over the top. I must admit though I was blown away by his performance this night. Forget the guitar playing for a minute - the guy is creative! Seeing him live makes it not so over the top. His showmanship expands to the dynamics of the show. His playing lived up to his reputation as possibly the best ever, technically speaking of course. His drummer did some amazing things. Satriani came on and did the best songs of the night. He sounded the best of the night too. His light show was very decent as well. The final jam was too crowded, too loud and sounded good only when one of them was soloing at a time, but seeing possibly the best collection of musicians that you can see on a stage at one time was a treat. FYI for anyone who hasn't seen this show - it clocked in at around 4 hours, whew!
vaiguy777	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 10:32 am
Amazing show! Better than last week in Philly indeed. 4 jam songs instead of 3 was a nice surprise. Vai also played Erotic nightmares instead of the Crying Machine. He also had a new blue Jem that i've seen discussions about on other websites. Where has EVO been? Petrucci was on fire, I really hope he records those songs. If anyone hasn't checked out the Liquid Tension Experiment cd's, RUN to your stores and get it now. Satriani as always was flawless, and seeing Jeff Campetelli playing Chromeboy during "I'm Going Down" was really cool, I'm glad they mixed things up a bit. My dream of seeing these 3 on one stage together came true....twice within the last week. Ahhhh heavenly bliss..
idiot0406	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 7:34 am
I've seen Vai twice, Satch 3 times, and this is my 2nd G3 show. As a whole, the show was an 11. Satriani - Great playing. He was the best of them all. One of the best performances I've seem him do. He get's a score of 11 John - He was great. He get's a 10. Vai - Over the top. I think he was better at the last G3 show in St.Pete though. This time around, he seemed more geared toward putting on a show first, and musicianship 2nd. Don't get me wrong, I loved it would do it again. It was an honor to see him and Sheehan together again. Haven't seen that duo since Roth in the 80's. He get's a 10, but was the best "showman" of them all. G3 - Guitar overload. Some parts were amazing. Some were guitar noise. Great songs, great musicianship. A once in a lifetime show, and I've seen it twice. I'm honored, and can die a happy man. I take that back. If I could meet the masters, then I could die a happy man. Maybe next time!
Speezer (Steve Allbritton)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 6:35 am
What a rare opportunity to see three of the Planet's most accomplished power guitarists in one show. Brought my 11 year old son (a true Satch fan and budding Strat-master). Seeing these guys perform will inspire him to practice, practice, practice those scales!! Here's my quick take: John Petrucci: incredible accuracy, speed and fluidity on the fretboard. Arpeggio notes galore, and killer sidemen on the bass and drums. All music (except last tune) written specifically for the tour. Steve Vai: Coaxed sounds out of the guitar that I've never heard. Controlled frenzy. Freakishly talented bass player AND drummer. These guy love to play, and it shows. I am really surprised Steve doesn't show up on Mr. Blackwell's Best-Dressed list every year. Nice hat, brother. Joe: The Man. Summer Song, Raspberry Jam, Flying in a Blue Dream, et al. played with passion and fury. All Three on Stage: An earwax-melting Assault of Sound. Their ode to Billy Gibbons (LaGrange) brought the crowd to their feet. Finished with some fine Hendrix classics. Took some decent digital pix, will forward to the webmeister. Thanks, Guys, C'mon back to Tampa Bay again, would ya??
housefullofkarma (Mike Mauro)	Fri Jul 20 '01 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 1:26 am
The show was outstanding! John really surprised me. Looking foward to hearing his stuff on CD. Steve was absolutely insane. He was so incredible. His guitar was drowned out a little in the first half of his set. I can understand how its more complicated to mix with all those instruments. On the first song I couldn't hear billy's vocals at all. My favorite song from Steve was Whisper a Prayer. Absolutely beautiful. Mike Keneally did a great job as usual. Steve's drummer was unbelievable as well! Billy was out of this world. Never heard bass playing like that before. Then the best was saved for last. Joe was awsome as usual. I was dissapointed that Eric wasn't there but still loved the sound of the power trio. Joe was the best of the three. The Jam was great. It got a little too loud with all three guitarists and it was sometimes hard to distinguish them. Loved the euncore with Jeff on Chrome Boy and Joe on harmonica. Afterwards a bunch of us waited outside for 2 hours in the rain to see if we could meet anyone. We met Stu (coolest guy on earth), Billy, John, and Mike Keneally. Cool guys.