Joe Satriani - home > show review

asylum1298 (Justin Goble)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Mon Aug 13, '01 8:04 pm
This show was awesome! It was me and my brother, standing in this sea of people, and everyone was there for great music. I love that kind of thing . . .no one there just for the whole "many people= party" aspect (as much as I like those guys, that's a whole damn Dave Matthews Band show to tell you gods honest truth). But enough of me bitching about what concerts should or shouldnt be . . . John Petricci came out. When I saw him on the bill for G3, I knew, come hell or waters high, I was gonna see this show. He didnt dissapoint in the least. I was really impressed with the compositions he came up with . . .they were really quite amazing. It was cool that he didnt fall back on his Dream Theater stuff (though I wouldn't have complained a damn bit if he did). "Paradigm Shift" was awesome . . .perfect song to close a great set. Then Vai came out. I wasnt prepared for this . . . he was a total show off, but in a good way. Playing harmonics with his tongue was an eye opener, to say the least. I'm not all too familiar with Vai's stuff, but Im gonna be soon. It all kicked serious ass. I knew "For the Love of God," at least. Then Joe came on. He brought it all back home. Sure he did stuff like "Devil's Slide" and "Surfing with the Alien," but he also threw in some bluesy numbers that mellowed the mood out a bit. Then there was the jam . . . what can I say. ZZ top is good and all, but even they cant hold a candle to that version of what I think is "La Grange." (Im guessing, since they were a bit before my time). Then "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" and "Little Wing" proudly did Jimi the justice that only performers of that calibre could do. I was kinda dissappointed that the las song was "Goin' Down," which I knew was on previous G3 tours since I have that DVD. I really cant complain, though . . . it did kick ass. All in all, the whole thing rocked, even though I couldnt walk well afterwards. I thought four hours of standing in that insane heat was worth it though . . .but that's cuz I was only about ten feet from the stage.
ace (Sean Tice)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 8	Posted: Sat Jul 28, '01 8:49 pm
The show was really good, Joe in particular. The venue was the worst I've ever been to! It was unreal hot! I give Joe an 11, Steve a 9, John a 7, and the venue a 0! Joe stands out ahead the others simply because he is a complete performer and songwriter. His melodies and harmonies are unmatched in instrumental guitar(contemporary). I can't wait for the Live in San Fransisco DVD, and Joe's next solo tour.
chickfan	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Wed Jul 25, '01 6:41 pm
Wow , What a great show!!! Wished Joe played longer alone and wished the Ritz had air conditioning. Half way thru the end jam I was ready to run outside and rip my clothes off . Any way , the fact I loved all the songs made a great concert .
myfender	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 11:37 pm
Awsome Show I aggree with all the positives that have been posted. But the RITZ Stunk! HOT Smokey Crowded No Seats! For $47 I expect seats I stood peering beetween people for 5 hours! My sisters treated me and came along, I felt sorry for them as they sat on the dirty floor on the hot smokey balcony one has a alergy to smoke but bear through the whole concert so I and she could injoy the Awsome Talent.
Bry (Bryan Soles)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Sat Jul 21, '01 9:15 pm
Let's see, how do I get to meet Joe and Steve? 1.e-mail the webmaster. 2. His friendly response:post your name as attending the show and hope. 3.Sunday July 15, 2001 WOW! I won aftershow passes Well, the show was virtually incredible. Driving over 2 hours home at 4:00 a.m. was well worth it. Listening to Joe and Steve religiously since the mid 80's, I was blown away at their performance in such extreme (heat) surroundings. Thank you Mike Keneally, for taking time to share conversation and for being very personable. HAT!HAT! Thank you John Petrucci, for sharing a COKE commercial with me. Thank you Steve, for the photo, wish you had more time to talk, I was to blown away to be standing beside you after driving 1:30 to find a store to buy every CD the first day it's released since Flexable days. Thank you Joe, for sharing a space of time in my life, even if it was only minutes, that will always be treasured. You are truly as Steve says: all knowing, all seeing, hands down, this guy is the best guitar player, period. Happy Birthday!
weirdo (Lee Haltom)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Fri Jul 20, '01 8:30 pm
This could be very long but I'll try to keep it short. Back in the late 80's I became fans of Satch, Vai, Eric Johnson and instumental guitar rock. I remember thinking, wouldn't it be incredible if these 3 would get together and tour. Then along came the first G3 tour and I couldn't believe that my dream came true. I got tickets to see G3 at the House of Blues in Myrtel beach. I was walking on the clouds. During the tour, Johnson dropped out but Kenny Wayne Shepard was added. Being a new KWS fan I didn't think I would be too disappointed. I drove 200 miles one way to the show and when I got there I find out that Vai and Satch had dropped out and KWS would do a full show. Man was I mad, hurt, sad and pissed off. The show was great but I didn't know if there would be another G3 tour. I got the video for Christmas and I have watched it over and over. Then came G3 of 2001. I got tickets to the show at the Ritz and had it all planned out. I would pick up my wife at work and drive about and hour and a half to Raleigh and get a room, eat, and the got to the Ritz about 30 min before the doors open and then I would have my choice of where to stand since there are no seats and the Ritz. But instead a big rig overturns and I sit in a traffic jam for 45 min. Then going into Raleigh, another traffic jam, traffic was horrible. I was moving about 25 mph on the interstate for about 3 or four miles. We also got lost and had to stop and get directions twice! We get to the Ritz at 7:30 and I park in stand in a long, long line and when I get 15 yards from the door I find out the line I have been in is for people who don't already have tickets. Finally I'm in and there is no good place to stand but I pick a place out on the floor I just try to forget all the crap and be happy. And the show was awesome. I will be buying some Dream Theater CD's now I have heard Petrucci. He was very smooth and had great tone. I was so excited about Vai being next I could not sit still. Vai did not disappoint, but the sound could be better. The slow song which I believe was Whispering a Prayer was the highlight for me even thought I had not heard it yet. Erotic Nightmares had my mouth hanging open. He is a show off but I love it, he can get by with it. Satch was just like so many have said before. He is the pro. He did not miss a note and his tone was incredible. He has so many great songs and I do wish he would have played Love Thing and The Mighty Turtle Head. I don't think the crowd would not have been disapointed if he would have played those and dropped any of the ones he did play. I am glad that he played the Extremeist. Of the 3 I would like to see Satch for a whole concert the most because he has so many great songs. The jam was cool but too many guitars were going for parts of it and Vai looked a little bored. The sound was very distorted for some of it. And now I have to say something about the heat. It was incredible. I moved to the balcony after Vai because my neck was killing me from looking over people and I was packed like a sardine. The balcony was even hotter. It was literaly hard to breath. But I finally did get some better views of the stage so it was worth it. The Ritz sucks. My dream of seeing these guitarist together has come true even though the whole experience was not what I imagined it to be. I had planned on hanging out at the buses for a chance of getting to meet my heros and getting pics and autographs, but I was starving by this time I had to get a room yet, and I had put my wife through enough and she put up with it all because she knew how much this concert meant to me. And with the way things had went so far, I figured that my chances of get to meet Vai and Satch were about as good as me learning to play Erotic Nightmare or The Extremist. Sorry that this is so long and some of has nothing to do about G3 2001, but I had to blow off some steam.
Mojo420 (Patrick Smith)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Fri Jul 20, '01 6:44 pm
I see every one has already explained how the show went so let me just tell you about my experience.First I got my ticket a month in advance.Second I signed on as attending the show....I've been a fan for 12 years now.This was the third time I've seen Joe.Second time seeing Vai and first time seeing Petrucci.I checked my e-mail first thing Sunday morning and nearly crapped my pants when I saw the webmaster left me a note of congratulations.I won aftershow passes.Of course this is the first time I've met any of them face to face.I got off of work at about 5pm.Fortunately I work about a block from the Ritz.I go to my brothers place and hook up with him, his girlfriend, and my little brother.I had prepared a few things for Satch and Vai to sign.I packed a disposable camera to take pictures with as well.I hope they turn out okay.We got in fairly early.There was a long line but it stayed just as long for awhile after we were in so it wasn't too bad.I got a good spot on the floor.I'd seen Joe play at the Ritz for the Crystal Planet tour and seen Vai at the Longbranch right around the corner from the Ritz.Both most excellent shows respectively.I knew going into this one though that it was going to be better than both those shows and even better than Joe at the HOB in Myrtle Beach where he played a 3 hour set.I didn't think any thing could top a 3 hour set from Joe but this show did it.Petrucci was absolutely amazing considering I never heard his solo stuff and very little of Dream Theater.He had a harder edge than I expected and I nearly started a pit with my brothers when he kicked in with the first song it was so heavy.Vai came out on fire too when he broke into Shyboy with Sheehan.Of course Vai was the excellent showman that he is and was very entertaining to watch.If it's not enough he's a bad ass musician he can not only play but show off while he's doing it and not seem arrogant about it.He's like the David Copperfield of guitar playing.Joe was furious.I mean he came out and just pounded out a killer set.He was relentless just playing songs back to back.The jam was awesome.I loved every minute and every second of all the licks and chops being traded back and forth between them all.After the show I got my bag of goodies I wanted to get signed that had been added onto with the addition of a couple posters I snagged off the wall and the tour poster I got for buying a shirt.Vai came up first and was very polite.He signed every thing you threw at him and posed for pictures but he was obviously not planning on hanging around for very long.So in the rush I didn't get to have him sign every thing I wanted him too but did get him to sign my Passion and Warfare cd as well as my Ultra Zone cd, and the G3 poster.Petrucci came out next and spent a little longer talking to every one and signing autographs and posing for pictures.I got him to sign my G3 poster since that's all I really had for him to sign and got some pics taken with him.Joe came up and I couldn't believe that I was finally standing before the man.I mean this guy is the greatest guitar player there is, was, and ever will be.On top of being an extremely nice guy.He signed every thing I had for him to sign.I broke out my Not of this Earth vynl which has the original artwork on the front.Joe was rather intrigued to see it and commented about the picture on the back.Saying it was taken before he even attempted a solo career.If there was only one thing I could have Joe sign it was that album.Then he signs my poster from the wall promoting his new album and the G3 poster.As well as my ticket stub.I met some cool people after the show that had won passes as well and they took a picture of both me and my younger brother with Joe in exchange we take a picture of them with Joe which we were glad to do.I talked with all three of them and to all three of them I said COME BACK!!!!!!!!!Raliegh loves all three of you guys and we want to see you on all of your respective tours from here on out.As Joe was leaving I remembered my Surfing With the Alien cd and rushed to have him sign which he was happy to stop and take the time to do before he disappeared backstage.He took the liberty of making it out to me personally as well as hooking me up on some picks.Three of which were his and one of which was Stu's.I gave both my brothers one of the Satch picks and kept the Satch and Stu picks for my collection.Joe as I said before is the greatest.Once again Vai was as entertaining as ever and nice as he could be.Petrucci was a welcome surprise.I'll be keeping a closer eye on him and his music from now on.In conclusion this show was hot and I don't mean just the temperature at the Ritz either.On a scale of one to ten this show ranks well off the charts.
mobleyart (Ted Mobley)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Fri Jul 20, '01 8:15 am
Well, for starters, the 6 hour drive from Chas. WV was well worth it. I've been a fan of satch for 17 years. This was a highlight in my life. The "Ritz" was very bad, smokey, hot and packed full of tall people. It sucks being short. I've gotta say, John Petrucci was awesome. The fullness of the three piece was great. He was a little harder edged than Steve and Joe. He didn't play one note wrong. His original songs for the tour were perfectly written to fit in with G3. Mike Portnoy, the drummer, was a little fruity. He bobbed his head around like he was playing for duran duran or something. Great drummer though. Steve came out next in flamboyant fashion. Great performance, stage presence, and great sound. A couple of times it got a little muddy with three guitars and a bass but it still was quite cool. Virgil Donati did a drum solo that was very cool. I'll definetly look for some of his music. Steve played stuff from Passion, DLR, and from Alive. No unfamiliar stuff was played. For the Love of God was a highlight. Then there was Joe in black fashion as he steps out of the shadows only to be cheered on by everyone. Every note, sweep, scale, pick, and grind was perfect. Sound was great. His fretwork alone was show enough for me. P.S. Thanks to the "Cord boy" behind stage for being a little prick. Thanks for treating a fan with such arrogance. I really appreciate it. I saw Joe right outside the back door and asked this roadie boy to see if he could have Joe sign a one of a kind "Surfing With the Alien" cover T-Shirt that I made 6 years ago. It would have been the greatest thing to frame and hang in my art studio. Thanks to the ass of a "cord boy", he didn't have the time to do any favors. Joe, if you would like to swap a signature on the shirt for an original "Jimi Hendrix" Painting, let me know. You can check it out on my site. Just go to the gallery page 3. Thanks Joe and keep surfing!
ronnie jr (Ronnie Lee)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 7:48 pm
Joe, G3 is the most entertaining guitar show I've ever been to. Petrucci was excellent to start the show. Then, Steve Vai & Billy Sheehan coming out with Shyboy and Erotic Nightmares was incredible. Steve Vai blew my mind. He kicked some serious ass, as well as being one of the nicest musicians I've ever had a chance to just talk to. Then you Joe, whew, man you rocked the roof as if the level hadn't already been set by Vai & Petrucci. Joe you were jammin' last night. Possibly one of the better perfomances that I have seen you play in recent years, given that being the NC/SC area. Just wanted to salute you all & thanks for playing ICE 9 (My favorite). Also, I really appreciate you signing my Ibanez promo flyer for the tour before you went upstairs. Overall I would have to say the show was a hot 10 & I mean hot(the building-Shit it could have rained inside with the humidity).That was until you'll just smoked La Grange, VooDoo Chile, Little Wing(Steve singing), and Going Down. I will give you an 11 for overall total show. And do me a favor don't wait so long before you come back around.
bjdupuis	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 8	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 5:01 pm
I'll agree with tarheel about the venue... hot as anything. I don't see how the upper deck survived. I was rather sick all week, but the security supervisor got me a stool and I sat at the back wall with my wife and soaked it in. Kudos to the security guy. "Bah" to the Ritz for not getting with the times and providing some proper ventilation. The show was good, though. I'm familiar with Petrucci, but never seen him live. With his ensemble, he was decidedly impressive. A very solid trio of musicians. Vai was excellent. I can't say I like all the songs he played, but he does perform, and with him and Sheehan it was a wild ride. Thankfully Keneally was around this time too... nothing much better than seeing him and Vai trading licks. Every time I think Joe isn't going to be able to stand up to the competition, he impresses me yet again. Damn solid set, and musicianship. I love to see him work a fretboard. High point for myself and my wife would have to be "Flying In A Blue Dream"... such a great song, and the trio played it masterfully. I'd buy the DVD just for that. The jam was a mixed bag for me. Some thoughts: awesome to see 3 personal heroes at the same time. 3 people should not play high fret, high speed leads at the same time =). Petrucci held his own, but his playing style is infinitely more staccato than the others. Loads of pick noise compared with others. Very precise, but his pick attack sounds aggressive. Someone buy him a medium, rounded pick, at least for the jam. Steve has fluidity and grace, with a more legato feel... pleasant. Joe has ultimate style and fluidity, and the best phrasing of the 3... righteous. Then again, that's why we're commenting on satriani.com, right? =)
tarheel	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 7	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 1:44 pm
Almost a great night, but too many things brought the experience down. I had anticipated this since I missed the last G3 tour, so expectations were high. The main problem I have is not with the show itself, but other things that made watching guitar paradise unpleasant. The biggest is the venue. I vow never to see a show at the Ritz again. It was so hot and crowded there, it became hard to breath at times. No A/C with a couple thousand people crammed in there is not a good feeling. Only when a guitar god was playing was the evening bearable. #2, the acoustics at the Ritz just suck. I thought the sound quality, let alone the fact that mics volumes were not properly set (case in point, Billy SHeehan's mic during La Grange, you just couldn't hear him.) Further, like the above said, it seemed Stu was not happy either with the sound. #3, after the show, I stuck around with about 40-50 people to get autographs. Everyone came out, everyone, except Joe and Stu. While Mike, Billy, John, and Steve Vai all came out and sign autographs and take snap shots, Joe and Stu slipped out the side while everyone was hovering over Steve and Billy. Come on Joe. I have been a loyal fan since 'Alien'. All these other guys took not more than 15 minutes to spend time with their fans. The Dream Theatre drummer even yelled out," Is evryone happy? Anyone else need an autograph?" before he went back in the bus. Why couldn't Joe take 15 minutes for his fans. Anyway, enough of the complaints, because the show itself was truely a treat. A show that should not be missed. It was my first time seeing John. He did impress. Vai came next and wowed the crowd repeatedly. After the show, he said he hopes to record with Billy. Billy's addition really enhances Vai. It gives a two-pronged attack that is only rivaled by Satch/Hamm. When Joe came out, he was great. Again, I think the sound was awful, but through the muck, Joe still impressed with his fret work. Joe seemed to blister through his set, which was phenomenal, barely taking time to catch his breath. He continued to rip off tunes with precision. When bringing out Vai/Petrucci/and Shhehan, it was overload heaven. Watching them all stand together was great. I thought the spotlight crew did a good job lighting the guitar hero that was soloing and all 3 had mutual respect for one another, not trying to show up the others. The show itself was a 10, the outside stuff brought it down.
Floorsocks (Floor socks)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 12:48 pm
The audience at the Ritz definitely got more than their money's worth. The show began at 8pm and lasted over 4 hours! Petrucci opened up with some amazing songs. Although he reminded me of Dana Carvey's stand up jokes about rock stars, his performance was spectacular. Vai came out, and, well, try and use your imagination. He used his tongue a lot. Finally Joe came out, and I was lucky enough to be one person away from the very front of the stage and about 10 ft away from Joe! His performance was everything it should have been and more! The songs he played: Cool #9; Summer Song; Surfing With the Alien; Satch Boogie; Devil's Slide; Extremist; Always With You, Always With Me; Flying in a Blue Dream; and Rasberry Jam Delta-V. Most of those songs are milestones in his discography, and you sort of feel gypped if he doesn't play them. The only complaint I have about the show is that it's not so great when Vai, Satch, and Petrucci all play at once. It's guitar overload, and their playing is difficult to decipher from one another. Other than that, it was outstanding. Thanks Joe, Steve, and John for a breathtaking performance!
GTech (Grover Fowler)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 10	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 10:08 am
Speechless... The thought that came to mind as I left the Ritz last night thinking of what I would say to people when they asked about the show. It was nothing less than incredible. John opened the show and just wowed us to the wall with his style and his fat fat fat tone. Really fine music that he wrote just for the tour. Then if that were not enough to send everyone home happy and fulfilled, Steve took the stage and just rendered us all gah gah... That man is so far out there in every respect - he commanded us all and took us to places that we've never been. By this time I was nearly wetting myself and Joe took the stage, sharing with us all his secret soul of sounds, perfect in every respect. I love them all but Joe is like a best friend who takes your hand and says everything is ok, everything is going to be just fine. Just wow, and then he shares the stage with Steve and John to take us all to yet another level. My god, how could this be happening before my eyes I thought as I watched and listened to the 3 just smoke and sizzle, sharing and trading and just loving what they were doing. My thanks to all who made this possible as I will never forget my experience with Joe, Steve, and John...
???	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 7:58 am
This is the 6th time for me seeing Joe, 2nd foe Vai, 1st for Patrucci...John was stylisticaly, a great addition to the show & more than held his own in the jam. Vai, Sheehan, & Donatelli were monstrous...& throw in Mike Kenally? You have a stage show that can't be topped for energy & riff magic. How could Joe top that? TONE AND JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SHOWMANSHIP. Joe is the consumate pro, hands down. There was seemingly a problem with the volume levels with either the monitor or house mix...Stu was making lots of faces & John's drumming was atypically out-of-sync. But after the third or fourth songs, all was corrected...nothing but vintage Satch from there.How do I rank this one against my all-time? #1 Jimi Hendrix, Dorton Arena 1969...#2 Joe Satriani CP Tour, Ritz...#3 Steve Vai, Longbranch 2000...#4 G3, Ritz (last night) In a word...The best Rock Guitar show on the planet. DON'T MISS IT !
GUTTERbOY (Philip Clifton)	Wed Jul 18 '01 The Ritz Raleigh, NC, US	Rank: 9	Posted: Thu Jul 19, '01 1:20 am
What a wonderful show. Petrucci was impressive, but things just kept getting better from there. Steve Vai was wonderful and a lot of fun to watch and listen to- he's a great entertainer as well as a musician. And then, when I thought I'd seen it all, I realized that Joe still hadn't played. He was masterful as always, hitting the right notes and tugging at my heart strings. And the jam... whew!! Billy Sheehan does an impressive Billy Gibbons growl...