Joe Satriani: Live in Riverside
Joe Satriani is a name that guitar aficionados should know. With over 10 million albums sold, he’s the number one selling instrumental rock guitarist of all time. Early in his career, he worked as a guitar instructor for such notable guitarists as Steve Vai (Frank Zappa), Lur Lalonde (Primus), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Kevin Cadogen (Third Eye Blind), and many more. Visit his site here to learn more about Joe and his 30 year career.
I’ll admit, I was late to the dance getting into Joe Satriani’s music. I’ve been a huge lover of guitar ever since I was a teen, but it was a slow process to learn the history and get into the greats. My former roommate Dave is a longtime fan and he introduced me to Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien, which you can buy by clicking my Amazon link. He’s also the guy with whom I attended the concert. It was at the Fox Theater in Riverside California, about a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles. The Fox Theater shows Broadway musicals as well as musical acts, so if you find yourself in the neighborhood, check it out. Riverside’s parking situation is much more laid back than LA (I parked all night for free), and there are lots of eateries and pubs close to the theater. The theater is a smaller scale theater; it holds about 1700 people. Due to the small size, every seat is a good view of the stage, but it does raise ticket prices.
Joe Satriani
As Joe Satriani is 59 years old, the crowd was on the older side. Dave and I were among the youngest concertgoers in the audience, which is a nice change of pace from the last few shows I’ve attended. There was no mosh pit, and you could rest comfortably in your seat for the duration of the show. Don’t take this as an indicator that Joe didn’t rock. He did. Good Lord, he did. There were a couple times I remember getting chills, similar to the ones I felt when watching Tosin Abasi for the first time.
There was no opening band, just two sets of Satriani and his band, plus an encore. The first set opened with a very bizarre video of some crappily drawn characters flying through space. I’ll be honest, it worried me. It wasn’t particularly well done and the character design was awful. I hoped it wasn’t an omen of things to come. Luckily, it wasn’t. Right off the bat, Satriani and his band tore it up with a new song and the crowd went wild. For a man of 59 years old, he still bounces around quite a bit and has lots of energy. He addressed the crowd a couple times between songs, but mostly he let his guitar do the talking. I think this was the right decision.
There was an intermission halfway through, and the second set opened with a drum solo. As good as Joe’s musicianship is, the music would suffer with subpar backup performers. All of the back up band members were fantastic, especially Marco Minnemenn, the drummer. He was able to show off his talents a bit during his drum solo. Mike Keneally was the keyboard player, but he also played guitar. Some of my favorite moments were Mike and Joe playing side by side.
I don’t really have any negative feedback about the concert, other than the opening video. I guess the montage of his old album covers felt like a bit of a commercial at the end, but it wasn’t too bad and I won’t fault him for being proud of an impressive career. The sound quality in the theater was superb, the energy was high, and the setlist spanned his career. The performance surpassed my expectations and I have nothing but high praise for Satriani and his band. It makes for a boring review, but I want to give all the credit where credit is due. If you love rock guitar and have a chance to see Joe Satriani play, do it. You won’t be disappointed. I’ve embedded one of his older songs. This song means a lot to me as it’s the first Satriani song I ever heard, and Surfing with the Alien remains my favorite Satriani record.
Set 1: Shockwave Supernova | Flying in a Blue Dream | Ice 9 | Crystal Planet | Not of This Earth | On Peregrine Wings | Friends | Time | If I Could Fly | Butterfly and Zebra | Cataclysmic | Summer Song
Set 2:
Drum solo (Marco Minnemenn) | Crazy Joey | All of My Life | Keyboard Solo (Mike Keneally) | Luminous Flesh Giants | Always With Me, Always With You | (Guitar, Bass and Keyboard Jam) | God Is Crying | If There Is No Heaven | Goodbye Supernova | Satch Boogie
Encore Set: Big Bad Moon | Surfing With the Alien | Ending Jam
Setlist: ★★★★ out of 5
Sound: ★★★★★ out of 5
Energy: ★★★½ out of 5
Live Performance: ★★★★½ out of 5
Overall: ★★★★ out of 5
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