One of the great things about Joe Satriani’s music is that it appeals to all walks of life as evidenced by the variety of punters from different musical backgrounds that attended the second of his Melbourne shows at the Forum. The venue was packed with music fans young and old to see one of the greats of the guitar playing world.
There are very few musical milestones that “Satch” is yet to complete. He has had a career spanning more than 20 years, he has recorded in excess of 10 studio albums and collaborated on many others, he has taught other virtuosic musicians who have gone on to sell millions of albums in their respective bands worldwide (Kirk Hammet from Metallica probably being the most notable) and he was a pioneer of instrument endorsement and “signature” series guitar production.
Following solid support from the opening act Vanishing Point, Satch and his cohorts took to the stage to expectant applause. He was complimented by the backing lineup of Stu Hamm on bass, Galen Henson on rhythm guitar and Jeff Campitelli on percussion. The quality of the live sound was equally impressive with the bluesy gain and grinding pinch harmonics indicative of Satriani’s sound cutting through the room perfectly. His technical prowess and innovation with the guitar is beyond question and left this punter in awe of what can be achieved with decades of practice and dedication.
Satch was true to his fans covering a good range of his back catalogue including Surfing with the Alien classics such as the title track of the same name and the unmistakable melody of Always with Me, Always with You while still fitting in tracks from his new album Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock. Other highlights of the show included the tracks Ghost, One Big Rush and The Extremist. However it would be remiss of me to single out these particular tracks when his entire show, lasting just under 2 hours, was faultless.
Satch’s guitar ability aside, one of the surprise highlights of the show would have to be the highly entertaining bass interlude performed by Stu Hamm while the other members of lineup took a well earned break. By the end of his soloing efforts it sounded as though he had earned himself somewhat of a cult status judging by the vocal crowd response.
Satriani is a masterful showman without the normal wank factor usually associated with virtuosic guitarists such as Steve Vai or Yngvie Malmsteen. A must see (or listen) for guitar fans of any genre.
