CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM JOE SATRIANI’S SYDNEY SHOW HERE.
The Enmore was awash with a cross section of society for the Joe Satriani concert. With no dancefloor, it was strictly seating, and as I sat and people-watched, I saw a 12-year old with his parents, a Jew wearing a kipa talking to his girlfriend, and a few in black with long hair. Such was the diversity of his fan-base.
In no time Satriani and band made their appearance to the tune of I Just Wanna Rock from his latest offering Professor Satchfunkilius and the Musterion of Rock. The finger-picking freak went through songs with ease, making the impossible seem incidental. Attending a Satriani concert is more a case of watching a guitar lesson. There is nothing visually entertaining about Satriani’s concerts. He does not throw his guitar in the air, hardly talks and aside from banging his head to the beat, rarely moves. I suspect the reason is that Satriani uses the guitar as the medium for expression and would rather let the music speak for itself.
Satriani glided effortlessly into Ice 9, which accompanied the first of many guitar changes. Bassist Stuart Ham kept movement to a minimum but let me assure you he is no piece of meat. This man is a lethal assassin on bass. The last time I saw Ham was in 1996 at The Metro, and his Star Spangled Banner solo was explosive, stealing the show from Satriani. This time around he did not disappoint either, plucking his strings to a hillbilly theme and jumping around. He was dynamic, exciting and fun – the element needed to spruce up the visual side of the show.
Along with new pieces, the classics were played, such as One Big Rush, Time Machine, Flying On A Blue Dream, Always With Me, Always With You and the one that catapulted him to mainstream conscious, Surfing with the Alien. It’s hard to keep up with Satriani’s discography, as his output is prolific, averaging an album every two years when not doing the G3 tour.
The night ended with a Happy Birthday cake and sing-along, as Satriani turned 52 that evening. The shy maestro blushed as he blew out candles and thanked the audience, showing his gratitude by serenading us with two more songs as we stood, clapped and cheered on. This happy hour was the icing on the cake.
