...When the lights came up on Joe Satriani's face I kept repeating under my breath that's him, that's really him, that's HIM. I swayed to the music and drank up the moment and all its powerul and yet tender nuances with relish and grateful gladness. I hope the special magic of seeing him perform LIVE never wears off, should I be privileged to attend another of his concerts ("if the accident wills" -K.Vonnegut) in the future we cannot see and cannot know.
Impressions of Joe: after the first few numbers, he seemed to start enjoying himself more, on stage. Not that he didn't seem happy to start, just that he seemed more relaxed and more joyful further into his program. I focused my eyes on his hands, watching him play, but I can't think of anything specific to report, other than it was a dream come true to see him perform on the guitar, close enough to see his fingers do their stuff.
His "Chrome Boy" guitar was an unexpected delight. The reflections off the curves looked like large, flashing, brilliant stars, while the body of the guitar reflected the darkness of the night. The effect was of these incredible stars set in a field of black, moving and flashing with his playing. It was a beautiful and interesting effect - one I never would have imagined. His guitar looked like outer space, itself, only with bigger stars dancing in slow, sensual rhythms.
For "Always With Me, Always With You" he switched to a multi-colored guitar. His signature, soulful tone was abundantly present. I watched his wrists and fingers carefully investing each note as required for the proper sound ..... I found this performance touching, not only for the lovely melody we all love, but to watch him "gentle" those strings to coax just the right feel. This was a treasure to watch that happen so masterfully, like breathing.
ohhhhhhh .......
Here I feel I must defend both my reactions, and Joe's performance. In spite of my "extreme bias", I'm NOT just a love-sick, sappy sucker for the song, itself, or even a star-struck fan "idolizing- Joe's- every- move". I'm sure it was No Big Deal to Joe, who has doubtless played that song dozens and dozens of times in concert. But this was the first time for me, seeing him play it. And it wasn't just the song or my simple and sincere adoration of "Joe". Every song at every live concert exists within its own musical moment, as the artist makes the song happen within that moment. So I'll say it again: the *special thing was *witnessing* his DELIVERY of the song.
The same holds true for the rest of Joe's performance. I got to watch. It was special for me. I'm particularly pleased "Mystical Potato Head..." was included in the standard G3 set list. (Got a personal "thing" for that one.)
"Always With Me, Always With You" moved seamlessly into Stu Hamm's bass solo ... (next pg)