Satch....

I went to see Joe Satriani at Symphony Hall in Birmingham/UK on Monday... third row from the front...

He was on top form as ever but I have to admit that after 2 hours of his set, I'd had enough. Never thought I'd say it, but each track he did would descend into another 3 minutes of the same legato blasting around. Very impressive, but it made every track sound the same. Took my GF with me, who seemed to enjoy it more than me...

Paul Gilbert was supporting... and he was just amazing. I was more impressed by Stu Hamm on bass than I was Satch to be honest, but it was still a very very good night... if any of you are near a venue he's playing, get a ticket.

Question though - Stu Hamm got loads of 'boos' from the crowd and I've no idea why.... is he some sort of rock and roll hate figure?

Originally Posted by: ren
Question though - Stu Hamm got loads of 'boos' from the crowd and I've no idea why.... is he some sort of rock and roll hate figure?

Maybe they were just saying "Stuuuu!"
I made that mistake at the Skydome when Mookie Wilson came out.
I turned to my friend and said "how come everybody's booing him?"
"They're not.. they're just saying Mooooo!"

well... it's possible... :o

But it sounded very bad tempered, and he was reacting badly toward the crowd as a result, so if I was being fooled... he was too...

Ah well... it's all rock and roll eh.... :)

Interestng you say that, I saw Yngwie a while back and although he is a different style I reckon he is just as talented as Satch. Same thing though, after about 45 mins or so it all just went off in the same direction. The solos as per the cd's were incredible, amazingly executed with flawless technique but he spent a lot of time heading off on tangents that sounded the same... Saw Ozzy last year with Zakk Wylde on guitar, have to say it was the biggest let down ever. Zakk was terrible (considering he is so highly regarded). His crowd pleaser solos were the same formula every time. Pick a blues scale, then play a 6 note exercise pattern... start at 100bpm then build it up to 180bpm, then play the exact same thing but add a wah pedal... boring! Not saying he is a bad guitarist but I was way underwhlemed, that plus the fact that there were about 4 other guitar traks playing in the back ground over the pa. The squells were multi layered to the point that you could see he was playing something different at times (I was in the front row). Oh well, there's always Vai, havent seen him yet but I hear he is brilliant live... anyone here see him yet?

Originally Posted by: SuperhumanInterestng you say that, I saw Yngwie a while back and although he is a different style I reckon he is just as talented as Satch. Same thing though, after about 45 mins or so it all just went off in the same direction. The solos as per the cd's were incredible, amazingly executed with flawless technique but he spent a lot of time heading off on tangents that sounded the same... Saw Ozzy last year with Zakk Wylde on guitar, have to say it was the biggest let down ever. Zakk was terrible (considering he is so highly regarded). His crowd pleaser solos were the same formula every time. Pick a blues scale, then play a 6 note exercise pattern... start at 100bpm then build it up to 180bpm, then play the exact same thing but add a wah pedal... boring! Not saying he is a bad guitarist but I was way underwhlemed, that plus the fact that there were about 4 other guitar traks playing in the back ground over the pa. The squells were multi layered to the point that you could see he was playing something different at times (I was in the front row). Oh well, there's always Vai, havent seen him yet but I hear he is brilliant live... anyone here see him yet?

I think a G3 might actually be a lot better than just one of them alone.. I haven't been to see either Vai or Satch or Ygnwie solo but I think the fact that they each have a little play separately, doing the best of their stuff, then come and play together.. I think it would be more enjoyable... possibly.

The best live show, of a guitarist, I have seen to date is the first time I went to see Deep Purple at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. He was just in the zone that night and it all sounded so good and new and perfectly balanced. Steve Morse is a great player.. in fact I would love to see a G3 with Satch, Vai and Morse.. I have gone off Satch a lot lately.. but in combination with another guitarist, I think he would do well.

I saw Vai on his 'Real Illusions' tour... end of 2005 I think it was... He is very very good live, although all the faces and sounding harmonics with his tongue (or rather cheating with a whammy pedal) get a bit much. That said, he played for well over 3 hours and I never got bored.

He did an acoustic set in the middle, and played a good mix of new and old... and his band are all amazing players on their respective instruments... very impressive when they all go spaghetti arms and fret each others guitars...

Oh, and for the record - with the exception of BB King, I think Zakk Wylde is the most over-rated guitarist in the world... I know the guy who re-records his solos for albums... on account of his being too drunk/useless to do it right himself these days :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by: ren
Oh, and for the record - with the exception of BB King, I think Zakk Wylde is the most over-rated guitarist in the world... I know the guy who re-records his solos for albums... on account of his being too drunk/useless to do it right himself these days :rolleyes:

I always thought Zakk was over rated too but I had hoped that he had a load of cool tricks up his sleeve for the live scenario. Interesting about having a session player record the studio solos though, bloody ridiculous! Next time Vai is in Dublin I'm there.

Originally Posted by: ren Oh, and for the record - with the exception of BB King, I think Zakk Wylde is the most over-rated guitarist in the world... :

Why, I am stunned. STUNNED. Shocked even, by this statement...I, I don't know what to say. I'm hurt, deeply wounded by such an assertion...suddenly my world just isn't the same anymore...colors not as bright, wine not as sweet...nothing makes sense... :D Well, okay, you're right. B.B. King is a bit over-rated as a guitar player but still puts on a heck of show and he really is a great vocalist of the R&B and blues genre. As far as Wylde, I don't know. Never really listened to him much.

Yeah... guitarist dude... he's a better bluesman... ;)

Originally Posted by: renQuestion though - Stu Hamm got loads of 'boos' from the crowd and I've no idea why.... is he some sort of rock and roll hate figure?

They were saying "Stu."

I've saw Satch first at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney touring after "Flying in a Blue Dream" was released. I remember that was a surreal experience - I was about 20 at the time. I think I was a bit overwhelmed by getting to see one of my guitar heros. Funniest thing was, towards the end he was going into this Zen type solo where he was in the middle of the stage, on his knees and arching way back, shredding away - they had it up so loud that one of the speaker bins on the right side of the stage vibrated off the one below it, bounced on the deck and then creamed some poor dude sitting in the front row :eek: (he wasn't hurt, amazingly). Joe just kept on playing. He played unreal, with heaps of feel and a great tone and everything was just like off his albums.

Vai I saw next, a few years later at Selinas at Cronulla, after his 4th record(name alludes me). He played everything note-for-note, did all that posing and gesticulating in front of a big fan blowing his hair around and towards the end I was, quite frankly, ready to go. He had all the trick effects, weird sounds and whammy bar antics but from what I remember he lacked a lot in the tone department. He sang quite a bit and I've never been a fan of his singing either. Definitely an anti climax for me. However, to date, "Blue Powder" remains one of my absolute favourites.

Yngwie I saw last, about 4 years ago and again at Selinas. When he came out on stage he had a pretty big gut on him, frizzy thinning hair and he still wore these ridiculously tight leather pants. Well he mightn't have looked the part but one thing was for sure though, he didn't F@#K around - I swear there were sparks coming off his fretboard all night. ;) I couldn't believe he maintained that intensity for the whole show. I enjoyed his gig way more than Vai's and also more than Satch's, and his showmanship throwing around of his strat was kinda cool in a strange way. Yngwie's tone was amazing and unlike Vai and Satch he didn't peg himself into note-for-note soloing - the improv's were an obvious reflection of his artistic ability and confidence with the instrument. More of a true rock gig though, as Yngwie brought a kick ass vocalist with him and I can't remember his name but he was amazing. Malmsteen even sang and played a Hendrix number (I think it was "Spanish Castle Magic") - his voice actually sounded just like Jimi's, like he was channelling him or something - mind you he didn't play that song anything like Jimi, it was unmistakably Yngwie.

Yngwie Who? Yngwie F@#king Malmsteen! (I still have the tee-shirt) LOL.

First heard of Satch in the early 80's. My nephew turned me onto Malmsteen. Hard as I try, I just don't get it. Too many notes. Vai, I heard about in the 70's- I could relate more cuz it sounded more like the rock I like. Dunno what he sounds like now, or in the last 20+ years. I have Satch's first album on cassette; bought it cuz he got such rave reviews in something like Guitar Player. After one listen, all I could think of was..????

Dunno, maybe it's my age and the era of rock I grew up with. I just can't relate to these guys. One guy I really dislike is Batio- sounds like he's just running a lot of modal stuff. I'm listening to more metal to get a feel of what they're about. But I'm still not a great fan of solos at a million miles/hr. Maybe it's the Alzheimer's setting in on my old brain, but I just don't get most of these speed demons. Technique-wise, yeah they've really ramped it up alot. But speed for the sake of speed just doesn't cut it for me.

Can anyone point me to a particular tune they like? I'm not too old to be converted. But no Batio. Seen him on youtube. Does nothing for me.

Originally Posted by: SilimtaoFirst heard of Satch in the early 80's. My nephew turned me onto Malmsteen. Hard as I try, I just don't get it. Too many notes. Vai, I heard about in the 70's- I could relate more cuz it sounded more like the rock I like. Dunno what he sounds like now, or in the last 20+ years. I have Satch's first album on cassette; bought it cuz he got such rave reviews in something like Guitar Player. After one listen, all I could think of was..????

Dunno, maybe it's my age and the era of rock I grew up with. I just can't relate to these guys. One guy I really dislike is Batio- sounds like he's just running a lot of modal stuff. I'm listening to more metal to get a feel of what they're about. But I'm still not a great fan of solos at a million miles/hr. Maybe it's the Alzheimer's setting in on my old brain, but I just don't get most of these speed demons. Technique-wise, yeah they've really ramped it up alot. But speed for the sake of speed just doesn't cut it for me.

Can anyone point me to a particular tune they like? I'm not too old to be converted. But no Batio. Seen him on youtube. Does nothing for me.

Hey Silimtao,

You know what? Speed doesn't matter. Some guitarists are drawn to music that has some fast runs but to most people (that aren't kidding themselves) it's only about the emotion of the music on a personal level - when all the notes in the world don't mean a thing it could be one special moment in a short solo by some obscure dude that you connect with.

For me it was the title track of an album called "Aborescence" that I heard in the mid 90's - the band is Ozric Tentacles and the guitarist is Ed Wynne.

Originally Posted by: SpedzarHey Silimtao,

You know what? Speed doesn't matter. Some guitarists are drawn to music that has some fast runs but to most people (that aren't kidding themselves) it's only about the emotion of the music on a personal level - when all the notes in the world don't mean a thing it could be one special moment in a short solo by some obscure dude that you connect with.

For me it was the title track of an album called "Aborescence" that I heard in the mid 90's - the band is Ozric Tentacles and the guitarist is Ed Wynne.

Heya Spedzar,

Yeah, that's what I mean- alot of these guys are great technically, but after awhile, the notes just become a blur, and after awhile, it just becomes boring to me. Even someone like SRV; I've seen him in concert a few times, and most of his shows were super fast paced, and all I could think was, damn, slow it down and play a slow blues cuz I'm getting a headache. But I get alot more from a SRV solo because I can feel the emotion behind it.

That's why I don't like most of the shredders/speedsters I've listened to. Lots of notes, no emotion- to me, at least. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty fast picker and it's fun to play fast. But when I'm really zipping along, I just feel like I'm playing scales (I make no claims to having the musical talent of any of the above), and I'm not saying anything. Not that I don't like throwing in a fast run in now and then, but all the time? Nah, just not my style, no matter how fast I'm able to pick.

I really like flamenco players like Paco de Lucia though. Lots of speed AND emotion..

A friend of mind is a big fan of Batio and we were talking music, etc. He's a metalhead, while I'm not. He said lemme show you something, and it was an instructional vid by Batio. I have to say I was very impressed. Not only by his musicianship, but his ability to explain what he was doing. I guess I was pre-judging him from a few youtube vids I've seen of him, and didn't happen to like what I saw. So I have to take back what I said about him. Not that I'm gonna run out and buy a cd by him. But to say the least, I was very impressed.

Yeah...You have to give him credit for his love of music & teaching skills. He may look & act like goofy bugger, with the 80's-Jeff Beck-Lookin wig and the leather pants & "Arrrrgh" metal faces....LOL
But when you see & hear him teach, he does come across as a very down to earth person, who truly loves playing music...It's just that his style of shred, is not going to be for everyone. But he's good at what he does, if you can get past the sometimes gimmicky persona.


Don

I saw joe satriani in exeter/UK and i was also at the third row,right in the middle ..

I dont think there is a valid reason for boo'ing stu hamm, his dance moves were thoroughly entertaining.

i was there leelee remember and they werent booing stu ham they were saying stu stu stu stu stu stu! the gig was ammmaaazziiinnnggg