show review
kevinlr5 Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jan 18, '05 10:57 am
That was amazing. I especially liked the additions to songs like Searching (which was huge) and Always With Me, Always With You. Having played it with Pneumonia was just that much more hardcore. Anyway, I was totally blown away. Great show.

subdude Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: 6 Posted: Sat Jan 01, '05 11:32 pm

As always, Joe did a great job, especially this time, considering his sickness; thanks for making it happen for so many fans in SF! The performance was terrific, many awesome tracks were played, including "Hands in the Air", "Searching" and "Starry Night".

Unfortunately, I have to concur with a couple of other reviewers in that the sound setup left much to be desired and really made the show less enjoyable than it could have been. The mid-section was mixed in way too high, Joe's guitar was just almost unbearably scorching loud at times, which was unnecesary and surprising because his parts normally sound very clear and distinct as it is. My ears were ringing through the next day -- that had never happened after any of his other shows I'd attended, e.g. Joe's end of year shows at the Fillmore 4 years ago (DVD material), where the sound was just right, and the concert itself was just magical.

Still, the show was a memorable experience overall, and being about 3 hours long it was well worth the time and money - all thanks to Joe, who in my opinion is the most versatile and original guitarist of our time.

cheese101 Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: 10 Posted: Wed Dec 29, '04 12:00 pm

Well, night 2 of our San Francisco EWJS experience. Since Joe was so sick I was wondering if he might cancel the show, but no.........he came out even more animated than the night before, and probably sicker too. That's when we found out he had pneumonia...don't know how he did it, but he did an even better concert than the night before. Could barely get enough breath to talk once in a while, lots of coughing, no singing (btw, love to hear you sing Joe, please don't be too shy of singing to stop!) but that was completely understandable. The improvs were again incredible, AWMAWY, Searching...there's nothing like the live experience! So much emotion is communicated through Joe's music, I was literally crying before the end of Sleepwalk (astonishingly beautiful when played by Joe) and all through Starry Night, crying again during Flying in a Blue Dream. The set list was almost exactly the same as the night before, with the exception of singing Strange the first night but just couldn't the second night, SWTA the first night as the encore, and the second night did Satch Boogie instead. But then he brings out 2 more guitarists and says he hopes we don't mind if they have a little jam! OH MY GOSH IT WAS GREAT!! And such a treat. Joe played longer this second night than the first, don't know how he managed to do it! Matt, loved hearing you sing Goin Down, looking forward to more singing! And both Jeff and Galen did a short solo at different points of the show, awesome! I forgot to say in the first nights' review that the opening act was just incredible as well, hats off to Isaac and Jason (I think those were their names, sorry guys if not, it was hard to hear clearly up against the stage). My son was thrilled that Joe seemed to remember him from the night before, we think Joe waved at us at the beginning and at the end of the show! We had an incredible experience and it left us wanting more... we could do a concert with Joe and the band every night the rest of our lives and never get tired of it.

Joe, Jeff, Matt, Galen and all the crew, my son and I say thank you from the deepest part of our hearts for being who you are and doing what you do so well. We were humbled and awed by your performances and look forward to many more, but only after Joe is 100% recovered! Joe, I know you appreciate your fans and always thank us for coming to your concerts and showing interest in what you do, but please accept our deepest and sincerest thanks for sharing your gift with us, even when you probably didn't feel up to it. YOU ROCK!!

rudegrrlz Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: 8 Posted: Tue Dec 28, '04 10:22 pm
Very fun - great song selections and great energy, especially since Joe had Pneumonia!! Btw, the 3rd guitarist (after Schon) was Doug Doppler. He is a local (Bay Area) player who seems to have made his way on stage by knowing the right people. Adequate in guitar but didn't add very much to the mix. They *really* didn't need him to end this great night of music!

mustbken Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: 4 Posted: Tue Dec 28, '04 12:34 pm
Joe at the Filmore! Great Venue, Cool Crowd..... All the great work was lost on poor sound quality..... Muddy Bass is one thing...... Clipping and distorting Amps turned the night into an ameteur punk rock fest blowout... I'll bring plugs next time !!

blotto Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: Posted: Tue Dec 28, '04 11:00 am
I'm seeing the 4th and B show tonight. Last time I saw JS, it was at the LA HOB the day after Christmas prepping for the dvd show at the Fillmore. The band was totally going through the motions -- Stu was thinking about a pizza or something. I just hope with this sickness and all, they're able to put on a show. What a downer.

mehyam Mon Dec 27 '04
154
The Fillmore, San Francisco,
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Dec 28, '04 12:53 pm

Wow, what a performance. Way to play through that pneumonia, Joe! This was a long but good show, and the best of the three times I've seen Satch at the Fillmore (have seen the 12/2002 and 12/2000 shows - yes, I liked this even better than the DVD show). Highlights include Starry Night, Flying IABD, Searching, and War. Also, the "space out/jam" section was excellent. The encore included a G3-like jam with Neal Schon and a player I didn't recognize (he was playing a pink Ibanez S series), and they played Voodoo Chile and Going Down.

BTW, I highly recommend bringing earplugs to the show. They let your ears endure the long sets, and you can appreciate the tones of all the musicians better (including Joe's new pickups and amps, which sound awesome).