show review
Therionpyros
(Aaron Finch)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sun Dec 08, '02 6:35 pm
Absolutly great show. I could feel the music right to my soul! My older borher and I are long time fans and we went together. Of all the concerts I have seen, none moved me like this. All praise to you Joe, you have inspired my brother and I as musicains and as preformers. Your "love of the music" attitude drives us to a better as a guitarists, a place where my brother and I can connect like no place here on earth. Thankyou! Truly a phenominal show, one that I would and will see again and again.

guitarbishop
(Mike Perez)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Thu Sep 05, '02 10:42 pm
Never a dull moment when the one an only silver surfin' Satch sets foot on stage!!

Sweep_Pick
(Brandon Chase)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Sun Jul 14, '02 10:10 am
There is always room for improvement! lol

IBANEZ_JS1000
(Matt Hauck)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sat Feb 02, '02 5:39 pm
JOE YOU ARE THE BEST!

UV777GR91
(Allen Garrow)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Fri Nov 16, '01 7:10 pm

I went with a couple of my band mates which took me to see this show for my birthday! Thanks Nate and Ben! You guys rock! My god, the setting was perfect! John just amazed everyone, Steve was magickal, and Joe,,,well....words can't put it into perspective if you ever seen these guys play,,,you will understand. A storm was rolling in as Steve was closing out his set,,,the thunder was on cue to his song "for the love of God",,,damn near thought I was going to wet myself,,,,Joe was on next,,,,and he started with the intro song to his new CD...and the lights and sound along with thunder from above,,,just made the night the most amazing sight and sound ever.... Neal Schone was there ( sorry if the last named was mispelled) My hat is off to all involved and to all the sound people, crew and DTE for making this night so special!

Blessing of light and sound.

Allen Garrow

Joeboon Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sat Sep 22, '01 6:38 pm
It was my first concert, and will probably be my best. I had front row center seats! It was the coolest thing I ever saw!

jsv Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Thu Sep 13, '01 12:08 pm
was the best live show ever. it was long and loud and totally rockn roll. I'm a huge dream theater fan. it is great to see you guys(vai,Satch) giving him the oppurtunity to play with you guys. you are all an inspiration to my playing.

fretwired Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sun Jul 29, '01 3:35 pm
All i can say is...BEST CONCERT EVER. I was blown away by Vai, Petrucci, and Satch.

3v3rmor3
(harry dastillung)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Sat Jul 14, '01 8:51 am
Right when i was sitting down in my seat i realized that, because of Portnoy's Japanese red and white monster, Petrucci would be up first. i am a huge Dream Theater fan and i have only seen Petrucci live one other time when DT came through Cincinnati, where i am from, last August. if any of what he played is representative of the new DT record, I WANT NOW!! Paradigm Shift/LaRue solo/ Erotomania solo/Portnoy solo just blew me away. I knew that this was only the beginning, because if that was the opening act, only better music followed. Vai's use of the Floyd Rose system impressed me. i actually thought that he was going to break his strings more than once. However, i was glad when his set was over, simply because i had had enough of his antics. Satch....SATCH....i had never seen him live before, or really listened to his music. now i'm hooked. i just picked up Live in San Francisco and it is beyond amazing. he is such a natural, and he seemed to be so at home onstage playing his tunes. i absolutely love his bluesy-rock style. i've always wanted to see Stu Hamm live as well. i was very impressed at the end when the guitarist from Journey held his own against those three. Best concert i have ever been to, hands down. last minute thing, too. i got the call at ten to eleven that morning that my cousin fell out and my friends needed a 3rd person to go to this show. when we finally got there at like seven, i realized that only about 6 people knew where i was. so, naturally, i called my best friend, and amazing guitar player to boot, to brag. he hates me now. well worth it!!

reverend93 Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Thu Jul 12, '01 9:02 pm
Well, first off, it took me a while to get on because i kept forgeting my password. lol. Alright, the show was one of the best shows i've seen ever. John started the show off and just blew me away. I was so impressed with not only him, but also his drummer. Mike is one incredable drummer. Their bassist was incredable too. I thought that he put on a good show, and played great music with one incredable lineup of people in the band. Vai came out next. This was probably the worst i've ever seen him play. He sounded kinda off actually. I didn't like shy boy. That song wasn't too cool. The new stuff was ok, but i've already got the alive in the ultra world cd, and i think his band on that is much better. Don't get me wrong, billy is a great bass player, one of the best actually, and his drummer was good, but the band with mike and phil was so much tighter than the new band. I heard that Vai's setlist for some of the shows included erotic nightmares. This is a song that I wrote in at Vai's site as the one that I had always wanted to hear him play live. I also told them the show that I was going to. Needless to say, I really thought that I would get to finally hear it live, and it didn't happen. One last thing about Vai, he needs to end his reliance on the sustainer. Joe was last, and he was great. He sounded really good, played perfect as always, and just put on a great show. Nothing bad to say about Joe. I loved seeing him again. The jam at the end was a lot better than the first G3 show, (which I went to.) When they invited Neal up, I just thought, the guy from Journey can play guitar well, and man, he did. I was very amazed at his abilities on the guitar. They played La Grange, Voodoo Chile (slight return), Little Wing, and Going Down. All of the songs were great. I really liked La Grange, and the first parts of little wing. Voodoo Chile was really good too, but it was a bit too busy at times to understand exactly what was going on. Going down was really good too. I enjoyed the show a lot. Everybody put on a good show, but like I said, I didn't think that Vai was up to par, he didn't play the one song that I've always wanted to hear, and he uses that damn sustainer way to much. Everybody gets a 5 outta 5 except steve. And I'll give him a 4 outta 5 because he still puts on one hell of a show.

Rockin Ron Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 6:11 pm
There isn't much else I can say that has not been said in the other reviews. What I want to add is- Joe, play more of your current songs. Raspberry Jam was awsome. John Petrucci you were fantastic. You have a new fan now. I am a huge Satch fan but I thought Vai stole the show. Next day at the Journey show Neil Schon mentioned the awesome jam he took part in that night. And I noticed that he had a whammy bar on his Les Paul for his concert. Boy, he needed it the for the G3 concert. He looked like he was out of place a couple of times with his standard Les Paul. Well, next time he will know.:) GREAT SHOW GUYS!

batman
(jeff benoit)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 8 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 2:52 pm
EXCELLENT show! I agree with some of the other Ratees, that the treble was way too high! It was a gorgeous night though, and DTE is an open theatre, it just enhanced the show greatly. Each one of the musicians kicked serious butt. I was especially impressed with John Petrucci, i felt he fit so much better with the likes of Joe and Steve, than Eric did. He wasn't shy at all, and looked like he was having a great time. And so was I!!! I had great seats and what a show to see! I do have to echo the sentiments of vhdude about the after show experience. I and the three others i was with left with a bad taste in our mouths about the AfterShow Pass situation. I too, won a set and i dreamed all weekend long through Monday about what it would be like, only to be shooed away like some sideshow clown after being whisked through the autograph line. I don't blame the musicians at all for this, i blame the stupid security folks, for A)Bad Communication-i.e. didn't know after you go through the line you gotta leave and B)Bad Attitude! One of the security agents looked like he wanted to throw down with one of my friends for asking why we couldn't go back to talk to the supporting musicians and maybe get some pics WITH Joe, or Steve, or John. While we were getting ejected from the area, i yelled "Hey Joe" and he kindly turned and smiled, so i could get a picture of him. You Rule Joe!!! Thanks for the passes it was cool other than them jerks who did security. And great show!!!

JKos
(John Kos)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 1:02 pm

What a show! It was definitely worth the 8.5 hours of driving I did to see it.

I must admit I didn't know a whole lot about John Petrucci going into the show. I was very impressed. I wish he had played longer. Due to a missing sign along the back way to DTE, we walked in while he was finishing his first song so I missed the 7-string performance. Petrucci is a very talented player with a great tone. He definitely deserves to be on stage with the likes of Vai and Satriani.

Unfortunately, Vai's sound was terrible . It was painful at times and definitely detracted from the experience (thus my 9 rating, otherwise it was 10+). I had seen him live on his own and his tone was great. Don't know what happened here. The vocals during his opening song "Shy Boy" were totally washed out. Seeing Billy Sheehan live and Mike Keneally again was a treat.

SATCH RULES LIVE! What an amazing tone! Every note was so clear and harmonically rich. I will see Joe live every chance I get. Even though I had heard everything he played on CDs, hearing and seeing it live was such an awesome, jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring experience!

viktor Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 7 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 12:05 pm
Being a passionate fan of Dream Theater, the anticipation of seeing the reaction of those who had never heard Petrucci/Portnoy, was almost too much to bear. Petrucci slew all who were present. The seven string piece he opened with was beautifully heavy. I'm sure it was a sign of what is to come on DT's next album. For whatever reason, the sound from the drums was awful. This was tragic, for if they would have been miked better, they would have blown away the two MAIN acts. I think it was intentional, since out of all the DT shows I've been to, they never have miked their equipment the way it was at G3. Anyhootie, Vai was very entertaining. He showed me his mastery of holding a high pitched note. Seriously, he jammed. He is trully a master. Satch's set, to me, was a little boring. Other than Joe's playing, the bass and drums left alot to be desired. I know the concert is all about the geetar, but after following the likes of Portnoy, I guess I'm spoiled. It is always nice to hear his classics, but the stage presence of his supporting cast was weak.

Marilyn1374 Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 10:45 am
Superb show!!! I didn't realize that John Petrucci and Steve Vai were on the bill as well since my boyfriend won tickets from work at the last minute. Incidentally, does anyone have a set list for this show??? Please email to elisenin@hotmail.com. Thanks!

atomicpunc
(Mark Gurchiek)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 10:00 am
What can I say about this show!!! All of these guys are amazing performers. Starting with Petrucci: I have seen him a few times with Dream Theater and he did nothing to disappoint me this time. Him and Portnoy together have a special chemistry that you don't find in most bands. I look forward to the future Dream Theater album and encourage anyone that saw the show to pick up any of his work, it's unbelievable. Although Steve Vai is not one of my favorites, he does rank as one of the best showman on stage and I can see why him and Sheehan teamed up with Roth in the mid-80's. The only semi-gripe I can come up with from the entire night was that the volume was a tad too high on his amp. That may have been the loudest guitar I have ever heard on stage. However his technical brilliance overshadowed the volume problem. Joe: what can you say about him! The guy is simply awesome. That was my first time seeing him and my only regret was that I had to leave before the oncore due to my girlfriend's ears ringing (probably from Vai's guitar). However, the 8 songs or so I saw (up until Always from Surfing with the Alien) were great. He didn't miss a note the entire night. I would recommend this concert to anyone and would definitely see these three guys again.

tor Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Wed Jul 11, '01 9:23 am
The finest gathering of guitar gods (both electric & bass) to ever assemble on a stage anywhere. The talent these guys possess is incredible - I was blown away. And the jam at the end..... MY GOD!! I know Jimi was smiling up in heaven that night as they rolled through "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" and "Little Wing" so beautifully. My respect goes out to Neil Schon from Journey (who I happened to see the next night in concert at DTE) for getting up on stage with those guys. He must have been nervous as hell, but I think he did a great job. Can't wait to see who'll be on the next one.

djohns
(David Johns)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 10:43 pm

This was an absolutely amazing show, by far the best concert I have ever seen! It's one of those rare experiences in life for which words absolutely will not do it justice. When I first heard about this year's tour, and that it was going to be Satriani, Vai and Petrucci, I just about fell off my chair! These guys are literally, bar none, my three favorite guitarists in the world! I've been a huge Dream Theater fan for about 6 years now, so getting the chance to see John show off his skills as only he can was an amazing treat.

This was my third G3 concert, having attended one at the Palace of Auburn Hills with Eric Johnson, which was on Halloween night in, I believe, 1997. I also saw the Pine Knob show with Kenny Wayne Sheppard, which I think was in the summer of 1998. So, it had been a while since I’d had the privilege of seeing the world’s finest guitarists on stage! God was it worth the wait. I had no clue what to expect from John Petrucci, since I’m only familiar with him from Dream Theater, but I knew that, especially with him bringing along Mike Portnoy, it would be a great performance. Here, I was not disappointed. That incredible, diabolical, amazingly heavy sound John cranked out of his 7-string on the first song had me hooked right away. God, I love how he does that! When he launched into a chunk of Dream Theater’s “Erotomania” during his last song, I just about lost my mind, jamming along with my trusty air guitar, the only way I could even begin to pretend to match his technical brilliance. Too short a set, for sure! I could have watched hours of him jamming away at, well, whatever frankly, but what we got was utterly amazing.

Steve Vai’s performance reinforced what an outlandish stage presence he can be, but no matter his antics on stage, his is absolutely outstanding both in technical mastery and incredible musical composition. I know well and absolutely loved every single song in his set, especially “Giant Balls of Gold” for its awesomely heavy main riff, “Incantation” with it’s incredible three-guitar harmony, and the simply beautiful “Whispering a Prayer”, as well as the classics “Answers” and “For the Love of God”. Naturally, it would be a crime not to mention Billy Sheehan’s outstanding performance at this point. His incredible skills and mere presence so perfectly complement Steve on stage that it’s difficult to imagine one playing without the other. Why Billy couldn’t have hung around with Steve for all of the years since David Lee Roth’s Skyscraper is beyond me, but it was outstanding to see them together again.

As seems to be the consensus here, “the man” was up next. Joe Satriani is an absolute, unadulterated JOY to watch on stage. His is the performance that truly defies description for me. Where John Petrucci is technically amazing and Steve Vai appears able to play absolutely anything with no effort at all, Joe takes the best of both of these traits and combines them in a way that is all his own. I’m not sure if I can adequately describe the way that Joe seems to play effortlessly and yet put an amazing amount of effort into his performance at the same time. The best way I can think to say it is that, to me, Joe puts all of his effort on stage into the music, rather than the guitar, if that makes sense. It’s not to say that Petrucci and Vai are concentrating solely on the guitar playing for its own sake, not at all, but there’s something about the way Joe does it that’s very, very special. The audience gets the impression that he’s pouring himself into making beautiful music, rather than simply playing the guitar. It makes him much more accessible to non-musician fans, I think, while giving guys like me both the joy of hearing his incredible melodies and the jaw-dropping experience of watching him crank out lightning-fast chops, one after another.

Finally, what more can I say about the four-song encore with Neal Schon. The Hendrix songs were both outstanding, particularly when all four guys played in unison toward the end of “Little Wing”. That is a huge part of what has my ears *still* ringing 24 hours later! The audience was super jacked up during the now classic G3 song “Goin’ Down”, much more so, I thought, than previous G3 performances. I love seeing and hearing Joe sing on this song, but was a bit disappointed with the sound setup since the vocals were somewhat washed out by the sheer WALL of guitar blasting forth from the speakers.

Like I said, best concert of my life, far and away my favorite G3 performance, and the others were awful damn outstanding themselves. Thank you so much John, Steve and Joe for an amazing night that I will not forget. The next G3 cannot come soon enough for me!

JoeSFoo
(Bill Clark)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 8:43 pm

Holy schnikes! I don't even know where to begin on this one. This was the best show I have ever attended (and that's after seeing Metallica, Creed, Live, and many others). The sheer talent involved with this was tremendous, so I'll break down each guitarist.

I'll admit I did not know much about John Petrucci beforehand. I knew he played for Dream Theater, but that was about it. I was VERY impressed! He was by far the heaviest of the three, and I really got into his music. His tone rules and his guitar tricks are awesome. He may have felt a bit intimidated, but he definitely held his own, both during his set and in the finale.

Vai...wow. He was the definitely the wildest of the bunch with his crazy stage presence and guitar hijinks. He came out sporting a red bandana and some leather pants and jacket, and eventually progressed to a VERY black hat. His guitar playing was immaculate. It didn't matter what kind of trick he was doing or how many spins he did onstage, he never missed a note. Truly an amazing stage presence and musician.

Next up....the man. Satch came out and played fan favorites "Cool #9", "Satch Boogie", "Summer Song", "Always With Me, Always With You", "Devil's Slide", and a variety of others. He was very polite and very gracious to his fans. No one makes it look more effortless and no one sounds better on the guitar than Joe Satriani. I also have to throw out some props to Stuart Hamm and Jeff Capitelli. I've been amazed by Hamm for a long time now, and he has quite a stage presence himself. Capitelli is a phenomenal drummer, and continued to amaze my brother and I throughout Satch's set, as well as during the finale.

And oh what a finale. With FIVE guitarists onstage, DTE exploded with applause as the men began an incredible rendition of "La Grange" by ZZ Top. The soloing was unlike anything I've ever seen, or will ever see again. The madness continued as John started the intro to "Voodoo Child." By this point I was catatonic as the guys improvised on Hendrix's masterpiece. But they weren't through with Hendrix. The relaxing intro to "Little Wing" began next, and more jaw-dropping soloing ensued. Finally, "I'm Goin' Down" was performed, and what an ending to an already impeccable performance by all.

To those who are going to see him further along on the tour and to those who have already attended a show, you'll know what I mean when I say that three of the greatest guitarists in the world are on tour, and it is THE tour of the summer.

-Bill

vdogmr
(Craig Bennett)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 8:14 pm
Wow, What a night!! I had the best time of my life!! MY EARS ARE STILL POUNDING! First off , Here are my ratings..... John Petrucci - 4 0ut of 5 stars (Great show- A little short). Steve Vai - 4 Out of 5 stars (Great but TOO loud) Read on.... Joe Satriani - 5 Out of 5 (Everything was perfect!). Get ready Chicago!! This is one you should not miss!! I will save space and tell you that the set-list for the concert is the same as all the others who have attended and already gave their reviews. Steve Vai was great with Billy Sheehan! Vai actually swung his guitar around his back, Then proceded to play the thing behind his back!! WOW! It was cool!! I never thought I'd say this, But Vai's amp was either "Too High" or set with too much treble. Twice in his set his guitar actually hurt !!! (But thats a good thing!). Petrucci's set was great, But hardly anyone showed up for it!! (Their loss ha - ha) - I really enjoyed him. Joe was FABULOUS! Congrats also to Mike Manning for the audio set -up on Joe's Guitar & Amp!!!! Joe sounded like a "Dream" and every note was clear and precise!!! Joe's truly a gifted musician!! Thanks for all your great music Joe!!! This concert reminded me of the "Surfing with the alien tour" because Joe did 3 songs off of that album. Now on to my great story... We hung around at the end of the concert hoping to get a glimpse of Joe. I even made a sign saying "I WANT A BACKSTAGE PASS". Well, Of course that did not work! So we decided to hang around where the bus exits the stadium. 20 minutes went by, Then 45, Then 1 hour. I had almost given up hope until just then the bus came roaring thru the gate! About eight of us were waiting for an autograph or a picture, But the bus kept goin. I looked inside the bus and I saw Joe waving to me with his NY Yankees hat on!! A freind of mine (Who I met at the show) said: "Let's follow them". I was reluctant at first, But jumped in my car and followed along. We followed the tour bus about 7-8 miles and BOY WERE WE REWARDED! The bus stopped at a local "Hilton" and out stepped, Neal Schon, Stu Hamm, Jeff Campitelli, and the great SATCH himself!! I got photo's with Joe , Stu , & Neal!! What a bunch of nice guys! Thanks also to Todd (Who I met at the show) and who convinced me to follow the bus!!! Also thanks to his wife for taking my pic's!!! We all had a blast!! Neal Schon (JOURNEY) was the surprise guitarist and he was great!! Thanks to everyone for a great show!!

MystikalPotatoHead
(anthony martinez)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 8:13 pm
awesome, just awesome, i met steve vai before the show and he gave me a guitar pick i love these guys there great! i also met dave larue of the dixie dregs playing with john petrucci, the show was absolutely amazing, especially vai, What a showman! the satchman was as awesome as ever, i loved "devil slide" and "rasberry jam delta v", "satch boogie" and "summer song"

gmoney
(Michael Jerlecki)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 5 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 4:40 pm
Joe was excellent, but by my watch he played himself for less than 50 minutes. That was not really what I wanted to see. The jam at the end was great and God Bless Neil for having the balls to get on stage with all thoise guys. Not ragging on him because Journey was as big in their day as anyone, but just not as skilled a player as the rest. Wanted much more from Joe that just what he played. Hope next tour is like the last one I saw which was close to 2 hours. I sat in the front row just off center on Joe's side and he is still a bad mama jama, but oh well.

Tk00022 Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 3:59 pm
Joe was amazing once again. Flawless technique. Superb playing style. I was a bit disappointed at Stu's Bass sound (could be dte's prob, I guess) ... it was entirely too trebly .. That's the only reason Joe didn't get a 10 from me ... GREAT SHOW AGAIN, JOE!!!

vhdude
(Andrew Byberg)
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 9 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 3:53 pm
First of all, the show was awesome. Petrucci opened with mostly new material, and then Paradigm Shift. It was a good performance, and David LaRue was quite impressive on bass. The Vai runs out on stage, the crazed showman that he is, he's quite a performer. He was even playing harmonics with his tongue. And Virgil Donati on drums is another story. The guy is completely insane. His drum solo was the single most incredible thing I've ever seen. It was just so nuts you can't even describe it. Billy Sheehan was definitely no slouch himself, he was very entertaining. Then Joe came out, with what I thought was a very good set. He hit the classics, Surfin', Summer Song and Satch Boogie. When they all got together at the end, they brought out another player who I didn't know. They were all jamming together, and it was amazing. I was lucky enough to win one of the after show passes, and it was fairly disappointing. I mean, I shook their hands and got their autographs, but it seemed like the guys working there wanted us to leave ASAP. I wanted to get Virgil's sig, but they wouldn't let me back after I got the autographs of the big three. Oh well. I guess I'm happy with what I got. The show would have been a 10 if they would have let me stay at the after show longer.

happyakrz Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 2:30 pm
This was simply an amazing evening! I've been a huge fan of Dream Theater since their early days, and I honestly didn't know what to expect out of Petrucci on his own, but by God, he was amazing! Backed up by Portnoy, this duo blew away every other opening act I've ever seen. In fact, to call this performance an opening act is a crime -- this was a show-stopper, but the show just kept going and getting better. Dream Theater is a cut above the rest because of musicians like Petrucci and Portnoy! Steve Vai was a blur of blistering, ear-splitting, feedback and harmonics, crazily united in a beautiful marriage of human and guitar! This guy does things that no other player has even dreamed of! And besides his raw talent, he really knows how to work the crowd! And then there was Joe ... What can you say about the man but "genius." How can you watch his mastery over the guitar without wondering how he learned it's language, and what he had to promise to get it to sing for him that way. Chromeboy is an animal tamed by the ever-smiling, ever-intriguing Joe Satriani, and Chromeboy sings for him like no other guitar I've heard. Mind you, I don't think that this special ability is limited to this one guitar -- I just happen to think that Joe has found the right vocabulary, and any guitar on earth would sing its very best under the controlled, yet blinding speed of Joe Satriani. Every song was a thrill! Not a single disappointment ... shy of the fact that I couldn't go to Chicago to the see the show again tonight! Thanks Joe, Steve, and John for one hell of an amazing memory. I'll never forget it! Happyakrz

axetion jackson
Mon Jul 09 '01
DTE Energy Music Theatre
Detroit, MI, US
Rank: 10 Posted: Tue Jul 10, '01 8:47 am

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!! THIS WAS THE MOST INCREDIBLE CONCERT I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. THE BOYS WERE ON FIRE TONITE, EVERY NOTE PERFECT IN TONE, COLOR, AND VOLUME. PETRUCCI'S SET WAS NEW MATERIAL AND I LOVED IT, THE GROOVES LAYED DOWN BY MIKE PORTNOY WERE INCREDIBLE. VAI'S SET WAS BLISTERING HIM AND SHEENAN BELONG TOGETHER. THEY DUELED A FEW TIMES AND THAT WAS A TREAT. I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE COULD REPLACE MIKE MANGINI BUT VIRGLI DONATI SURE CAME CLOSE. STAHC'S SET ALONG WITH THE JAM AT THE END CAN NOT BE DESCRIBED IN WORDS.

GREAT JOB GUYS, AXETION JACKSON