Live Review

Joe Satriani – HMV Hammersmith Apollo

• 25th Oct 2010

Many fans have stood up and are about to walk out when Satriani and his band retake the stage for the inevitable encore. I will never understand those people – we all know the band is coming back, the house lights haven’t even gone up yet! The deserters don’t make it very far though, Satriani rips into a Freddie Mercury-style I do something and the crowd copies. No one’s going home yet. Thankfully Joe is thrashing these out on his guitar, not vocally. The audience respond to every run Satch puts together, and the longer it goes on, the ever-more complicated they become until we can’t keep up any more. It’s great to see his playful side! We end the night on the energetic and uplifting Summer Song. It can’t be over, no Surfing…….??, disappointing but it was one hell of a track to go out on. What an incredible night. Thank you Professor Satchafunkilus.

2.5 hours earlier…

We take our seats at the awesome venue of Hammersmith Apollo, saddened by the fact we were two rows from the back, at the very very top with the stage the equivalent of a 14” colour TV when you’re used to watching a 50”. I have been a fan of Satriani’s since 1988. I’d got to see him for the first time at Hyde Park Calling in 2007 and was, on that particular occasion, right at the front. I spent the entire gig transfixed. I could watch every intricate detail that Joe pulled off in true HD! I feared that tonight would be like watching in SD.

Satriani hit the stage, signature JS series guitar primed and ready to go with a massive favourite Ice 9 and every worry I had was blown away – probably as powerfully as Marty McFly’s amp when it knocks him off his feet in Back To The Future. Satch’s sound is massive and despite the visual distance, I am yet again transfixed. Joe was reaching to every fan in that room and no one could take their eyes off him.

This may, however, have been not such great news for the rest of the band. Despite the reception they received when introduced, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. Jeff Campitelli and Mike Keneally were fantastic on drums and keyboards but I’m afraid the rhythm guitarist and bassist’s names have escaped me, as did their performances. For every ounce of light that Satriani was bathing in throughout the concert, they were thrust into darkness, the invisible musicians best forgotten. The sound of the rhythm was nearly non-existent and when some songs needed beefing up, it didn’t happen. There were moments, such as in Littleworth Lane where harmonised guitar lines would have added extra flavour to Satriani’s playing, as you would have heard on the album versions but for whatever reason, this was omitted. This was definitely, ALL about Satriani.

But then Satrinai was who we all came to see, and he was touring to support the release of his 14th studio album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards (which we have reviewed recently) and he was blinding. Joe gave us an incredible two and a half hours of awe inspiring guitaring, kept up at a rate of knots that just shows his mastery of the instrument. Note perfect and as with anyone who is a master of their art, he made it look oh-so simple.

The songs from the new album slotted perfectly into the set list alongside old classics and were well received. He performed 8 tracks from Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards including the first single Light Years Away, Premonition, Dream Song, Pyrrhic Victoria, Wormhole Wizards, Wind In The Trees, God is Crying and of course the beautiful Littleworth Lane.

There were also some surprise choices on the set list including Hordes of Locusts, Crystal Planet and Andalusia but for any true Satriani fan, these just added to the jaw dropping wizardry of the man and his instrument. It is no small feat to keep up the accuracy and pace he plays at for extended periods of time without a break. Technically a genius, visually outstanding and sonically perfect.

Lighting effects were top notch and complemented Satriani throughout. Flying in a Blue Dream was a perfect example of this with vibrant blue lighting effects reaching out over the crowd. You felt it was well planned and created an atmosphere for the tracks that added to that all-important showmanship of the man himself. What confused it slightly however was the video clips that would occasionally display at the back of the stage. Admittedly from where we were sitting we couldn’t see them clear as day but they did flick in and out during certain tracks and were seemingly of no relevance whatsoever. A strange choice to include but somebody somewhere thought they were required. They’d have been better advised to leave them out altogether but anyway, I think most were still staring open mouthed at Satriani, probably never even noticing them in the first place.

Other tracks we were treated to included Memories, War, the classic Satch Boogie, Revelation, the brilliantly named The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing, Why, Crush of Love and the standout favourite Always With Me Always With You. But one track has yet eluded us, a favourite for Satch to play live and one we had all been waiting for. Sure enough the end of the first set finished with the classic and amusing Big Bad Moon. Nothing had disappointed until that point – Satriani was unbelievable – yet Big Bad Moon was a real let down. Joe Satriani proved he cannot sing and play at the same time and the lack of rhythm support in this song meant the sound just wasn’t big enough. This tune should shake the very depth of your soul and that just didn’t happen.

But I knew, as people got up to leave that there was still more to come and all in all, I wasn’t let down at all.

Bring on the encore!