G3 2001

Monday, July 16th, 2001 @ The Fleet Boston Pavilion

The G3 tour, as any of you who have witnessed this guitar extravaganza know, is a night of unabashed wanking. Granted, these three players are some of the best in the world, but this tour needs a change. Badly. Top this off with a soundman who felt the need to pretty much use the old Motorhead method of sound mixing - Everything Louder than Everything Else!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The sound throughout the night was muddy and at times inaudible. Perhaps these guys should think about level and dynamic before jacking the faders full on and causing a sonic mess.

The night opened with the John Petrucci Band, featuring Dream Theater bandmate Mike Portnoy on drums along with Dave Larue of Dixie Dregs fame on bass. Petrucci played a relatively short set which only included 4 songs spanning the 8 to 10 minute mark. More often than not, Petrucci relied on shredding repeated notes over and over instead of focusing on melody and dynamic shifts Petrucci's tone was the best of the night, but the mix, even in trio format was muddy and thick.

Next up was Steve Vai. One thing can always be said about Vai. He is a true entertainer. Extravagant, Self Indulgent and reeking of the 80's glory day bravado. Vai's backing band was a top notch of some of the industries best. On drums was Australian fusion maestro and Planet X alumni, Virgil Donati, who's technical prowess is unmatched. On Guitar and Keyboards, long time Vai band cohort Mike Keanelly and on Backing Guitar, Dave Wyner. This three guitar idea works for Skynrd, not with Vai. Having a third player on stage only made the mix muddier than usual. But last but not least, on bass, reunited after 10 years was the incomparable Billy Sheehan, which made this reviewer particularly happy when they opened the set with the David Lee Roth classic "Shyboy". But from the opening notes, Vai was buried in the mix and the sound was muddy and cluttered. Vai continued through his set, mixing old with new tracks from his "Alive In The Ultraworld" double CD. But during the tender "Whispering A Prayer", Vai's peddle board began to malfunction and he repeatedly went to the side stage to talk with his tech. After the fourth error, Vai stopped, took his guitar off and slammed it to the ground, breaking the neck. He walked off stage and the band followed. We all sat and waited until Vai came out and unannounced that he would return as soon as his guitar and equipment were working. Many of us in the audience saw this as a premadonna move and not impressed with this lack of maturity from such a seasoned pro. With guitar fixed, Vai launched back into his set, which highlighted his absolute domination over the instrument. There aren't many players in this world who can touch Vai's command over the guitar and his playing was flawless. Vai, like Petrucci relied on some over-indulgent wanking and showboating instead of just playing and letting his music do the work.

Joe Satriani, the headliner and founder of the G3 concept, stepped on stage, silver wrap around shades and silver guitar strapped on and pretty much played his previous three tours set. After witnessing Satriani many times in concert before, I felt that this set was uninspired and mundane. Even his intro cues and and whammy tricks were exactly the same. The experience was almost like listening to his new live CD "Live in San Francisco" in your living room with a few thousand friends. Satriani should vary his set list more and dig deeper into his catalog and play some of the more obscure tracks from his albums. How many times can one person hear 'Summer Song' in concert. Satriani, flanked by longtime bandmates Stu Hamm on bass and Jeff Campitelli, played a by the numbers set and closed off with the title track from his 1987 breakthrough album "Surfing With the Alien".

The three guitarists then returned to the stage for a "jam". I use this word loosely because this did not seem like a jam session, more like a showboating "Hey look what I can do" wank fest. John Petrucci playing 64th notes during "Little Wing" was laughable and sad at the same time. A player as talented and well versed on his instrument, playing with a total lack of taste and self editing is something that Petrucci should avoid. Vai and Satriani played well of each other, but you could see the competitiveness between the two of them. When the night was over, this reviewers ears were fried and this is the last time I go to see another G3 tour for a while. My recommendation, try and catch these guys individually on their own. You'll have a better time and idea of what each player is capable of doing. Trust me.

Buy G3 2001 now!