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author RUB date 05/04/23 venue Train, Århus, DEN

I've wanted to catch the one and only Joe Satriani live ever since I first started listening to music with any sort of guitar in it. Along with names such as Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio, Satriani sticks out as one of those acts whom I would randomly stumble onto in the time before the internet was a naturally accessible thing, and just be completely baffled by his sound. In his own special way, all of those artists would dazzle a young and impressionable mind like mine at the time with their guitar licks, and each of them would eventually pave the path onto the next one. Still, Satriani stands out as one of those legends that have stood the test of time, and who still regularly put out new records and embark on tours. Since those early days, I've moved on from the guitar-heavy solo artists, but my dream of watching one them live has persisted. And long at last, after postponements and the COVID-19 pandemic, I am finally going to be watching one of the original guitar heroes tonight on a stop of their Earth Tour: the one and only Joe Satriani.

Joe Satriani

Entering a completely packed Train, the sold-out venue looks ready and excited. At 8 p.m. sharp, Satriani, along with bassist Bryan Beller, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Rai Thistlethwayte, and drummer Kenny Aronoff take the stage — naturally to the tune of lots and lots of sweep picking and tapped licks. Still rocking the iconic look with huge, black sunglasses, Satriani looks ready to go on his return to Train after five years og absence, in spite of turning 67 years old later this year. Impressive. The rest of the four-piece is dressed in dark colours on the stage, whilst Satriani is lit by the spotlight, and the entire band is set against a massive backdrop featuring a mix of videos of Satriani himself, as well as clips from his various music videos. But it’s nonetheless clear who’s the main focus here. His guitar is, for obvious reasons, fairly high in the mix. But it doesn’t really come at the expense of the other instruments, as the mix is fairly loud in general and the overall soundscape is well differentiated. The sound is dreamy, with Thistlethwayte doing a great job on the keys accompanying the rhythm section, adding some welcome depth to the soundscape – and of course Satriani’s guitar playing.

As George Harrison so elegantly said about how his guitar gently weeps, it strikes me just how profoundly this describes Satriani too. Every conceivable adjective describing the sounds a guitar can make has already been written in relation to Satriani, and then some. But with the hundreds of weird squeaks, squeals, picks, moans, howls, licks, and noises his guitars can claim to their output, weeping is definitely one of them. I’m genuinely baffled at all the sounds he can produce with his instrument, so naturally, I’m struck by awe at how extremely potent his skills with the axe are — something that should be evident even to the untrained ear. I mean, he is called a guitar virtuoso for a very good reason. But still, being closer to 70 than 60 years old, it’s amazing how the man is still capable of playing this tightly. The atmosphere hands thick inside the venue, really thick. People seem just as gob-smacked as yours truly, as Satriani airs a mix of tracks from his two latest albums: 2020’s “Shapeshifting” and 2022’s “The Elephants of Mars”. As he addresses the crowd for the first time, I get a sudden hunch of doubt that, as this is an entirely instrumental concert centered around Satriani’s guitar, it might not remain as mind blowing for the entire 3 hours or so of music that Setlist.fm suggests Satriani has in store forms – even though one is witnessing someone as amazing as Satriani. For now, though, I am still very entertained.

In fact, the tracks crawl that much deeper beneath my skin as the show progresses. With the likes of “Ice 9”, “Thunder High on the Mountain” and “Flying in a Blue Dream”, I really get carried away just by watching Satriani and his guitar antics. Especially during the latter, where the heavy bass lines by Beller create a soothing soundscape in which the guitar is destined to take the lead. This gives the entire track a dreamlike feel to it, and helps lift it up even higher as the backdrop starts depicting a fighter jet soaring through the sky.

As the second set of the evening gets underway, the audience is lured in by a beast of a drum solo by Aronoff before we’re treated to “Energy”. In general, Satriani gives plenty of room for his band members to shine, which is seen not just during that drum solo, but also later on when Thistlethwayte produces a pretty killer and quirky keyboard solo as well. Other than that, the second set starts off where the first left off: plenty of impressive riffs thundering out of the speakers. Rather quickly though, my initial doubts from the first set return. I find myself unfocused and weary after the first couple of tracks, so I stand by my initial thoughts about how the concert as a whole could’ve benefitted from removing a few tracks from each set.

Still, as his more legendary tracks start being aired more frequently, it becomes obvious that the crowd gets more energized by the set as it goes. The upbeat rhythms in “Teardrops”, “Always with Me, Always with You”, and especially “Satch Boogie”, bring about some much-needed attention from the undersigned as well. This is further enhanced during the encore, where the huge balls-to-the-wall riffs in “Crowd Chant” and “Surfing with the Alien” produce a truly epic concert experience, with Satriani throwing around his blazing silver guitar. Just as it should be. Times like these are definitely where the entire band and Satriani himself shine the brightest, and not surprisingly, the entire venue erupts in ecstasy in response — though there have been glimpses of this throughout the gig, nothing comes close to how it all winds to a conclusion.

So, was it impressive? Yes. Is Satriani still an absolutely mind-blowing guitar god? Yes. Was it maybe a bit too long for my taste? Also yes. But this doesn’t, and shouldn't take anything away from the show generally speaking, because I was still left with a feeling of sheer awe. For me personally, the set should’ve been shorter, which is also reflected in the grade. But for the paying customer and super-fan? This was probably as good as it gets. And in the end, that’s pretty much all that matters.

Setlist:

• 1. Nineteen Eighty
• 2. Sahara
• 3. The Elephants of Mars
• 4. Ice 9
• 5. Thunder High on the Mountain
• 6. One Big Rush
• 7. Blue Foot Groovy
• 8. Flying in a Blue Dream
• 9. Spirits, Ghosts and Outlaws
• 10. Faceless
• 11. Crystal Planet
• 12. Summer Song

— Intermission & drum solo —

• 13. Energy
• 14. E 104th St NYC 1973

— Keyboard solo —

• 15. Cool #9
• 16. Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me
• 17. Shapeshifting
• 18. Teardrops
• 19. Luminous Flesh Giants
• 20. If I Could Fly
• 21. Always with Me, Always with You
• 22. Satch Boogie

— Encore —

• 23. Crowd Chant
• 24. Surfing with the Alien