Guitar lovers were in heaven Saturday night as six string legend Joe Satriani brought his G3 tour to the State Theatre in Minneapolis on Saturday night. Joe brought along fellow gun slingers Phil Collen and John Petrucci who combined to put on a guitar clinic for the ages. The remarkable evening featured each guitar god playing individual sets, culminating in a 3 guitar super set to end the show. It was a testosterone filled night of guitarstabation.
Phil Collen kicked off the night right around 8. With high velocity fretwork featured on the first couple of tunes, Collen laid the groundwork for what would be a night of extraordinary showmanship. While probably best known as the guitarist for Def Leopard, he showcased his bluesy Delta Deep project for most of his 30-minute set. He sang on a couple of songs, and was joined on stage by vocalist Debbie Blackwell-Cook. Phil finished off his set with some seriously hard rockers, bringing the crowd to their feet.
In a darkened State Theatre, a large screen projected space and mountain scenes preceding John Pretucci’s entrance. Heavy metal was the hallmark of this set, as Petrucci proceeded to shred his custom 7 string guitar. His hands were a blur as he deftly maneuvered the fret board. John brought his Dream Theatre drummer with him on this tour, and you could feel the two of them vibing off of each other. Petucci is just next level when it comes to guitar playing.
Joe Satriani was up next. Satriani was on fire as he roared through his classics “Satch Boogie” and with images of solar eclipses projected on the screen behind him, Joe worked his chrome guitar with sound barrier braking speed. Parvati, the many armed Hindu goddess, could not have hit more notes per second. He played around 12 songs, leaning heavily on his Surfing With The Alien release.
After an extended drum solo, Satriani brought Collen and Petrucci back for a 3 song monster jam. Collen and Perucci shredded each others fret board during an incendiary “Highway Star” Blackwell-Cook brought the vocal goods on a 10-minute version of “Superstition”
Joe Satriani has been bringing the G3 tour to the world since 1995, highlighting extraordinary guitarists year after year. The 5-minute standing ovation at the end of the show proves that this concept still holds mass appeal and shows no signs of slowing down.
