G3 (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather)
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Lukather - G3 - Palais Theatre, 31st March 2012
Guitar wizardry – often best admired one or two songs at a time but over 4 hours? That’s a lot of long solos and pained sex faces.
The G3 concept, founded by Joe Satriani in 1996, made its first trip to Australia since 2006 as part of the Byron Bay based Bluesfest festival.
Joined, as he often is, by past student and guitar acrobat Steve Vai, G2 became G3 with the addition of ex-Toto lead guitarist Steve Lukather.
Lukather opened the night up, with Vai taking the middle slot and Satriani delivering a stellar set to close the solo parts of the show…witnessed by yours truly from the dress circle peering around the door opening.
The sound tonight though seemed to be what most were talking about. Far too loud for the theatre and swamped by muddy bass – kick drum and guitar – which led to plenty in the audience reaching for ear plugs.
The customary G3 Jam closer saw Vai take vocals on the Frank Zappa classic My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama, before closing out the night with Little Wing and the Neil Young epic Rockin’ in the Free World.
Hopefully by the time the trio hit Bluesfest the sound will be sorted out.
Related: Joe Satriani @ The Forum, 2008