Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
Right, all you budding guitarists, all your praying to three headed fret gods, Allah and the All father has borne fruit and the unbelievable has happened, one stage and two guitar maestros in Joe Satriani and Steve Vai have come together to rock your world and leave your grasp on reality in tatters.
Before we get to the double guitar wizadry, we must speak of the support tonight and a very talented apprentice in Ned Evett. The boy can play, and the boy has some gadgets to fill in the space of not having a full band(unlike the headliners).
He made amazing use of loops, tuning and capos and if you had walked into this hall blind you would never have known it was one guy up on that stage.
The pressure must have been incredible. Knowing you are in an arena of guitar aficionados and knowing who was backstage would have the sweat running down my back, but he swiped all that aside as he casually walked onstage, plugged in his transparent, fret-less guitar and blew away the crowd.
This is a man of exceptional talent and his version of “Are You Experienced” must be seen and heard to be believed. remember that name.
There is no better venue in this city to hold this show than here. As much as I hate to be seated at a gig I have never once seen a show here where the sound was not immaculate and with the wares on display tonight the sound was perfection. Every tone from those guitars and every stroke from those guitar gods was perfection.
To add to the fact that tonight was about sound the stage is almost bare. A basic layout, a single screen and one carpet plonked centre stage. No, the stage was wired for sound with three pedal boards, a drum kit, and a little area the size of a small cupboard for Marco Mendoza to bash out his lower end bass notes.
Everything was set and to a huge roar Joe and Steve took to the stage and no matter your favourite the fact we have these two together is heart attack inducing on its own. The two friends of fifty years plug in, take off and you are now in an alternative reality where guitar is life, sound is breath and music are the only sustenance you require for the next two hours.
The band kick off with new song “I Wanna Play my Guitar” and Marco handles Mr Glenn Hughes vocals with ease before they slip into another newbie on “Sea of Emotion pt 1”.
These songs tell you exactly why these boys had to get together. Seeing them side by side, swapping licks and complimenting each other with such precision it had all the guitarists from the many Scottish bands scattered throughout this audience in rapturous awe.
Once the first two songs were over Joe handed the stage to Steve and he took control on “Zeus in Chains” and “Little Pretty” and as the night wore on, we swapped guitarists, we had collaborations, and we had divine intervention.
It is so easy to be swept up in the sheer brilliance of the two main men, but this is not just about them, alongside Marco on bass we had another incredible guitarist in Pete Thorn and at the back Kenny Arnoff and tonight would not have been the same without them. they were the backbone, the canvas that Joe and Steve went to work on and in this auditorium, it was mesmerising.
The whole night was a highlight so to try and break the event down is nigh on impossible but the incredible ”Surfing with the Alien” was one, “Satch Boogie” another from Joe. One the Via side the introduction of the Hydra was, was, oh I do not even have words for that three headed demon from realms unknown and sounds unheard.no wonder you finish up “Teeth of the Hydra” with a three-fret masturbation scene. It was let loose to this Glasgow crowd and that was the only way to get it back into the pits of hell from where it came forth.
As well as the songs we expected we were treated to an encore of “Enter Sandman” and “Born to be Wild” to send us all over the edge. Tonight was not a concert, it was a life affirming event.
For those of us who bow at the feet of the guitar and watched its ascent from Hendrix in the 60s, Van Halen in to 70s and followed the journey of these two incredible musicians since the 80s this is like seeing your burning bush, touching your 10 commandment tablets or walking through the hallowed doors to Valhalla…this is our shrine, our Gods and we have witnessed greatness.
Photography by Darren Mcveigh for MPM
