Saw Satriani Last night!

Was an extrodinairy show last night. Satriani was an absolute beast, no exception the setlist was this:

The Opener, Ned Evett and Triple Double

Ned is an extremely talented guitarist, the fretless guitar sounds pretty cool and he takes extreme advantage of it. A lot of his stuff is subtle flavour, in the 3 piece band. The bassist was solid and groovey too. They were sort of blues rockish. Ned has a very powerful voice and really stood behind it well. He uses the fretless thing to amazing proficiency, even very subtle fills stand out wholely. They did a very cool rendition of Haleluija dedicted to John (Lennon).


Ice 9
Hordes of Locusts
Flying in a Blue Dream
Light Years Away
Memories
War
Premonition
Satch Boogie
Revelation
Pyrrhic Victoria
Crystal Planet
The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing
Dream Song
God Is Crying
Andalusia
Solitude
Littleworth Lane
Why
Wind In The Trees
Always With Me, Always With You
Big Bad Moon

Encore

Crowd Chant
Summer Song


Revelation and Andulusia were songs I wanted to hear from his last album I did not get to last tour, so they were a treat. Relation was very badass, it has some really near sections. Andulusia, he played the intro on a dreadnaught (yes, Satch was on acoustic). That was freaking cool to see, he is not less able that is for sure. Playing the electric parts in this song though, looks like he was really pushing himself. Usually he looks cool and loose, this was tight and angry faces. Maybe even a bit of pain. It was kind fo cool that he put that much behind it though, hard to believe seeing himself at the end of his limits.

Pyrrhic Victoria was probably my favourite of the album, there is some huge synthiness in the chorus that is like a kick in the chest, it is just ridiculously thick. They captured that well live.

Memories was most notable for improv, it is truly amazing was he can do with the heard studio track, all the contributions, other approaches and itterations. There was also a unison solo with him and the keyboard, Not your typically unison solo that is slower, both were tearing their fingers apart, it was amazing.

Wind in the Trees and God is Crying had some nice piano/keys solo work. The synth was a nice contribution to the band

Big Bad Moon was the closer, and that was cool as it was something I had not seen. 2 things actually. Satriani singing, and Satriani playing a freaking Harmonica solo. Freaking awesome. I left the night feeling now I've seen everything.

The show was an extremely good time. I was able to just tune out and listen to the music, not a care in the world. I really needed that unwind time at this stressful time, where it feels like all I do is work on research and study. The no words, and very little talking (Satriani might have hit to might every 4-5 songs) was just relaxing. I feel refreshed and ready to go.

There's nothing quite like a good gig to put you in a good frame of mind.

I've never been a huge Satch fan, but there's no denying he's a pretty good player.

I like a good unison line, there's some great moments in Frank Zappa's music. Some real finger tangling, mind bending, left field stuff. I'll never understand how he chose the notes he did.

To each their own, I am a very big fan of instrumental music. I tend to prefer it to stuff with words. It is so much more a challenge to get your point across (aka lyrics are too easy, words identify easily) but when you get your point across it is extremely clear. It also hits your brain differently as you are not engaging the language identification centers.

As classical styled music went to the pits with the 1900s, I would say these artists, Satriani,Vai, and company are the modern equivilent to the symphony. They are much closer to the intent and approach that classical music provided.

...I've never been a huge Satch fan, but there's no denying he's a pretty good player...

I was kind of in the same boat until one day a guy played me his "Extremist" album. THAT got my attention. Lots of soul in that one.

...I've never been a huge Satch fan, but there's no denying he's a pretty good player...

I was kind of in the same boat until one day a guy played me his "Extremist" album. THAT got my attention. Lots of soul in that one.

Going to go on a tangent here, but this is a real problem with the older crowd, and the crowd that doesn't want to put the effort in. [Rant]


That whole 'no soul' argument is one of the biggest piles of bull there is out there. Take a good look at these players, look how much they are enjoying themselves, the joy they achieve through expression. Just because it is not the way you want it told, doesn't mean it does not carry the expression. The no soul thing is more a perpetuation by cover bands, they are the ones who don't have that connection. The real deal is very much there and absorbed in their music. It is as much an adventure for them as the listener. 80s speed metal is exempt from my argument, because there the entire point was to play fast (and that is fine too, we had some truly awesome guys like Paul Gilbert rise from that scene).

Not saying anyone has to like the stuff, but the whole 'no soul' nonsense to justify your excuse is just a game of CYA. I have seen few players more expressive than Satriani, Vai might be one of them though. These guys aren't up on stage screaming holy crap look at me I am awesome because I can do this (see 80s speed metal). They are out their giving you a righteous carthartic form of expression. The use of the ecstatic and carthartic is one of the African Retensions in rock music, the importance should not be overlooked.

Not saying I can play like these guys, although I get a little closer every day. There is absolutely nothing more frustrating than have a song in your head, that you cannot voice through your hands because they are not capable of playing it though. That is my motivation to keep my chops beyond where I would need to use them.
[/Rant]


Tl;dr, who has the right to determine which form of expression is 'soulful'.

Going to go on a tangent here, but this is a real problem with the older crowd, and the crowd that doesn't want to put the effort in.

That whole 'no soul' argument is one of the biggest piles of bull there is out there. ....

who has the right to determine which form of expression is 'soulful'.

I don't think age has much to do with it - playing guitar really fast isn't a new thing at all. Like you say, to each his own.

I agree with you on the soul of the music being played. However, it's that portion of the music that will speak to some people but will cause nausea in others. For example, I strongly dislike pretty much all of Steve Vai's music released after 'Passion and Warfare' (which is an awesome album, so is Flexable). Why? Because of the vibe. There is definitely a difference between playing fast because it's what you feel or hear, and playing fast because you can. I know a guy who bores me to tears whenever I see him with details about how he's up to playing 16th notes at 207bpm with no sweeps These guys give speed a bad wrap and as a listener you can tell the difference - it's very boring when all you hear is a constant flurry of notes (eg Michaelangelo Batio, Dragonforce). I'm also of the belief that it's a good thing to keep your speed above what you'd practically use.

I enjoy instrumental music too, but also vocal music. I think of the voice as an instrument, not a communication medium, when it comes to music. Nothing pisses me off more than songs with a political theme in them. To me, that is the 'lowest common denominator' method of winning fans or votes on a crappy TV show. I listen to a lot of music in other languages and it's surprising at how well you can understand the feeling of a song when its sung well. Whether the lyrics are bad or not doesn't matter when you don't understand them. If I do understand them then it's a different thing altogether. That can really turn me off! One song that comes to mind is 'Water' by Brad Paisley. Sounds to me like he just recorded something he said one day, at random, and called it lyrics.....

Ooops, bit of a rant there!!!

Just think about all the music the new oldies will be complaining about tomorrow. I'm well on my way... Darn those coated strings and digital gizmos!

...I've never been a huge Satch fan, but there's no denying he's a pretty good player...

I was kind of in the same boat until one day a guy played me his "Extremist" album. THAT got my attention. Lots of soul in that one.

Going to go on a tangent here, but this is a real problem with the older crowd, and the crowd that doesn't want to put the effort in. [Rant]


That whole 'no soul' argument is one of the biggest piles of bull there is out there. Take a good look at these players, look how much they are enjoying themselves, the joy they achieve through expression. Just because it is not the way you want it told, doesn't mean it does not carry the expression. The no soul thing is more a perpetuation by cover bands, they are the ones who don't have that connection. The real deal is very much there and absorbed in their music. It is as much an adventure for them as the listener. 80s speed metal is exempt from my argument, because there the entire point was to play fast (and that is fine too, we had some truly awesome guys like Paul Gilbert rise from that scene).

Not saying anyone has to like the stuff, but the whole 'no soul' nonsense to justify your excuse is just a game of CYA. I have seen few players more expressive than Satriani, Vai might be one of them though. These guys aren't up on stage screaming holy crap look at me I am awesome because I can do this (see 80s speed metal). They are out their giving you a righteous carthartic form of expression. The use of the ecstatic and carthartic is one of the African Retensions in rock music, the importance should not be overlooked.

Not saying I can play like these guys, although I get a little closer every day. There is absolutely nothing more frustrating than have a song in your head, that you cannot voice through your hands because they are not capable of playing it though. That is my motivation to keep my chops beyond where I would need to use them.
[/Rant]


Tl;dr, who has the right to determine which form of expression is 'soulful'.

Jeez. I had no idea I was so old and <censored word> up. Thanks for setting me straight.

'Scuse me while I slink back to my man cave and put on a Duane Eddy record (they're next to my Steve Morse records).

You're entirely right though. I once played a string of 32nd notes and had a heart attack...

Scuse me while I slink back to my man cave and put on a Duane Eddy record (they're next to my Steve Morse records)

Now Duane Eddy - there's a guy who can play!!! "Moovin' N' Groovin'" is one of the best guitar instrumentals ever, not to mention "Rebel Rouser". Ol' Morsey does all right too, the Dixie Dregs stuff is good fun, in a fusion-y kind of way.

Jeez. I had no idea I was so old and <censored word> up. Thanks for setting me straight.

'Scuse me while I slink back to my man cave and put on a Duane Eddy record (they're next to my Steve Morse records).

You're entirely right though. I once played a string of 32nd notes and had a heart attack...

Near killed me with that last line. One time I was playing so quickly a string sliced a finger clean off, I really miss that finger.

I strongly dislike pretty much all of Steve Vai's music released after 'Passion and Warfare' (which is an awesome album, so is Flexable). Why? Because of the vibe.

Vai does has a very odd vibe to him, can't say it is surprising as he played a lot with Zappa. I think he often tries to make his music fun sounding, or exciting. My favourite piece is probably Whispering a Prayer though.

[youtube]KEiaZaIvBUM[/youtube]

I enjoy instrumental music too, but also vocal music. I think of the voice as an instrument, not a communication medium, when it comes to music. Nothing pisses me off more than songs with a political theme in them. To me, that is the 'lowest common denominator' method of winning fans or votes on a crappy TV show. I listen to a lot of music in other languages and it's surprising at how well you can understand the feeling of a song when its sung well. Whether the lyrics are bad or not doesn't matter when you don't understand them. If I do understand them then it's a different thing altogether. That can really turn me off! One song that comes to mind is 'Water' by Brad Paisley. Sounds to me like he just recorded something he said one day, at random, and called it lyrics.....

The lyrics for water , and most of Brad Paisleys stuff are pretty bad. Albeit some of it is excellent (I got a good kick out of Alcohol). Political bands are a no no for me also.

Just think about all the music the new oldies will be complaining about tomorrow. I'm well on my way... Darn those coated strings and digital gizmos!

I love the right set of coated strings. I use EB titanium coated currently as they are still not muddy/dull and I don't have to change strings every week. I hate changing strings. I want to try cleartone and SIT coated when they release them for reference sake. As far as digital, my Strymon El Cap is digital, digital rigs do sound nice too. However too much tweaking for me even.

Titanium coated? Wouldn't they just eat up the softer frets? I'll take a "duller" string over a re-fret any day...

...Dixie Dregs stuff is good fun, in a fusion-y kind of way.

Yeah, Morse's "Industry Standard" album had soul.

For the record: I never accused Satch (or any other progressive rock guitarist) of having no soul: I merely implied I liked "The Extremist," as an introduction to Satch (for myself). I think it shows his verstility more than "Surfing With The Alien."

I think progressive rock guys are the present pioneers searching out new territory in guitar music, and I have listened to and appreciated plenty of music by John McLaughlin, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, etc.

Before progressive rock the frontier was sketched out by guys like Joe Pass, etc. (who has been accused of being "souless" by some in the jazz cognoscenti).

That you didn't Standards, I may have been reading into it a bit, seeing as most people who start tossing around the soul thing with respect to those artists are looking for that as their basis to beat them down. If you like him demonstrating his versatility, I would recommend checking out his last 2 albums. He has pretty much wholely moved away from the 'Alien Voice' thing, although it makes an appearance at the end of Black swans and wormhole wizards. These albums are a bit less shreddy, more directed, and some more world influenced music (Andulusia and Asik Veysel , The Golden Room all have some heavier eastern tones to them, the first 2 being on Satchafunkilicus. I prefer these last 2 albums ot a lot of his catalogue. Heck the new one even has a gospel style tune (Littleworth Lane).

[youtube]pfss-3u9vdg[/youtube]

You are using Progressive as in pushing the boundaries here, not progressive as in Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Dream Theatre (although Petrucci is an absolute man beast on the guitar, absolutely insane, pretty rigid though, not loose like gilbert/satch. I do love his style though.) Speaking of Gilbert, I found the new Mr Big song to be enjoyable.

[youtube]mHGv5FCS2j8[/youtube]

I am not too familiar with the jazz scene, but I constantly check out new ones I hear about, there is a lot to learn from Jazz artists phrasing and note choices, too much even.

myghin,

If you liked the synth/kbd during the Satch show I highly recommend you check out his keyboard player Mike Keneally. I'm just a casual Satriani but I'm a huge Keneally fan. Mike is a monster guitar player. Keys are more of a sideline thing for him. He has played with a lot of folks and is a super talented guy.

Jeff

...I am not too familiar with the jazz scene, but I constantly check out new ones I hear about, there is a lot to learn from Jazz artists phrasing and note choices, too much even.

I like all kinds of music, especially guitar. But around here I'm known as a Pop guy who can read. I never get calls anymore for the other stuff I know how to do, but that's OK, the money has been in the reading gigs for me, even though I sometimes want to be playing something more personally expressive.

I'm a longtime student of the jazz genre, but sometimes a little goes a long ways.

Scott Henderson and Mike Stern are guys working out in new directions of jazz guitar, without the traditional tubby sound of archtops.
'Course I've always liked George Benson's guitar sound too though, and he uses Ibanez archtops.

I've often thought it would be fun to get and take a Dimebag Darrell type guitar to one of my Showtunes/Pop gigs. Once it goes through a Polytone amp iany guitar sounds like a jazz guitar, if not exactly looking like one.

A razorback would certainly scare off the typical jazz crowd I think. Personally I find them rather hideous and I enjoy metal. That whole EXTREME GUITAR! stuff flies past me, would rather play something comfy.

I don't do the cover band thing, so for a while I have had no band. That simple really. I can't read chart on the fly for a guitar, but I can read it. On the bass, something about Bass Clef always eludes me, I am about 1/10th as fast reading it as trebble. I have a bit of history (ancient now) with saxophones, hence the good one half, not the other. I realize there is money to be had gigging pop, but I cannot put my heart into it. Feels like I am on autopilot when I play the stuff.

I recently started the jazz thing as that seemed the natural way to expand my knowledge of chords. Found a cool trufire course by a Howard Morgan and it is explained in such a way that I can follow it. I haven't had time to learn the embellishments as there is a lot of memorizing involved there and I cannot commit the time to it. The latter part gets into personalizing arrangements and moving basslines etc, effectively jazz chord solos. Maybe I will finish it before I am done my Master's, not likely though. At least it has me understanding the major triads and their inversions and voicings though. That is a step in the right direction.

Love Satch! His latest album is really diverse and has a lot of keyboards on it which really gives a new flavour to his playing.

Well worth a listen!