Thousands of guitarists and guitar enthusiasts flocked to the Palais Theatre in St Kilda to watch the spectacle that is G3. The fans are diverse in age and musical influences with many middle aged men – clearly fans for decades – wearing previous tour t-shirts while the younger fans wear Dragonforce and Metallica t-shirts.
This year Joe ‘Satch’ Satriani and Steve Vai invited Steve Lukather, founder of 70s rock band Toto, to join the show. Having seen G3 in 2006, the anticipation to see the greatness of Satch and Vai is overwhelming.
Lukather walks onto the stage amidst huge applause from the audience, Toto t-shirts were abound and it is awesome to see. He is funny and friendly from the get go; he was genuinely chuffed to be apart of such an awesome gig. Lukather even pulls out a cover of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’; which sounds absolutely fantastic. The drummer erupts into an amazing drum solo which the crowd eats up and loves. Lukather dedicates a song to his dead brother whose birthday it would’ve been on the Sunday. His rocky and catchy song ‘Flash in the Pan’ is a funny look at popular culture and attacks the quality of work done by the team at TMZ.
Steve Vai takes to the stage to a rousing reception from the fans. He plays ‘Whispering A Prayer’ and has the crowd truly mesmerised; no one makes a sound. ‘For The Love Of God’ is performed beautifully and highlights just why Steve Vai is such a great instrumentalist. He makes his guitar sound like many different instruments; exactly what he wanted. It’s also entertaining watching Vai’s facial expressions as he performs his solos. Vai’s bass player was energetic; his slapping and popping was very impressive.
Joe Satriani steps out onto the stage with his distinctive sunglasses and his Ibanez, plays a couple of old and rarely played live songs including ‘Secret Prayer’ and most of his best songs including ‘The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing’, ‘Surfing with the Alien’ and the fan favourite ‘Satch Boogie’. Although it’s a shame he couldn’t find room for the dark ‘Big Bad Moon’ everyone is delighted.
At the end of Satriani’s set, Vai and Lukather join him on stage for the G3 Jam playing ‘My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama’, a Frank Zappa cover, which Vai sings before ending with Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ in the Free World.’ Joe sings with gusto, and while he doesn’t have the greatest voice in the world, it’s powerful. The trio sings the chorus so well; Lukather’s voice adds the right mix. Midway through the song, G3 have a solo contest. It’s really exciting to watch Lukather finish off his solo and have Satch nod and give him the thumbs up.
Vai is the standout of the night. He simply chose the best songs for the occasion and the crowd responded with their applause after every song. While Satch and Vai may not have the best communication skills, both are extremely quiet, but the fans don’t mind. It’s all about the music with these two guitarists.
Although this gig isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it is a must for fans of instrumental music or the beauty and possibilities of the guitar. There is something special about watching people who are the best at their craft, and with G3 you are able to see the best guitarists’ in the world.
– Matt Naqvi
