Fretboard surfing...
Joe Satriani - The Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, June 9th 2013
This was the first time I’d caught Joe Satriani live, but with good reason.
While acknowledging and appreciating the extraordinary talents of Satriani and others like him in the fusionistic world of instrumental rock guitar, I’ve never been a major fan.
Each album has produced some superb sonics and outstanding melodic moments but they have never fully rocked my Muirsical world.
When it comes to be being captivated by complex instrumental guitar work I’m more Pat Metheny than Joe Satriani; great guitar players both, but dramatically different styles and performing in different musical arenas.
2013 however was a different story.
Joe Satriani’s latest album Unstoppable Momentum is his best to date in terms of melodic sculptures created and the musician’s employed to put Satriani’s musical visions in to full band form.
On the album Joe Satriani is accompanied by Mike Keneally (who has recorded and performed with Satriani before) on keyboards, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Chris Chaney.
That’s one of the best quartets Joe Satriani has ever put together but the 2013 touring four-piece could well become their equal.
Mike Keneally was again part of the live Satriani ensemble, on keyboards and guitars, but this time around the rhythm section was bass player Bryan Beller (who also plays in the Mike Keneally Band) and Marco Minnemann, a drummer (and multi-instrumentalist) who needs very little introduction.
And it was Minnemann who introduced himself to the Royal Concert Hall crowd first, kicking in with what was part drum-sound-check, part mini-solo and the opening to the funk ‘n’ jam of ‘Cool #9.’
By the time the band hit the fast fusion of ‘Devil’s Slide’ and the pulsating ‘Flying in a Blue Dream’ the four-piece were in full stride – Joe Satriani’s unmistakeable six-string shapes and colours; the rock-solid drum work of Marco Minnemann; Mike Keneally’s keyboard textures, rhythm work and his own solo lines; Bryan Beller anchoring the musical grooves and melodies with a beefy low-end and some funky melody lines of his own.
The highlight, other than the musicianship, was the fact that ten of the eleven tracks from Unstoppable Momentum were featured in the core set, with some Satch classics and must-play tunes mixed in for musical balance.
The Momentum tracks, interspersed with back catalogue staples, gave great light and shade to the set.
Highlights from the new album included the aptly named ‘Three Sheets to the Wind,’ the short but poignant ‘I’ll Put a Stone on Your Cairn,’ the straight ahead but infectious groove of ‘A Door into Summer’ and the outstanding title track, incorporating Satch-ified melodic rock lines over an off-beat rhythm.
Best back catalogue moments came via ‘The Crush of Love’ from the 1988 Dreaming #11 EP, the obligatory and self-explanatory ‘Satch Boogie’ and the fusion rock and roll of ‘Surfing With the Alien.’
There were still times when the fretboard frenetics became too intense and while it’s a Satch trait and sonic trademark to hold or pitch-bend the top note on the whammy bar, I don’t need to hear it four or five times on the same solo run. Less can be more, boys.
But that’s personal preference, although it is a very fine line between superbly expressive rock guitar soloing and self-indulgent six-string masturbation.
But for the most part Joe Satriani was in the zone and displayed the former trait – and he wasn’t the only one.
Mike Keneally got to show his six-string chops and exchanged licks with Satriani, going toe-to-toe (more accurately finger-to-finger) with the maestro on a number of songs – something the knowledgeable and appreciative Glasgow crowd recognised by giving Keneally the biggest ovations of the night outside of the cheers for Satriani himself.
The three song encore – the mandatory ‘Crowd Chant,’ the feel-good ‘Summer Song’ and the emotive ballad ‘Rubina’ – sent the Glasgow crowd home happy, but it’s a testament to this particular quartet’s talents that they were as good as they were on the night…
Post-show Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller confirmed that, while the arrangements are now settling in and there is more space in the music than the rigidity of the first few tour dates, they are still getting familiar with each other on-stage and the nuances of the songs.
Bryan Beller was also unfamiliar with the material before tour rehearsals and Mike Keneally is playing guitar in a different tuning and tone than he is used to (effectively playing keyboards and guitar in different keys, sometimes in quick back and forths between the two instruments).
With that knowledge, you start to gain a deeper appreciation for how solid this band already is and just how good they will become.
If you haven’t seen Joe Satriani before or haven’t caught this particular tour, catch them if you can.
Because they are well on their way to building up an Unstoppable Momentum.
Ross Muir
June 2013
Joe Satriani - The Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, June 9th 2013
This was the first time I’d caught Joe Satriani live, but with good reason.
While acknowledging and appreciating the extraordinary talents of Satriani and others like him in the fusionistic world of instrumental rock guitar, I’ve never been a major fan.
Each album has produced some superb sonics and outstanding melodic moments but they have never fully rocked my Muirsical world.
When it comes to be being captivated by complex instrumental guitar work I’m more Pat Metheny than Joe Satriani; great guitar players both, but dramatically different styles and performing in different musical arenas.
2013 however was a different story.
Joe Satriani’s latest album Unstoppable Momentum is his best to date in terms of melodic sculptures created and the musician’s employed to put Satriani’s musical visions in to full band form.
On the album Joe Satriani is accompanied by Mike Keneally (who has recorded and performed with Satriani before) on keyboards, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Chris Chaney.
That’s one of the best quartets Joe Satriani has ever put together but the 2013 touring four-piece could well become their equal.
Mike Keneally was again part of the live Satriani ensemble, on keyboards and guitars, but this time around the rhythm section was bass player Bryan Beller (who also plays in the Mike Keneally Band) and Marco Minnemann, a drummer (and multi-instrumentalist) who needs very little introduction.
And it was Minnemann who introduced himself to the Royal Concert Hall crowd first, kicking in with what was part drum-sound-check, part mini-solo and the opening to the funk ‘n’ jam of ‘Cool #9.’
By the time the band hit the fast fusion of ‘Devil’s Slide’ and the pulsating ‘Flying in a Blue Dream’ the four-piece were in full stride – Joe Satriani’s unmistakeable six-string shapes and colours; the rock-solid drum work of Marco Minnemann; Mike Keneally’s keyboard textures, rhythm work and his own solo lines; Bryan Beller anchoring the musical grooves and melodies with a beefy low-end and some funky melody lines of his own.
The highlight, other than the musicianship, was the fact that ten of the eleven tracks from Unstoppable Momentum were featured in the core set, with some Satch classics and must-play tunes mixed in for musical balance.
The Momentum tracks, interspersed with back catalogue staples, gave great light and shade to the set.
Highlights from the new album included the aptly named ‘Three Sheets to the Wind,’ the short but poignant ‘I’ll Put a Stone on Your Cairn,’ the straight ahead but infectious groove of ‘A Door into Summer’ and the outstanding title track, incorporating Satch-ified melodic rock lines over an off-beat rhythm.
Best back catalogue moments came via ‘The Crush of Love’ from the 1988 Dreaming #11 EP, the obligatory and self-explanatory ‘Satch Boogie’ and the fusion rock and roll of ‘Surfing With the Alien.’
There were still times when the fretboard frenetics became too intense and while it’s a Satch trait and sonic trademark to hold or pitch-bend the top note on the whammy bar, I don’t need to hear it four or five times on the same solo run. Less can be more, boys.
But that’s personal preference, although it is a very fine line between superbly expressive rock guitar soloing and self-indulgent six-string masturbation.
But for the most part Joe Satriani was in the zone and displayed the former trait – and he wasn’t the only one.
Mike Keneally got to show his six-string chops and exchanged licks with Satriani, going toe-to-toe (more accurately finger-to-finger) with the maestro on a number of songs – something the knowledgeable and appreciative Glasgow crowd recognised by giving Keneally the biggest ovations of the night outside of the cheers for Satriani himself.
The three song encore – the mandatory ‘Crowd Chant,’ the feel-good ‘Summer Song’ and the emotive ballad ‘Rubina’ – sent the Glasgow crowd home happy, but it’s a testament to this particular quartet’s talents that they were as good as they were on the night…
Post-show Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller confirmed that, while the arrangements are now settling in and there is more space in the music than the rigidity of the first few tour dates, they are still getting familiar with each other on-stage and the nuances of the songs.
Bryan Beller was also unfamiliar with the material before tour rehearsals and Mike Keneally is playing guitar in a different tuning and tone than he is used to (effectively playing keyboards and guitar in different keys, sometimes in quick back and forths between the two instruments).
With that knowledge, you start to gain a deeper appreciation for how solid this band already is and just how good they will become.
If you haven’t seen Joe Satriani before or haven’t caught this particular tour, catch them if you can.
Because they are well on their way to building up an Unstoppable Momentum.
Ross Muir
June 2013
