Joe Satriani at the Beacon Theatre

Left to right, Joe Satriani, Glenn Hughes, Phil Collen, John Petrucci

Joe Satriani was born in Westbury, New York, and at age 14 learned to play guitar only after failing at drums and piano. During football practice in 1970, he heard of the death of Jimi Hendrix and announced to his coach that he was quitting the team to become a guitarist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, teaching his fellow Long Island schoolmate, Steve Vai. In 1978, Satriani moved to Berkeley, California, where he taught Kirk Hammett of Metallica, David Bryson of Counting Crows, Kevin Cadogan of Third Eye Blind, Larry LaLonde of Primus and Possessed, Alex Skolnick of Testament, and others. Satriani recorded instrumental albums under his own name, but also played with the Greg Kihn Band, Mick Jagger, Deep Purple and Chickenfoot. He has sold over 10 million albums, making him the biggest-selling instrumental rock guitarist of all time. Satriani's 16th studio album, What Happens Next, was released on January 12, 2018.

In 1996, Satriani founded the G3, a recurring concert tour with a trio of guitar virtuosos, and the 2018 edition features himself, former Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci, and Def Leppard's Phil Collen. Collen opened the concert tonight at the Beacon Theatre with his side band, Delta Deep, playing bluesy rock and soul songs. Petrucci and his rhythm section followed with a stunning set of chunky and melodic progressive metal instrumentals. Satriani was the main act, however, backed by keyboardist/guitarist Mike Keneally, bassist Bryan Beller, and drummer Joe Travers. Satriani as the highly technical guitarist used all his techniques, including legato with hammer-ons and pull-offs, two-handed tapping and arpeggio tapping, rapid alternate picking and sweep picking, all of which allowed him to play fast yet smooth and flowing shreds. Volume swells, harmonics, whammy bar effects and just general flashy moves made the sights and sounds more exciting. The highlight of the evening was the G3 jam that closed the evening, when Satriani and his band were joined on stage by Petrucci, Collen, Delta Deep vocalist Debbie Blackwell-Cook, and Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Black Country Communion fame. Hughes led the jam's cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star," and Blackwell-Cook and Hughes led Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition" and the old blues song "Going Down" as the guitarists took turns wailing. For guitar fans, the night was as supercharged as it could be.

Visit Joe Satriani at www.satriani.com.

Setlist:

1. Energy
2. Catbot
3. Satch Boogie
4. Cherry Blossoms
5. Thunder High on the Mountain
6. Super Funky Badass
7. Cataclysmic
8. Headrush
9. Circles
10. Always With Me, Always With You
11. Drum Solo
12. Summer Song

G3 Jam

1. Highway Star (Deep Purple song, with John Petrucci, Phil Collen & Glenn Hughes)
2. Superstition (Stevie Wonder cover, with John Petrucci, Phil Collen, Glenn Hughes & Debbie Blackwell-Cook)
3. Going Down (The Alabama State Troupers cover, with John Petrucci, Phil Collen & Glenn Hughes)