G3 07: Hylah's 1st Concert

Hi all,
It's been a while since my last post (sounds like confession doesn't it?), but things have been pretty much the same since last time. We were pregnant again for the second time in the last year, but lost it again at about the same time as the previous one (~8 weeks). I won't go into detail since the last one was pretty traumatic, but suffice to say that after a few weeks, everyone is back to normal and we are ready to try again in a couple of months... in the meantime, practice, practice, practice.

Anyway, the reason for this post...
On Saturday, March 17, I took Hylah to see G3 07. For those not familiar with the name it is a rock concert featuring 3 guitar virtuosos which was started ~12 years ago by my favorite guitar player, Joe Satriani. Over the years, it has featured a rotating cast of guitarists, but always headlined by Joe and I believe that Steve Vai is the person with the most repeat appearances on the tour. This year's tour featured Joe Satriani, John Petrucci (Dream Theater), and Paul Gilbert (Racer X, Mr. Big) and during their Bay Area stop, they played at the Berkeley Community Theater.

Being a guitar player myself (nothing fancy, more of an infrequent hobbyist really), I've always listened to rock music at home and sometimes would put on Joe (among others). A couple of years back, I bought a live DVD which I watched once with Hylah. Ever since, she's wanted to see Joe live. So when I found out about a year and a half ago that he was playing and that the show was sold out, I promised H that I would take her to see him live the next time he came around. It was really luck that brought this show to my attention. I wasn't even looking out for it, but on a recent work trip to LA, I stayed with my good friend Troy from SoCal who mentioned that he was going to see the G3 concert in a few weeks. At the time, I was a little short on cash so I kind of shrugged it off and didn't think about it again resigning myself to miss Joe yet again - it had been at least 10 years since last saw a live Joe show and H didn't even know about it so I was going to let it go by without a mention.

About a week and a half ago, it crossed my mind again and I decided to look on Satriani's website to see if I could possibly catch a return trip show when I noticed that they were selling tix to this last Saturday's show. I was sure that they would be sold out and if not, I was sure the tix would be too expensive. I followed the link and realized that I would be able to make the show and, even better, I'd be able to afford both mine and Hylan's tickets. So I jumped in with both feet.

Hylah was super excited all day about going to see her 1st show.

We walked in just as Paul Gilbert started his set. I'm not too familiar with his stuff so, it was cool to see, but I didn't really connect with it since it was all new to me (aside from a few songs that I've heard before). I was amazed by his playing ability and his range though. He's rumored to be the fastest guitarist in the world - or so I've read. His music was fun to listen too and the guy is a giant. It was a good kick off for the show.

After a short intermission, John Petrucci took to the stage and lit it on fire. His music seemed to match my preference a little better since it is groovy, a little darker in tone and more atmospheric than Paul's, but again, I wasn't very familiar with his stuff so although I enjoyed it very much, didn't connect with it as if I had been listening to it for a long time. Both John and Paul put on great performances, but I knew that the best was still ahead of us.

During the next intermission, H and I went out to the merchandise booth and I bought H a tour shirt, which she wore for 3 days straight. I took the opportunity to ask her what she thought of the show and she said she was loving it. That made me very happy. I told her that, although Paul and John were great guitar players and that their songs were good, she hadn't seen anything yet. I told her that once Joe gets on stage, he's from another planet and is just beyond technically and composition-wise the other guys on the bill and, sure enough, he proved me right. As soon as he hit the stage he just played song after song after song. It's like I wrote his set list for him before the show. It was amazing and I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking that, but it just made the show that much more enjoyable. From time to time, I would look over at H and her jaw would just drop at some of the things that Joe was able to do on the guitar. It was great seeing her reaction.

To close things out, as they do on all the G3 shows, Paul and John joined Joe onstage for a couple of jam songs. They played a few Jimi Hendrix songs - he played in the same venue back in the 60's so they just had to - and a Rolling Stones song and one other song that I can't remember and then it was all over.

Anyway, to make a long story a little longer, the show was incredible and it was great to see Satriani after all these years not missing a step. I loved being able to share that with Hylah. My only regret is that I didn't take my camera. I thought for sure they'd take it away at the door, but once inside the concert everyone was taking picture after picture after picture and all I had was my crappy cell phone camera. See? Next time....