Satriani’s G3 2018 in St. Petersburg: shredding, metal, and blues

TAMPA BREAKWAY FESTIVAL – April 26th-27th

TAMPA BREAKWAY FESTIVAL – April 26th-27th
G3 Tour 2018

By Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa

Venue: Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, Florida–February 3, 2018-G3 Tour–Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, and Phil Collen

Joe Satriani, Phil Collen, and John Petrucci

The G3 Tour arrived at the Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, Florida on February 3rd, the fifth and last stop of the Florida leg of the tour, which will continue across the U.S. and Canada until the end of February. Joe Satriani’s G3 Tour, a tradition which dates back to 1996, features John Petrucci (Dream Theater) and Phil Collen (Def Leppard, Delta Deep), before heading to Europe in the Spring with a line-up change to John Petrucci and former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth.

The spacious The Mahaffey Theater was buzzing with plenty of metal heads and guitar music aficionados (a mostly male audience, I observed), who were eager for the show, which essentially featured three solo acts with short intermissions between sets and a grand finale featuring the ultimate guitar jam.

Delta Deep

The first set of the evening was Phil Collen’s band Delta Deep, which just released a new live album East Coast Live on January 26th.  Rock At Night has been following Delta Deep since its inception a few years ago and I was thrilled to actually see the live band, which features phenomenal singer Debbi Blackwell-Cook. Firstly, Collen showed off his nimble fingers and guitar skills playing “Quadrant 4” and “Yo 2 Joe”, which gave the audience a whole new respect. Forrest Robinson, drummer with Delta Deep, and Craig Martini, bassist, faithfully kept the rhythm going. The music then changed to a funky and groovin’ tone as Blackwell-Cook emerged to belt out “Bless the Blues” and one of my Delta Deep favs’ “Burnt Sally”.   Collen has the perfect raspy voice for blues, which probably surprised a lot of Def Leppard fans in the audience. Another highlight was the band’s soulful rendition of Deep Purple’s “Mistreated” before ending with “Down in the Delta”.

John Petrucci

The second set of the evening featured John Petrucci, who was supported by bassist, Dave LaRue, and drummer, Michael Mangini.  Shred master Petrucci started out the set with a very heavy, dark tone by playing “Wrath of Amazons” and “Jaws of Life.”  He then promised to lighten up the set with “The Happy Song” as he continued mesmerizing the audience with his technical prowness (unbelievable, really), while speaking in-between songs about much the G3 enjoyed being in the warm Florida weather. He was very humble, thanking the crowd for attending the concert, and smiled saying, “We give the metal to the G3!” Petrucci said the next song was “not on any album” and dove into “Glassy-Eyed Zombies” (a very cool song) and then introduced the last song saying “This one comes in handy if you are in a bar fight in Scotland” and began to play “Glasgow Kiss”.

Joe Satriani and Mike Keneally

After a short intermission, Joe Satriani hit the stage with his veteran bandmates the multi-talented Mike Keneally (keys, guitar), Joe Travers (drums), and Bryan Beller (bass). Satriani played “Energy” and my favorite, the bouncy “Catbot” which both are off of What Happens Next, which was released on January 12th. I have been wearing this CD out (I enjoy it that much). Satriani, with his signature shaved head and wrap around glasses, was on fire, as he moved about the stage, prancing, wincing with mouth open, as his hands slid up and down like lightning on the neck of the guitar.  I swear, the man reeked of rock star charisma and really showed why he has been revered as a Guitar God the last 30 years. More songs from the new CD like the beautiful Asian-tinged “Cherry Blossoms” and Celtic-sounding “Thunder High on the Mountain” were real show stoppers, as the audience just sat quietly, as if at a classical concert—except this girl, was chair dancing the whole time to these funky grooves. Bryan Beller was a joy to watch as he swayed back and forth, with his long locks following, keeping time to the music. He encouraged the audience to clap to the beat, and showed enthusiasm as he slapped at the bass.  Keneally adeptly switched between the keyboards and guitars, often in the same song, and played in unison with Satriani, showing much ease. It is said that he is the “G4” of the show.  Satriani played a few classic tunes such as “Always With Me, and Always with You” and “Satch Boogie” from Surfing with the Alien as well as a more recent tune “Cataclysmic” from Shockwave Supernova.

Joe Satriani and Debbi Blackwell-Cook

Possibly the highlight of the evening was the finale when all of the bandmates gathered on the stage to play.  Blackwell-Cook was moving, grooving, and singing her heart out to Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” and Stevie Wonder’s mega-hit “Superstition”.   And with the soul, R&B, blues theme in tow, the final cherry on top was blues great Don Nix’s tune “Going Down”.

G3 Tour 2018 WEBSITE

Photo Gallery

(In Order of Appearance)

Phil Collen & Delta Deep

 

Set List Phil Collen

  1. Quadrant 4
  2. Yo 2 Joe
  3. Bless These Blues
  4. Burnt Sally
  5. Mistreated
  6. Down in the Delta

John Petrucci

SET LIST  John Petrucci

  1. Wrath of the Amazons
  2. Jaws of Life
  3. The Happy Song (formerly Cloud Ten)
  4. Damage Control
  5. Glassy-Eyed Zombies
  6. Glasgow Kiss

Joe Satriani

Setlist  Joe Satriani

 

  1. Energy
  2. Catbot
  3. Satch Boogie
  4. Cherry Blossoms
  5. Thunder High on the Mountain
  6. Cataclysmic
  7. Headrush
  8. Circles
  9. Always With Me, Always With You
  10. Summer Song
  11. Encore:
  12. Highway Star
  13. Superstition
  14. Going Down

Final G3 Jam

TOUR

02.06.2018

Raleigh, NC

Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

 

02.07.2018

New York, NY

An Evening of Conversation with Joe, John, & Phil @ The Cutting Room NYC

 

02.08.2018

Wallingford, CT

Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre

 

02.09.2018

Syracuse, NY

Landmark Theatre

 

02.10.2018

Albany, NY

Palace Theatre

 

02.11.2018

Greensburg, PA

The Palace Theatre

 

02.12.2018

Detroit, MI

Fillmore Detroit

 

02.14.2018

Washington, DC

Warner Theatre

 

02.15.2018

Boston, MA

Orpheum Theatre

 

02.16.2018

New York, NY

Beacon Theatre

 

02.17.2018

Philadelphia, PA

Merriam Theater

 

02.18.2018

Newark, NJ

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

 

02.20.2018

Rochester, NY

Auditorium Theatre

 

02.21.2018

Toronto, ON CA

Massey Hall

 

02.22.2018

Northfield, OH

Hard Rock Live

 

02.23.2018

Chicago, IL

Chicago Theatre

 

02.24.2018

Minneapolis, MN

State Theatre

 

02.25.2018

Milwaukee, WI

Riverside Theatre

 

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Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D.
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Forest Live Festival – UK

Forest Live Festival – UK