You'll rarely hear Joe Satriani played on the radio but it said a lot for the dedication of the guitar virtuoso's fans that they recognised his work from the first few bars of each number.
And there were plenty of them. He and his long-time band showed no signs of
ageing or slowing in a set that went for an hour and 10 minutes, broke for 20 then came back for another hour and 20.
Satriani and guitaring off-sider Galen Hanson, drummer Jeff Campitelli and bass player Matt Bissonette were clearly feeding on the energy of the full house - a mix of elderly classical musicians, ageing bikers and would-be metallers with their caps on backwards.
On the main man there was no bandanna, no beanie, but the baldness was belied by the speed of Satriani's fingers. There are few, if any, in the world who could keep up the strength of his delivery for that period of time. As he walked his followers through the 11 albums, he made his instruments talk, soar, sing, weep and beg for mercy. Drummer Campitelli wore earmuffs - always a good sign if you like it loud.
There were the favourites including Satch Boogie, taken from his nickname, the screaming Why and The Extremist taken from the album of that name, the older Moroccan Sunset as part of a more introspective section, then new numbers Up in Flames and Bamboo from the just-released album Is There Love In Space?
There were regular guitar changes, and the heavy-duty picks he wears through at a good rate were all delivered to the crowd. Then he'd batter another one with a frenetic thrash, such as Hordes of Locusts, a description of crowds flocking to a beach near his San Francisco home and named for his dad, who had a habit of mixing his metaphors.
Satriani was 14 numbers in before he used his voice for anything other than introducing the band and the next performance. He sang only once in the entire show - singing is not his high-point and we didn't miss it when he stopped.
He'd last been here nine years ago, loved his night out and would be back soon, he said. The band left the stage, then came back to finish off with a long and loud Surfing With The Alien.
Let's hope there's a better venue for them next time. The only attraction of the fading St James was the throbbing floorboards.
<EM>Joe Satriani</EM> at the St James Theatre
You'll rarely hear Joe Satriani played on the radio but it said a lot for the dedication of the guitar virtuoso's fans that they recognised his work from the first few bars of each number.
And there were plenty of them. He and his long-time band showed no signs of
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