G3 - Live in Tokyo [Review]

If there's anything I like as much or more than metal, it's instrument virtuosos getting together and doing some badass improv jam.
None show it better than Satriani's genius tour-child known as the G3 Tour.
The G3 Tour features famed and skilled guitarists every tour to play their stuff, and in the end, the G3Jam, which comprises of three classic rock songs interpreted by the guitar flexibility of Joe Satriani and two of his picks for that particular tour.
Out of all of the tours since 1996, G3 2005 has made its way to my favorite.
The line up is as follows:

Joe Satriani - Lead guitars
Steve Vai - Lead guitars
John Petrucci - Lead guitars

Satriani's Band:
Galen Henson - rhythm guitar
Matt Bissonette - bass guitar
Jeff Campitelli - drums

Vai's band:
Dave Weiner - rhythm guitar
Billy Sheehan - bass guitar
Tony MacAlpine - keyboards, guitar
Jeremy Colson - drums

Petrucci's band:
Dave LaRue - bass guitar
Mike Portnoy - drums

The tracklist:
Petrucci -
1. "Glasgow Kiss" - 9:18
2. "Damage Control" - 10:31
Vai -
3. "The Audience Is Listening" - 8:59
4. "Building the Church" - 6:09
5. "K'm-Pee-Du-Wee" - 9:16
Satriani -
6. "Up in Flames" - 8:56
7. "Searching" - 8:44
8. "War" - 6:37
The G3 Jam -
9. "Foxey Lady" (Jimi Hendrix) - 10:43
* The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover
10. "La Grange" (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) - 9:18
* ZZ Top cover
11. "Smoke on the Water" (Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) - 12:33
* Deep Purple cover

The review:
1.) Start off the CD/DVD with a brilliant instrumental piece by John Petrucci, the alternate picking/progmetal God. This Scottish jig is one guaranteed to make you dance, cry, laugh, and of course, rock to. Not bad for your instrumental solo album Petrucci! 10/10

2.) Petrucci does NOT tune it down, Damage control is a pure prog metal instrumental masterwork proving once again Petrucci knows his chops. You'll be facemelted with the incredible melodies and technical speed shown on this song! 9.5/10

3.) Powerballad of speed and destruction by the experimental shred master Steve Siro Vai. A great startoff for one of the recognized faces in virtuoso guitar! 8/10

4.) The best track by Vai off of this CD/DVD in my opinion. Featuring badass double neck basswork by the bass-shred god Billy Sheehan, including high penetration tapping and slow melodies by Mr. Vai, this track is one worth hearing off of the album. 10/10

5.) The weakest track off of the album, is extremely precociously odd, but not to be underestimated. This experimental power-work should not be priority 1 in your listen, but give it a shot after you hear the other opus magni. 6.5/10

6.) Satriani, you cannot dislike anything from this man. Although he is not exactly the speediest or the overtly technical, this man has a gift, and that gift is making every song sound amazing without going to that point where you're going, "What the fuck is this?" This is an excellent showoff of his reserved yet virtuoso ability, not to be overlooked! 9/10

7.) How can I write any review on Joe Satriani, you all know the man can make anything sound good at least in some point in the song. This is no less incredible, though the G3 Jam is the main highlight of the album, this song should be given a whiz through after you get a good scoop of awesomeness. 8/10

8.) Shorter and sweeter, my favorite Satch track off of this album is an extremely strong effort of show-offery. 9/10

9.) The moment you've all been waiting for, the G3 Jam! Starting off strong is Foxy Lady, bringing in Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater on the drums! The song showcases Satriani singing the famed Hendrix lyrics and after two rounds of "Foxy Laaaaady", comes in Petrucci with a brilliantly timed and perfected solo of speed and artful tremolo pickin', he ends the solo with the Oriental Riff, one that sparks an amusement face from Steve Vai and the audience, being their location in Japan. Vai brings the heat right after Petrucci, entering with a strong whammy rise and assault mixed with pinch harmonics, speedy hammer ons and pulloffs follow, and he ends his solo with a high speed whammy karate chop assault. Satch makes you shit bricks with his combination of classicl blues guitar and virtuoso hard rock, ending his solo of course, he brings out the famed Satch Scream before hitting right into the next verse. Following that is a constant battle of Petrucci, then Vai, then Satriani, then back, of short speedy powersolos as Mike Portnoy keeps the beat steady and winging. This rendition is powerful, badass, and epic, and to think it's the weakest song of the G3 Jam! 10/10



10.) Bringin' the boogie down in this song is the G3 boys playing something from the Bad boys from Texas. La Grange is one catchy, so why not triplify its epicness with the mighty Billy Sheehan on lead vocals, doing the trademark Gibbons hums, to lead straight into the steady riffin' of Satch, Vai, and Petrucci. Petrucci begins the first master solo slow, utilizing nice alternate picking, ending his solo is some of the fastest tremolo attacks on nearly all the strings you've ever heard. Vai follows again with a wah/whammy combination, playing a nice catchy blues riff before hitting it off with some pinch harmonics, ending it with some smoothly flowing twohanded tapping. Satriani follows with a basic steady solo, heavily blues, heavily pinched, and then the boogie goes back to Billy Sheehan giving a little giggle before the G3 boys hit it off on their solo battle. In the powersolo battle, it's clear Petrucci wins again, in the middle section, Vai does some really odd guitar tricks that spark a "WTF" response from both Satch and Petrucci, keep your ears and eyes tuned! 11/10



11.) Why not end the night with Matt Bissonette on vocals singing a legendary song with a legendary riff. Smoke on the Water is the most epic song of the night, and showcases the full abilities of all three guitarists. The guitars grind in, the drums fill in, the bass enters with its own legendary tune, and the band is off. Bissonette shows off his INCREDIBLE vocal stylings, folllowed in by some little pinched harmonic licks from Vai. Sheehan joins in for the chorus in a higher timbre to create some of that hot harmony vocal pattern. The first solo is handed to John, who starts his solo basic, then surprises the crowd by a nice sweep down, followed by some high speed alternate picking, back into slow melodies, and back into a nearly endless drill of speedpicking madness! Vai won't let Petrucci take the night of course, he starts off with a strong wah filled intro, his bright tone failing him not, from the low timbre his guitar switches from octave to octave. He gives his whammy some nudges before he ends his solo in some fast hammer on and pull offs without the use of his picking hand, that's right, he does this with ONE hand. Satriani gives in with some off-beat notes for a perfect efect, giving the reserved tone amongst the three, he ends his solos in some high octave pinch harmonics and bends as Bissonette and Sheehan joins in to sing "SMooooooooke on the Water". Petrucci starts off the solo battle with some speedy hammer on and pull offs, and Vai does the same, Satriani keeps his head cool with classic shreddage, and afterwards, the three showcase their skills with shredding, tapping, Sweep-shredding, octave switches, whammy attacks, some pinch harmonic slaps, Satch Screamin', and finally the legendary three man shred ending this song is renowned for. With all three guitarists doing separate solos that just meld together so well at the SAME time, bring on the heat before they go back to the main riff, and Slowing things down before they play the final chord in the song! Not over yet of course, there comes some badass triple-shreddage again after the last chord, followed by some sustained feedback and natural harmonics for quite a long period, ending with a strum of the open B and D strings. 12/10



This album is not to be overlooked. It is INCREDIBLE for a live performance, and even more incredible for the concertgoers.
Those who went were very lucky to see three legends on stage.
Joe Satriani, the man who, along with Eddie Van Halen, turned guitar virtuosity into a favored art of the 80s and the 90s.
Steve Vai, the renowned magic man who wrote power ballads, lengthy compositions, and became many an inspiration for aspiring young guitarists.
And John Petrucci, the progressive metal GOD, never reluctant to show off his capabilities (which consist of everything from heartfelt melodies to mind-burning shred shanking).
Aside from that, you get the revolutionary bass shredder Billy Sheehan, Dream Theater bandmate of Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, brilliant bassist Dave LaRue, and many others! Get this album, or at least listen to what it's got, it's worth your time!

I must say G3 Tokyo has to be one of your greatest suggestions you have ever given me