Since it kicked off in 1995, G3 has become one of the most coveted touring guitar showcases in the world. Conceived by Joe Satriani, previous G3 tours have included the likes of Michael Schenker, Steve Lukather, Gary Hoey and Robert Fripp and this edition, the first since 2012, sees Uli Jon Roth (Scorpions) and John Petrucci (Dream Theater) joining Joe on stage for a night of exquisite musicianship set in the grand surroundings of the Birmingham Symphony Hall.
The temptation with any such festival is to instantly compare the guitarists involved, but when you have three equally talented musicians, each a legend in their own field, demonstrating their remarkable prowess, to place them in competition seems to miss the point of the event and so, rather than score each guitarist (which would very much come down to subjective enjoyment of the musical style employed rather than an objective evaluation of technical merit) we’ve opted to simply award one score for the overall night, with a breakdown of the highlights of each set.
Uli John Roth
Kicking off the night we get Uli Jon Roth, who was previously on board for the 1998 edition.
With the crowd largely seated as the lights dim, a brief lull in conversation is followed by rapturous applause.
Oh wow! Seriously – that’s pretty much the feeling for the whole of Uli Jon Roth’s set. Emerging to the strains of the lovely ‘Sky overture’, Uli looks like a cross between Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider and Stephen Stills and plays like a honey-fingered god. Unlike John Petrucci whose technicality is deployed, Blitzkrieg style, Uli’s playing is centred around feelings and emotions, and this is none more apparent than on the remarkable ‘we’ll burn the sky’, played as a tribute to Uli’s late brother Zeno. With Zeno featured on the giant screen that provides the backdrop to the stage and Uli’s hair flowing in the breeze rippling from the fans that flank the stage, it’s a powerful moment and the crowd remain respectfully quiet. As powerful as the track is, the real highlights are kept for the end. An epic ‘fly to the rainbow’ moves from soaring solo, through sky-scraping Pink Floyd-esque prog to a finale that sees the audience sat agog at Uli’s undiminished gift for innovative guitar work. Meanwhile, ‘the sails of Charon’ recalls Therion with its Eastern scales and power-metal vibe. A memorable finale, it caps a near-perfect set that sets the tone (and the bar) for the night and Uli, throughout it all, manages to maintain a serenity and grace that is simple awe-inspiring.
What a start to the show!
The applause at the end is sustained and deserved.
John Petrucci
Something of a veteran of the G3 circuit, Dream Theater’s John Petrucci has appeared six times previously and his return this year is greeted with wild enthusiasm. His work, not only with Dream Theater, but also with Liquid Tension Experiment, means that fans can expect a dynamic and enthralling showcase, and that’s exactly what they get over the course of six, jaw-dropping tracks. Emerging to a Hans Zimmer-esque orchestral piece, the screen displaying rich, sci-fi-inspired images, John and his band (featuring Dave LaRue and Dream Theater compadre Mike Mangini), kick off the set with epic metal outing ‘jaws of life’, a thunderous and exhilarating piece of music that sets the pulse racing. It’s a hell of a way to take the stage and, if ‘happy song’ briefly allows some respite, the monstrous ‘damage control’ sees smoke rising from John’s guitar as his fingers flash over the fretboard in time to Mike’s crushing beat. Finding time for a brief jazzy breakdown in which Dave’s bass playing reaches new heights of ingenuity, ‘damage control’ is a highlight, although it only just edges ahead of the new ‘glassy eyed zombies’, a track aired for the first time on this special tour. John concludes his varied and dizzyingly technical set with the Celtic-themed ‘Glasgow kiss’, the band receiving a standing ovation from a crowd who loudly decry his leaving the stage.
Joe Satriani
Following on from two such diverse and astonishing sets, you might imagine that Joe Satriani would have his work cut out for him. However, as the beating heart of the G3 showcase, the endlessly ebullient Joe Satriani bounds on stage to the perfectly-titled ‘Energy’ (one of five tracks aired from stunning ‘what happens next’ album) and proceeds to deliver a masterclass in how to bridge the gap between technical mastery and fluid emotion. Given that the vast majority of Joe’s output over the years has been instrumental in nature, his headline set oozes the confidence of a performer utterly comfortable in their surroundings and for the next forty-five minutes or so, we’re transported to another realm. Leaning heavily on the new album, it says much of Joe’s standing that the new pieces, only released in January, are greeted like old friends. Aside from ‘Energy’ we get a frenetic ‘catbot’, although the real highlight emerges when Joe unveils a sweetly compelling ‘cherry blossoms’ neatly switched to allow the devastating might of ‘thunder high on the mountain’ to follow. ‘Super funky badass’ does exactly what it says on the tin, whilst the ever-bizarre ‘circles’ (one of Joe’s earliest pieces) remains a remarkable showcase that even Joe finds challenging! The set ends with the delightful ‘summer song’, a track that builds to a manic crescendo so as to set the scene for the final, apocalyptic meeting of minds that is the G3 jam.
G3 Jam
The highlight of the night, the G3 jam sets all three guitarists on stage for a surprisingly ego-free set of covers. A chance to pay tribute to their influences the G3 jam sees these three masters of their craft unleash monstrous covers of Deep Purple, Dylan and Led Zeppelin to the collective awe of the assembled crowd. First up is a suitably gargantuan cover of Deep Purple’s unstoppable ‘highway star’ featuring Niklas Turmann whose demented vocal recalls the hedonistic joy of the original. Uli Jon Roth steps up to the microphone for ‘all along the watchtower’ and demonstrates a remarkable affinity for Hendrix both in terms of vocals and his beautifully fluid guitar work. Watching each guitarist as they pass the baton from one to the other is an absolute joy and the night concludes with an astounding ‘Immigrant song’ (Led Zeppelin), the audience suddenly aware that time spent in the company of such astonishing musicians is time that passes in a blink of an eye.
G3
A sublime night of exquisite guitar work set in a glorious venue, the G3 tour is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events that transcends the ordinary gig-going experience. Almost unbelievably, the show was entirely ego free, with each guitarist giving their all whilst revelling in the experience of sharing a stage with their peers and the jam capped the evening perfectly. From a personal standpoint, the twin highlights of the evening were Uli Jon Roth and the grand jam finale, but the whole evening was so remarkable in every respect that such distinctions are more or less irrelevant. Undoubtedly each attendee will have had their own favourite, but the joy of the G3 tour is that it offers a chance to catch three phenomenal talents, possibly gaining a new favourite in the process, and seeing three guitarists, smiles lighting up their faces as they reduce the ICC to rubble, is a memory to treasure. 9
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