“Looking for adventure, or whatever comes our way,” sang Steppenwolf—and those words take on great significance tonight, as it’s how SatchVai choose to end their gig.
Bet you never thought Steve Vai and Joe Satriani were “Born To Be Wild”, did you?
Before that, though, let’s go back to 8pm, when Ned Evett arrived with his incredible collection of titanium, glass, and whatever-else-you-can-imagine guitars.
His work as an animator with Satriani perhaps explains why he’s on the bill, but it’s skill and songs that enthral for 25 minutes.
“Good News” comes from his 2024 affair “Strange Kind Of Freedom”, and it’s a celebration of live music. In that respect, it seems to sum up the whole night.
But he’s a gifted player, he really is. With the words “let’s get mad, shall we?” he’s into “Mars Delta 21-28”, and it’s a trip—but one that’s more blues than anything else tonight.
He fetches his glass guitar for another new one, “Message For You”, and that’s before he puts his own stamp on “Are You Experienced?” Indeed, “putting his own stamp” on things appears to be Ned Evett’s stock-in-trade, and he does it superbly.
The fact that tonight begins with “I Wanna Play My Guitar” almost seems self-evident, right?
The new song that SatchVai have just put out with Glenn Hughes (the animated video featuring him is played on the big screen, although bass man Marco Mendoza sings it here) basically is the SatchVai vibe: two of the most supremely gifted players ever, here for the love of it.
Their other original follows—”Sea Of Emotion Pt 1″—and honestly, the class shines. It’s just inescapable how good they are.
Pete Thorn, who plays rhythm guitar, shines on Steve Vai’s “Zeus In Chains”—which, like “Little Pretty”, is played without Satriani.
That said, when the two men join together for the “mash-up”—as Joe puts it—of “Ice 9” and “The Crying Machine”, this might be what people came for: a pair of legends, trading licks.
What’s interesting, though, as a non-musician, is that they don’t overplay. The focus is always on the song, not their own egos.
The variation in Joe’s tracks really comes through—on the dreamy “Flying In A Blue Dream”, followed by the chugging rock ‘n’ roll of “Surfing With The Alien”, and the dry-as-dust, grandiose Eastern flavour of “Sahara”.
And it really strikes how different they are, as Vai plays the soulful “Tender Surrender” and the showstopper that is “Teeth Of The Hydra”, which features the most incredible guitar you’ve ever seen. “I’ve never played it—I’ve got the Hydra blues,” jokes Satriani as he begins “Satch Boogie”. It’s a real kind of “follow that if you dare” moment—but do you think Satch, or his boogie, were intimidated? Behave!
There’s such a tenderness and deftness of touch here. “If I Can Fly” sees Vai rejoin partway through, and there’s a gorgeous slow jam on “For The Love Of God”. That gentle vibe continues with “Always With Me, Always With You”, which seems to float away before it reaches its crescendo with a snippet of “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
As they come back for an encore, “Crowd Chant” appears to release the handbrake fully, and there’s a man down the front you can’t fail to notice punching the air as Satch comes to the front of the stage.
These men are heroes to many here.
And if they’re brilliant, they’re having fun too, as “Enter Sandman” and the aforementioned “…Wild” prove.
But as you watch them grinning—drummer Kenny Aronoff particularly so—you realise they’re just fans too. Just two men who adore music, and also the music they play.
They just happen to be incredible at it at the same time. The heavy metal thunder rumbled—and then some.
photos Chud Photography
