Joe Satriani
Beč (Wien) / Wiener Stadthalle – Halle F / Austrija
subota, 8. 4. 2023., u 20.00 sati
(please scroll down the bar for an English version)
Joe Satriani je konačno uspio doći u Europu. iz trećeg pokušaja. Ne treba više nagađati zašto. Prije toga u Europi je zadnji put svirao krajem srpnja 2018. Bilo je to u Grčkoj. Tada je objavio album “What Happens Next”. Pomak pet godina unaprijed. U sadašnjost. U tom razmaku gitarski je bog snimio i objavio dva nova albuma. Prvi, inače u svemu divni “Shapeshifting” (2020, RockLine recenzija), bio je mjestimice i vrlo nostalgičan. Na njemu je Joe između ostalog upotrijebio i neke stare arhivske ideje koje je čuvao još od osamdesetih godina. Prošle godine uslijedio je “The Elephants Of Mars” – gitaristov 18. studijski album (RockLine recenzija), na kojem je odlično izveo zvukove davnih dana na kojima počiva njegov prepoznatljivi umjetnički izraz, uz poneke trikove i makarije koje u karijeri još nije isprobao, što je samo potvrda da se legendarni gitarski veleum i glazbeni velemajstor u nadahnuću i kreativnoj ambicioznosti nikako ne zaustavlja.
Joe Satriani! Konačno smo ga dakle opet dočekali uživo. Sat je osam navečer. U bečkoj Wiener Stadthalle – Halle F, u koju stane 2.000 ljudi, zvono se oglasilo i drugi put i ljudi su se brzo razmiljeli na svoja sjedala. Uzorno popunjen prostor. Zapravo, dobro je da koncert nije bio posve rasprodan. Satrianijev nastup u Pragu dan prije naime je otkazan. Zato je Beč te večeri doživio pravi udar iz Češke. Navalu Satrianijevih čeških fanova. Pozornica se zamrači i kvartet s gitarskim zapovjednikom, kojem su društvo pravili dugogodišnji, inače genijalni basist i glazbeni umjetnik Bryan Beller, ništa manje svestrani i izbrušeni čudesni bubnjar Kenny Aronoff te klavijaturist (i pomoćni gitarist) Rai Thistlethwayte – dakle ekipa koja je sa Satrianijem snimila i zadnji studijski album “The Elephants Of Mars”, zavrne rukave i udari u skladbu sa Shapeshiftinga zvanu Nineteen Eighty. Osamdesete su Satrianijevu karijeru postavile na noge! A Joe nas je tamo već u uvodu i ‘odstrijelio’.
Teško je opisivati Satrianijev koncert tako da ga secirate komad po komad. Taj čovjek jednostavno već prvom sekundom koncerta, prvim odsviranim tonom, uspostavi briljantnu platformu za nezaboravan šou, zabavu, koncertnu senzaciju koju tako lako ne zaboravljaš. Šaljiv, vedar, odlično raspoložen. Takav kakav je oduvijek. Godine ga se ne primaju. S 66 i pol godina u svakom trenutku djeluje kao ’20-godišnji klinac’ koji te kupi iskrenošću svih postupaka tijekom svojih dvosatnih koncertnih eskapada. Kako se i očekivalo, krenuo je s materijalom posljednja dva albuma. Pošteno. Još ih nije imao priliku predstaviti. U Europi definitivno ne. Novi Ibanez. Tijelo išarano motivom s naslovnice zadnjeg albuma. Narančasto-ljubičast. Ljepota bez premca. Zvuk izrazito navijen. Satriani se pretvori u pravog nametaliziranog vraga čim stupi na pozornicu. S decibelima nikako ne škrtari. Zvuk odličan. Sjedili smo točno na sredini dvorane. Na ‘slatkoj točki’ što se zvuka tiče. Ekipa odlično raspoložena. Baš kao i njezin šef. Nevjerojatnu kilometražu imaju u prstima i nevjerojatnu univerzalnost. Vrijedi provjeriti glazbene puteve pojedinih članova ovogodišnje Satrianijeve pratnje. Stvar koja oduzima dah.
Prije Ice 9 Joe se zaustavio i emotivno (prvi put na koncertu) nagovorio publiku da je presretan što nakon tri godine napokon opet može svirati u Europi: “Za vas!” Tom je rečenicom dvoranu definitivno kupio. Briljantna energija. Briljantna set lista. Kvartet je uživao, Satriani nije skrivao odlično raspoloženje. Više je puta dijelio osmijehe s publikom, više ga je puta u smijeh tjerao sam razvoj događaja, pogotovo u trenucima kad je bend zaplivao u eksperimentalne dijelove i dijelove koje diktiraju rituali jazz rock fuzije. Bilo je sjajno promatrati komunikaciju kvarteta. Geste, tikove sporazumijevanja. Kad Satriani prijeđe s desna na lijevo prema Aronoffu u sredini i samo facijalnom mimikom naznači ono što bi inače značilo: “Produljit ću izlaz iz komada još jednim solom.”, to svi u tren oka razumiju. Za te je glazbenike to rutina, a nama laicima djeluje izuzetno fascinantno. Jer ruku na srce. Satriani je vrsta gitarskog božanstva. Što god napravi na pozornici, u očima i ušima njegove publike zapravo je pozlaćeno. Toliko ga cijeni i poštuje.
Satch je nastup podijelio na dva dijela. Oba dugačka dobar sat, uravnotežio je materijalom posljednja dva albuma i klasicima iz željeznog repertoara. Posljednja dva albuma činila su skoro pola repertoara. Pogodite koji je album po zastupljenosti zauzeo treće mjesto? Onaj koji je Satrianija osamdesetih postavio na svjetsku kartu. “Surfing With An Alien”, naravno. Drugi dio je naravno bio zanimljiviji, što je logično. Koncertni nastup treba stupnjevati. Svoju je priču naravno uvijek imao briljantni Flying In A Blue Dream, kojem su u prvom dijelu uz zapravo obaveznu Ice 9 od starijih točaka društvo pravili još Crystal Planet i završna poslastica s “Extremista” Summer Song. No bilo je jasno da Joe najslađe stvari čuva za drugi dio.
Taj se iznenađujuće otvorio bubnjarskim solom Kennyja Aronoffa, koji su ‘presrele’ skladba Energy s albuma “What Happens Next” i najnovija E 104th St NYC 1973, a nakon toga uslijedila je još jedna solo točka koja je pripala klavijaturistu Raiu Thistlethwayteu. Satriani budi publiku s Cool #9! Za njom slijede ‘slatke’ minute prepuštene čarolijama jazz rock fuzije i bjegovima u prostranstva prema eksperimentiranju (Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me). Nakon osjećajne Teardrops slijedi iznenađenje s albuma “Joe Satriani” (1995)! Luminous Flesh Giants. Nakon nje atmosferu na izvanrednoj razini održava vrlo ugodna integracija prekrasne skladbe If I Could Fly s albuma “Is There Love in Space?”. Željezni hit Always With Me, Always With You najavio je veliki finale. Publika je u svim strastima definitivno oživjela, a Satch je s ekipom dolio ulje na vatru tiho očekivanom Satch Boogie i redovni dio koncertnog druženja poveo prema kraju.
Tko još nikad nije bio u Halle F, ne zna da je ona (u blagom nagibu) gotovo posve posuta stolcima. Najzagrijaniji su odmah po završetku redovnog dijela koncerta potrčali u dno dvorane. Pred pozornicu. Tamo je nekoliko metara prostora do prve linije stolaca. Najzabavniji među svima bio je zacijelo dvometraš koji je stigao iz Češke, s originalnim Joeovim gitarskim remenom koji je navukao oko vrata i najnovijom koncertnom majicom. Postavio se tik pred njegov stalak za mikrofon i kipio od transa u koji su ga naravno odveli sve emocije i strasti. U tome nije bio jedini. Ali ipak. Godine prolaze i publika je ostarjela. No bez obzira na to, u sebi je ostala barem jednako luda kao prije 35 godina (i više), kad su svi ti vjerni podržavatelji i kreatori odlične energije u Halle F Satrianija uzeli za svojega još u svojim tinejdžerskim danima.
Satriani se s ekipom vratio i podmetnuo vatru ionako uzavrelim glavama vrlo zgodnom skladbom Crowd Chant s albuma “Super Colossal” (2006), koja je prisutne natjerala na zajedničku gimnastiku. Bez konkretnog završnog čina ne ide i Satriani je za tu priliku u središte pozornosti ponovno postavio svoj najvažniji album karijere, “Surfing With An Alien”, i s ekipom se bacio na naslovnu skladbu albuma. Ušli smo dakle u veliki finale. I uz još jednu nezaboravnu manifestaciju Satrianijeve solističke ‘monstruoznosti’, ekipa se naprosto nije mogla oprostiti. Komad su naime već mogli završiti, kad su ga produljili bluesovskim završnim dijelom kojim su dvosatno i dvadesetminutno druženje doveli do kolosalnog zaključka.
Nemoguće! Gotovo je. I zaista. Satriani s ekipom nekako nije mogao s pozornice. Dečki su se još i još opraštali. Satriani je pri kraju djelovao na neki način ganuto. Očito je tom čovjeku zaista silno puno značilo što je opet mogao doći u Europu na koncertnu turneju. I upravo je to pokazivao i njegov nastup. U svakoj sekundi. Satriani uživa. Jednostavno uživa. Nikakve druge filozofije tu nema. To uživanje. To prepuštanje. Pa naposljetku i sva ta radost. Sve se to prenosi na publiku. U preko dva sata dugu senzaciju koja te preuzme, odvede, zavede, očara i dočara ti jedan svoj svijet. Glazbeni svijet po receptu jednog jedinog gitarskog mitraljesca. Njegove glazbene ekselencije Joea Satrianija. Kao rečeno. Čovjek još uvijek djeluje ne samo mladenački, nego se na pozornici i dalje dimi za njim, kao prekaljeni ‘šoumen’ kojem rutine i kilometraže ne manjka, i nakon svih godina još uvijek očarava notom iskrenosti (o poslovičnoj izvedbenoj perfekciji da ni ne gubimo riječi), što je naravno sve i ono najviše što može ponuditi svojoj publici.
Autori: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Fotografije: Aleš Podbrežnik
English:
Joe Satriani has finally made it to Europe. On his third attempt. No more guessing why. The last time he played in Europe before this was at the end of July 2018. It was in Greece. That’s when he released the album “What Happens Next”. Fast forward five years. To the present. In that interval, the guitar god has recorded and released two new albums. The first one, the all-round wonderful “Shapeshifting”, was also very nostalgic at times. On it, Joe used, among other things, some old archive ideas that he had kept there all the way back to the 1980s. Last year he followed it up with “The Elephants Of Mars” – the guitarist’s 18th studio album, where he perfectly harmonised the old days on which his distinctive artistry is based with some tricks and pranks he hasn’t tried yet in his career, which is just a confirmation that the legendary guitar great and musical grandmaster is never stopping in his inspiration and creative ambition.
It’s 8pm. The bell rings for a second time and people quickly scurry to their seats. An exemplary packed venue. In fact, it’s a good thing the concert wasn’t a complete sell-out. Satriani’s Prague show the day before had been cancelled. So that evening, Vienna got a lot of visitors from Czech Republic. A flood of Satriani’s Czech followers. The stage darkens and the quartet formation with the guitar master, accompanied by the long-time, otherwise brilliant bassist and musical artist Bryan Beller, the no less versatile drumming prodigy Kenny Aronoff and the keyboardist (and auxiliary guitarist) Rai Thistlethwayte, roll up their sleeves and hit the “Shapeshifting” gem called Nineteen Eighty. Beller, Aronoff and Thistlethwayte, creates a team who recorded the last studio album “The Elephants Of Mars” with Satriani.
It’s hard to describe a Satriani concert by dissecting it song by song. Simply, right from the first second of the concert, the first note struck, this man establishes a brilliant platform for an unforgettable show, a party, a concert sensation that you will never forget. Quirky, cheerful, in a great mood. The same as always. The years don’t cling to him. At 66 and a half, he acts at every moment like a ’20-year-old stallion’, buying you in with the sincerity of all the acts of his two-hour concert escapades. As expected, he has hit the ground running with the material of his last two albums. Fair enough. He hasn’t had a chance to present them yet. Definitely not in Europe yet. The sound is extremely winding. Satriani does not skimp on the decibels. The sound is excellent. We were sitting right in the middle of the hall. The sweet spot as far as sound is concerned.
Brilliant energy. A brilliant set list. Satriani was in great shape and mood. He shared smiles with the audience several times. It was great to observe the quartet’s communication. The gestures, the tics of communication. When Satriani came up from right to left and Aronoff in the middle and indicated with a facial expression what he would otherwise have meant: “I’m going to extend the exit of the song with one more solos”, and everyone understood it in an instant. This is routine for these musicians, but for us laymen it is fascinating. Because, hand on heart. Satriani is a kind of guitar deity. What he does on stage is actually gilded in the eyes and ears of his audience. He is so highly valued and respected by his audience.
Satch divided his performance into two parts. He balanced them with material from the last two albums and adding some classic gems. The last two albums made up almost half of the repertoire. The second part was of course more interesting, which makes sense. The concert performance has to be stepped up. In first part of the concert brilliant Flying In A Blue Dream made its stump. From the older gems there was already mentioned and somehow obligatory Ice 9. Here’s Crystal Planet and the closing “Extremist” treat Summer Song. But one thing remained clear. Joe was saving the sweetest things for the second part.
This surprisingly started with a drum solo by Kenny Aronoff, intercepted by “What Happens Next” track Energy and “The Elephants Of Mars” E 104th St NYC 1973. Another solo followed. This time by keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte. Cool #9 wakes the audience! After that, the ‘sweet’ minutes belong to the throes of jazz rock fusion and escapes into the vastness towards experimentation (Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me). After the light-hearted Teardrops, the surprise of the album “Joe Satriani” (1995) follows! Luminous Flesh Giants. After it, the atmosphere is kept at an exceptional level by the very pleasant integration of the beautiful “Is There Love in Space?” item If I Could Fly. The iron hit Always With Me, Always With You heralded the grand finale. The crowd finally came alive with all their passions and Satch and his company added fuel to the fire with the quietly awaited Satch Boogie, bringing the regular part of the concert to a close.
Many fans left their seats and ran to the front of the stage as soon as the regular part of the concert was over. Satriani and his crew returned and fired up the overheated heads with the powerfully convenient “Super Colossal” (2006) track Crowd Chant, which got the attendees doing the family gymnastics. There is no concrete final act and Satriani used the occasion to put the spotlight back on the most important album of his career, “Surfing With An Alien”, and to tackle the album’s title track with the team. So we have entered the grand finale. And with another unforgettable manifestation of Satriani’s solo ‘monstrosity’, the team couldn’t and didn’t say goodbye. Indeed, they could have finished the song when they extended it for a bluesy closer, bringing the two-hour-and-twenty-minute-long gathering to a colossal conclusion.
Is it over? Unfortunately. Guys somehow just couldn’t get off the stage. Satriani was moved in a way at the end. It obviously meant a lot to the man to be able to come to Europe again for a concert tour. And that is exactly what his performance showed. Every second of it. There is no other philosophy here. This enjoyment. This letting go. All this is transmitted to the audience. Into a sensation that lasts over two hours, that takes you over, carries you away. Seduce and enchant and brings you into a world of its own. A musical world according to the recipe of the one and only guitar machine-gunner. His musical excellence Joe Satriani. After all these years, he still charms with a note of sincerity (not to waste words on perfection of performance), which is, of course, everything and the best he can offer to his audience. Thank you Joe! Till the next time!
Authors: Aleš Podbrežnik & Edita Klemen
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Nineteen Eighty
2. Sahara
3. The Elephants of Mars
4. Ice 9
5. Thunder High on the Mountain
6. One Big Rush
7. Blue Foot Groovy
8. Flying in a Blue Dream
9. Spirits, Ghosts and Outlaws
10. Faceless
11. Crystal Planet
12. Summer Song
—15-minutna stanka—
13. Drum Solo
14. Energy
15. E 104th St NYC 1973
16. Keyboard Solo
17. Cool #9
18. Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me
19. Shapeshifting
20. Teardrops
21. Luminous Flesh Giants
22. If I Could Fly
23. Always With Me, Always With You
24. Satch Boogie
—bis—
25. Crowd Chant
26. Surfing With the Alien
