By: Steve Danyleyko –
Joe Satriani. (Photo: Steve Danyleyko/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)
Massey Hall once again welcomed iconic guitarist Joe Satriani for his “Unstoppable Momentum” world tour last night, in support of his fourteenth studio album of the same name that was released in May. This time round, Satriani surrounded himself with some fine talent, including Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai) shifting between keys and guitar, Marco Minnemann on drums and Bryan Beller (Dethklok, Dweezil Zappa) on bass. With power talent like this, expectations were high.
As expected, Satriani and his band were at the top of their game. Skill and technical finesse was the order of the evening. Satriani and Keneally constantly challenged each other, while Beller held down a solid foundation and Minnemann kept time, and, as seen from his facial expressions, he really enjoyed himself.
In addition to the strong musicianship, a backdrop provided engaging visual projections, including a smooth blue watery scene during “Flying in a Blue Dream” and time-lapsed photography of automobile lights streaking through urban streets at night during “Unstoppable Momentum” and “The Weight of the World”.
Given the lack of lyrics, the music stood on its own for the nearly two hours Satriani and company performed and it wasn’t until the conclusion of “Satch Boogie” mid-set that the well behaved audience was heard yelling and cheering, and followed by that, for many, was the highlight of the show, Minnemann’s “Drum Solo”, for which he earned himself a standing ovation. Between shedding guitar riffs, drum solos and the strong on-stage comradery between Satriani and his bandmates, his performance exceeded all expectations.
Opening for Satriani, was Sit Down, Servant!!, who released their debut album, I Was Just Trying To Help, back in May. The new Gordie Johnson project, together with Big Sugar drummer Stephane Beaudin, provides a new direction for Johnson, in the form of Gospel with hints of the Blues and a pinch of Jamaican Dub, which made for a refreshing performance.
Dark blue lighting with green highlights set the mood, as they began with “In My Time of Dying”. Their hypnotic seven-song set seemed a lot shorter than 30 minutes, but fans of Big Sugar, Grady and of gospel-blues singers like Blind Willie Johnson and Muddy Waters will find a deluge of pleasure from Sit Down, Servant’s initial offering.
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Joe Satriani
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Sit Down, Servant!!
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