Live Event: Joe Satriani, London Palladium, May 17th 2023
Joe Satriani was technically touring not one but two albums at the Palladium, 2020’s Shapeshifting and last year’s The Elephants of Mars. We all know why this was the case, let’s not go into that – but suffice it to say the crowd were thrilled to see him back.
The show included two sets, just over an hour long each showcasing new material like Nineteen Eighty, Teardrops, Sahara and Blue Foot Groovy with classics such as Summer Song, Flying in a Blue Dream and the ubiquitous Surfing with the Alien.
There were several times in the show where I was just gobsmacked at Joe’s guitaring prowess, especially at the extended outros to the some of the songs – fingers are not meant to move that fast.
The rest of the band were no slouches either, with Rai Thistlethwayte on keys, Bryan Beller on bass and the legendary Kenny Aronoff (make sure to listen to my 2017 interview with Kenny – Dave) on drums – and they all got a solo too!
As well as being on that select list of human beings cool enough to wear sunglasses indoors, Joe Satriani is incredible live performer – there’s a reason he’s the best selling instrumental rock guitarist of all time.
Catch him on tour if you can – you’ll soon realise it was a bucket list gig.
Photos © Chris Griffiths
Review by Thom with thanks to NoblePR for press access.
