Joe Satriani, one of the most overrated and pretentious guitarists out there, stated in a recent interview with The Spectrum, "I don't get up in the morning and see a guitar god."
However, his performance at the Canter for the Arts on Monday would prove otherwise.
If he wasn't making his usual "groovy-pouty" face, he was wearing a cheesy smile and jerking his head around like each note was a masterpiece.
Satriani is a good technical guitarist, but his music lacks emotion. There's more to creating a powerful and memorable song than shredding the fretboard at terminal speeds. His music lacks ambience, feeling and depth.
Also, what's up with wearing sunglasses indoors? It's possible they were used to shield his eyes from the bright spotlight he was basking under, but it's more likely Satriani contracted a bad case of 'bono-nucliosis' while on tour with U2.
Events in the CFA seem to attract more locals than students. Middle-aged people and families dominated the audience. It's easy to see why students would be unwilling to shell out $30 to see an act like Satriani when free events like Springfest are right around the corner.
During the concert he played several new selections like "One Robot's Dream," showing his versatility with a one-finger keyboard melody in between guitar licks.
Next came the title track "Super Colossal;" two words that could never be associated with this album. Satriani's arrogance became apparent as he brought out a guitar with his own picture on the body.
"Like my new guitar?" he asked as he showed it off to the crowd. "I got it to celebrate the new record. It looks like I'm picking my nose when I play it."
He probably would've bought a bronze statue of himself too if he had enough money left over from his head-wax budget. Satriani probably has a plethora of guitars - he should have used that money on some music composition lessons.
This guitarist also claims that "Super Colossal" is different from his previous work, adding that it would have been impossible to produce this style of music in his earlier years. However, the difference in sound in his new album is only slightly noticeable.
While Satriani doesn't need to add words to compose good music, he should at least play in a different style and key for every piece. His songs have no distinction or flavor - they all possess the same "guitar hero" tone and breakneck shredding.
Satriani overemphasized his dexterity as well, which could explain why his song composition and style quickly got boring. Many seemed excited at the start of the concert, but his songs soon grew dull.
He was also whammy-happy, riding the bar every so often for minutes after a song's end. He maintained the droning roar by smiling and waving his arms for attention. Considering any teenage garage band can sound impressive doing the same thing, Satriani didn't offer much.
Grammy award-winning guitarist Eric Johnson opened the show. Like Satriani, Johnson specializes in high-speed instrumental rock. Johnson's influences are evident in his work. His instrumental "SRV" is dedicated to the late blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughn, and echoes the soulful blues of Vaughn's style.
Johnson showed his admiration for Jimi Hendrix with a cover of "Love or Confusion." Before the next song Johnson interjected, "Hendrix played country, so we're kinda gonna do a bit of our own."
What followed was a short honky-tonk instrumental ditty that was still enough like rock to avoid upsetting concertgoers. The instrumentals were mixed up with normal vocal songs like "Morning Sun" and "Brilliant Room."
There was significant applause as the concert ended, most of which can probably be attributed to the bar in the atrium, which was set up specifically for the event. Maybe the CFA should consider having a cash bar for all of their washed-up performances.
