The Stiefel Theater, Salina, KS
50 years of friendship, and Steve Vai and Joe Satriani had never toured together until this year. On April 29th, the two guitar aficionados took to the stage in Salina to astounded audiences. The connection between Vai and Satriani goes back to when they were high schoolers in the early 70’s, with Satriani giving guitar lessons to the soon to be lifelong friends. Collaborations between the two have happened regularly over the years, both in recorded projects and sharing the stage together at music festivals, but this tour marks the first time that the two have shared a tour together.
Opening the evening was Steve Vai, whose instrumental work defied reality at times. Like cards in the hands of a magician, his ability to create incredible sounds and leave the crowd standing and cheering in astonishment, for lack of a better term, magical. With a set lasting a little over an hour, he opened with “Avalancha” off of his 2022 release “Inviolate“. A set ranging from releases as far back as 1990’s “Passion and Warfare“, the showcase of progressive metal instrumental work he has brought to the world of music pushes the limits of composition and what can be created with a guitar. After an evening with Vai, nothing else sounds the same. The second to last song of the set for Vai, “Teeth of the Hydra” introduced a seemingly unholy abomination of contorted and merged guitars he likes to call simply “The Hydra“. An inspiration from “Mad Max: Fury Road”, this beast comprises 3 necks, a 4-string, a 12-string, and a 7-string neck, along with 13 harp strings, and a multitude of knobs and switches that only the masters can tame. An iconic set was just the beginning of the evening for the Stiefel as Joe Satriani was ready to take the stage.
Following Vai was his mentor, the incomparable Joe Satriani. Renowned for his mastery of the guitar, and his influence on the world of instrumental rock music, his solo work, along with working with Deep Purple and continuing to teach the art of the instrument, it was a near instant reaction from the audience as he stepped on stage with “The Extremist“. The sound between the two guitarists differed slightly as Satriani brings more of a traditional compositional sound, as if anything these two giants do can be considered traditional, to his music, where Vai seems to feed on the extended guitar solo sound throughout his music. Both are incredible.
Satriani played more of his better known hits, including “Satch Boogie“, “Nineteen Eighty“, and “Always With Me, Always With You“, bringing the audience to their feet with applause at the close of each song. His music is the kind of music that you put your headphones on, turn the lights off, and allow yourself to be taken on this journey, hoping that you return to this reality the same person that you left it.
The show ended with Vai returning to the stage to share a couple more songs with his long time teacher. They began with their recent collaboration “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1”, followed by a cover of The Kinks “You Really Got Me”. Finishing up the evening was the most incredible rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” that I have ever witnesses, live or recorded. These two maestros brought the house down and left the audience changed forever.
