Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway
1st April 2023
Joe Satriani - “Earth Tour 2022/2023”
The concert of JOE SATRIANI in Oslo has been postponed three times and finally the guitar superhero played at Sentrum Scene and, as always, didn’t disappoint. Originally SATRIANI was supposed to present the album ‘Shapeshifting’ released in 2020, but three years of waiting was enough to release one more album, ‘The Elephants of Mars’ (2022).
Music & Performance
JOE SATRIANI is a solo guitar performer from New York, which is often regarded as one of the best in the world. SATRIANI started playing in bands in the late 1970s, but his solo career is at the core and it had its proper start in 1986 with the release of his first solo album, ‘Not of This Earth’. A year later, with his second solo album ‘Surfing with the Alien’, he got onto the hitlists, and at the time it was the first all-instrumental release to reach as high on the charts for many years. SATRIANI has had great commercial success throughout his career. With six gold platinum discs to his credit for his solo albums and even one more for the debut release from his all-star band CHICKENFOOD (SATRIANI on guitars, singer Sammy Hagar, former VAN HALEN bassist Michal Anthony and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith). 
SATRIANI is not one for holding back or settling in on the fame he already got and is very open to finding new ways of being inventive and expressive. According to himself he went down the rabbit-hole of his imagination for ‘The Elephants of Mars’, with a desire to raise the bar on everything. The recording of this album happened during the pandemic and SATRIANI found himself in a situation where everyone was remote. He found that recording remotely ultimately meant no pressure of allotted time in the studio, no deadline. This allowed for much more attention to detail in every part of forming the songs that eventually landed on the album. SATRIANI describes this process as a truly freeing and positive experience deriving from the thought “I Can really dream up the craziest record. What should I do?”
During his career he was also a teacher for many other famous guitarists, such as Steve Vai, METALLICA’s Kirk Hammet, TESTAMENT’s Alex Skolnick which made his fame only bigger. Despite his playing being highly technical, it is also very emotional and because of that it appeals not only to musicians of all levels, but to anyone who likes intricate, yet harmonious guitar riffs. And if you like music that sounds as good live as on recording - Joe is definitely your guy. The touring band joining SATRIANI also consists of famous names - one of the most influential and in demand drummers and percussionists in the world Kenny Aronoff, Bryan Beller on bass (famous for his work with many stars including Steve Vai and James LaBrie of DREAM THEATER), and Australian Rock, Pop and Jazz musician and songwriter Rai Thistlethwayte on the keyboard. 
The setlist was a well-balanced mix of new material from ‘Shapeshifting’ and ‘The Elephants of Mars’ as well as classics from ‘Surfing With the Alien’ and ‘Flying in a Blue Dream’.
Setlist
---Set 1---
01. Nineteen Eighty
02. Sahara
03. The Elephants of Mars
04. Ice 9
05. Thunder High on the Mountain
06. One Big Rush
07. Blue Foot Groovy
08. Flying in a Blue Dream
09. Spirits, Ghosts and Outlaws
10. Faceless
11. Crystal Planet
12. Summer Song
---Set 2---
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
---
25. Crowd Chant
26. Surfing With the Alien
All Pictures by Polina Kulikovskikh
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