G3 - Am I the Only One?

[heem6]

Went to see G3 the other night and just wondered - would it have killed any of those guys to play some ROCKIN' tunes?

 

Paul Gilbert and John Petrucci came out and played boring, plodding prog rock tunes with excessive amounts of shredding. Sure, most of the songs were "powerful," but none of them rocked out. Out of his whole set, Paul did play one song that rocked, "Goin' down to Mexico." At one point, John P's drummer actually took a drink from his bottle of water for like 15 seconds, in the middle of a song, and played one handed. I doubt anyone else noticed, but I was incredulous. That's a good representation of how slow and boring it was for me. How many songs can you play that are really just disguised scales pretending to be a song?

 

I had just seen Joe last year on his "Super Colossal" tour and was hoping for more songs off the new album, because he concentrates more on melody on this one, not just any old song to jam over the top of.

 

But IMO, Joe picked all the lamest songs in his catalog. "Satch Boogie," "Cool Number 9," etc. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those types of songs if you like them, but I was waiting to rock out. C'mon, get the people excited!

 

Joe finally played The Hockey Song: "Crowd Chant" but it was too little, too late for me. Paul Gilbert led the boys in rousing renditions of "Jumpin Jack Flash," "Purple Haze," and "Foxy Lady." He was a good front man, I must admit. On those songs, Paul was the one who showed a modicum of taste and didn't just do pointless arpeggios and hammer-ons and whammy bar tricks during the solos.

 

Probably it's just me, since the crowd was on their feet several times during the night and seemed to love it. To me, it felt and sounded like an incredible wank fest, like they were all three trying to compete with each other on speed, rather than play with feeling. By the end of the night, I was sick and tired of shredding, and that is unbelievable for me.

 

Again, if more than two songs in the first three hours would have been rockers, I would have been much more into it.

 

Feel free to disagree with me, as I'm sure many of you will. If you want to just see a demonstration of speed and technical ability, this G3 is for you. It's just my opinion...

[DenverDave]

I like speed and technique as much as the next guitar player, but what really turns my crank in music is great songs. That's why I don't go to G3 types of stuff. I'd rather see a full band do songs with a vocalist and the guitar player soloing in that context with some extended jams rather than a shredfest. I know lots of players love that stuff 'cause G3 sells out places every year, but I get bored with the playing after awhile.

[JimAnsell]

i saw the 1st 2 g3 tours and i was really impressed and dug them because i was like 13 or 14 at the time.

then i saw the first one with petrucci, and the whole night was just a big snooze fest, not to mention a total dude fest in the crowd.

[SlayerofShadows]

I went to the show on Saturday and loved it. Great song selection, IMO. But I went there expecting amazing technique and quick playing, not just some rock show. Great night except for Larue's rack gear cutting out during Petrucci's set.

[kmanick]

"Satch Boogie " doesn't rock?

what were you expecting ? Arch Enemy?

G3 is a wank fest, I'm going to the Boston show in April , can't wait , saw the last one with Yngwie and Vai, I like the sound of this line up better.

I wish they would get people like Guthri Govan or Greg Howe on one of these.

(add a little different flavor to the show).

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

I don't know about the show you went to, but Satch and Gilbert have tons of great rock tunes. The lead breaks aren't excessive, and the riffs are memorable.

[Zappa74]

I love Satriani and I had a great time seeing him live a few years back. He put on a hell of a show.

 

The whole G3 thing however, is just too much for me. I just cant get into 3 hours of seriously over-the-top guitar playing... especially during the G3 jam where they take fine songs and then just try to strangle them to death with flashy playing.

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

 

The whole G3 thing however, is just too much for me. I just cant get into 3 hours of seriously over-the-top guitar playing... especially during the G3 jam where they take fine songs and then just try to strangle them to death with flashy playing.

Totally agree. I actually wrote about this in the Guthrie Govan forum recently, about his the 'jams' mainly consist of three guys trading licks ad infinitum. I'm sure it impresses the kids in the audience, but I don't buy it.

 

Of course, shred is why people go to see the whole G3 thing. It's not about creativity, it's mainly a flash thing. Nothing wrong with that, but it gets old.

[kanamvar32]

I went to the show last night at the Orpheum Theatre in LA and I thought it was pretty good overall. I didn't want to go to a concert where people would "rock out" and eventually start a most pit haha. That's what outdoor venues are for There were a couple of boring parts, especially when Petrucci's songs extended for an additional 3 minutes of pure wanking. The Hendrix Jam was probably the best part of the show since all the musicians and audience seemed to enjoy it. Still, I liked the show but I can tell why you didn't enjoy it much.

[heem6]

That's exactly how the group jam went.

 

Paul Gilbert did a good job singing the tunes and brought excitement to them, but they quickly degenerated into "Hey bass player? You keep it going 'cause we're off on our tangent for at least the next 5 minutes now!"

 

"Jumpin Jack Flash" probably SHOULDN'T be stretched out to 8 minutes or longer ....

 

"Circles" is another song that - for the life of me - I can't understand why Joe played that night. Again, not saying it's a bad song, just slow and mellow, then a jam that has nothing to do with the song, back to slow and mellow ... and why would you play that when you want to pump people up?

[n0fx]

I can't stand 3 hours straight of anything including great playing.

It ALL gets boring after an hour or so. PLUS wer'e spoiled, tons and tons

of great talent on "you tube", radio and tv, HCF etc etc.

 

Even the guys who have countless albums and fame,talent and fortune

get critisized here on HCF. "They suck" "Theyr'e done" etc.

 

God forbid ANY one of us would end up playing G3. There are guys

here who can run technical circles around me but I still like the way

I play although I know I will get just as sick of your clips or Paul

Gilberts clips or mine after 3 hours. HAR ! LOL !

 

That's what it be, peace;)

[Ryan Trevisol]

The thing with G3 is, ever since I saw the video of Little Wing, it reinforced that G3 is lame. I actually liked the vid of Little Wing, thought it was awesome. Steve Vai can actually sing, and the three guitar players there (YJM, Vai, Satch) were actually tight. The song wasn't too long, it was familiar, and the display of technical ability was in its place.

 

 

How many songs can you play that are really just disguised scales pretending to be a song?

 

 

That's my whole problem with that genre of music (Vai, Petrucci, Satch, Yngwie, even Jeff Beck). They like to play scales thinly disguised as songs. That's their style. Look at Steve Lukather. Yes, he's a wanker, but he can write good songs that include lyrics and decent vocals. I like a lot of the songs off "luke". But in the context of one of those shows, it's one long pissing contest. I can't stand it.

[Alchemist]

If youre not into prog rock with a lot of solos, why go to G3?

[CGord]

I think a lot of it is lead players can get off on a ballad like singers can. Like For The Love Of God, it's a slowass ballad, but Vai tears it up. A slow tune or two is all fine & good, but they ought to concentrate on the heavier/faster stuff.

 

(I have to say, though, I haven't seen or heard any G3 since the first tour's cd/vhs release.)

 

Let's see a G3 tour of just heavy rhythm guys; give me an evening of Tommy Victor, Scott Ian, & James Hetfield.

[Alchemist]

Let's see a G3 tour of just heavy rhythm guys; give me an evening of Tommy Victor, Scott Ian, & James Hetfield.

 

That would probably sound like the crap you hear 15 year olds play every time you walk into any chain guitar store:idea:

[Zurich17]

I fell asleep at the Fripp/Vai/Satch G3 a few years ago. Not even joking, my friends kept shaking me to wake me up but it was no use.

 

I'm surprised that Gilbert's set was boring, he's my favourite shredder by a long way (only shredder I like, really. I don't mind Satch in small doses but I generally hate shred), but it doesn't surprise me that he was a good frontman, there's something about his musicality that says he knows how to rock.