Joe Satriani and Steve Vai Shred Via Austin: Exclusive Photographs

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai’s current Satch / Vai Tour is technically a pairing of teacher and college student — but all through their Friday common overall performance at Austin’s ACL Reside, equally guitarists shown this sort of a jaw-dropping mastery of their instrument that the distinction felt irrelevant.

You can see UCR’s distinctive photographs from the efficiency down beneath.

Vai pointed out all via his opening common overall performance that he had been waiting about for this tour for 52 yrs. The 63-12 months-old virtuoso started obtaining guitar lessons from Satriani when he was barely a teen, and his personal genius quickly emerged — so promptly, in actuality, that Satriani afterwards joked all via the duo’s clearly show-closing jam that he taught Vai all incorrect as an act of self-preservation.

Go via Far much more: Joe Satriani and Steve Vai Have ‘Crazy Ideas’ for Forthcoming Album: Interview

Not that Satriani had just about something to be concerned about. For just one particular, he and Vai occupy totally different lanes on the shred-guitar freeway. Vai’s tunes is much more esoteric and progressive, and he carried out with an alien-like fluidity and grace befitting of an artist with an EP named Alien Appreciate Tricks. Satriani, in the meantime, hews closer to meat-and-potatoes difficult rock, favoring a extra organic and all-natural, old-university aesthetic. (In that regard, he is uncovered an wonderful musical sparring lover in touring drummer Kenny Aronoff.) But he can nonetheless provide lightning-quickly legato operates and skyscraping whammy-bar squeals with the finest of ’em. Satriani was the photo of exciting onstage in Austin, his searing fretwork and consummate showmanship making this writer even extra enthusiastic for his forthcoming tour with Sammy Hagar.

Each guitar heroes shut out the evening time by accomplishing their new collaborative solitary, “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1,” and trading solos on extended jams of “You Basically Received Me” and “Enter Sandman.” (Each covers had exclusive value for Satriani, as he incorporated portion of Eddie Van Halen’s solo on the former and paid out tribute to but yet another prior scholar, Kirk Hammett, on the latter.) 3 numerous hours of guitar histrionics is not for the faint of heart, but for the shred-heads in attendance, it was a thrill to bask in the talent of two masters at operate.