Joe Satriani @ Chicago Theater, December 19
On Sunday, Joe Satriani and his band rolled through the pristine Chicago Theatre on their 2010 Wormhole tour. Treating the attentive audience to nearly two hours of practically uninterrupted shredding, Joe and the band powered through material spanning the legendary guitarist’s whole career.

From the ’80s classics like Ice 9 and Always with Me, Always with You (the latter of which could have been on the Top Gun soundtrack) through material off his latest album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, the band was tight and well-rehearsed, flawlessly executing Satriani’s (mostly) instrumental arena-shred stylings.
Joining Joe on keyboards on the new record as well as this tour was the incomparable Mike Keneally. One of the best contemporary guitarists on the planet in his own right, you would have never known it by the apparent ease with which Keneally moved around the ivories. Mike added deep textures, as well as furious synth and Rhodes lines – perfectly both complementing and going toe-to-toe with Satriani’s explosive, arpeggio-laden melodies.
READ ON for more photos and thoughts from Joel…