The G3 tour featuring Phil Collen of Def Leppard, John Petrucci of Dream Theater, and Joe Satriani made a stop in the nation’s capital for a Valentines Day show at the Warner Theater. A crowd of over 1900 came out to see the trio perform individual sets and close out the night with the three guitarist taking the stage together for a three song jam to close the evening out.
Since its inception back in 1995 the G3 tour has brought the best guitarists from around the globe together on one stage, and this year’s tour is no exception with Petrucci, and Collen joining Satriani on this year’s tour.
Phil Collen was first to take to the stage with his blues project, Delta Deep. The band consisted of Debbie Blackwell-Cook on vocals, Forrest Robinson on drums, Craig Martini on bass, and of course Phil Collen on guitar. The set consisted of mostly Delta Deep songs with a Deep Purple and Billy Cobham cover thrown into the mix.
Up next was Dream Theater’s John Petrucci with Dave LaRue on bass, and fellow Dream Theater band mate Mike Mangini on drums. Petrucci played the unrecorded song, “Glass-Eyed Zombies” as part of his six song set. Much of Petrucci’s set featured songs from his solo album, Suspended Animation.
Finishing up the night was guitar legend Joe Satriani who took the stage with his chrome colored guitar and put on a guitar clinic for the packed house. Taking the stage with Satriani were Mike Keneally on guitars, Bryan Beller on bass, and Joe Travers on drums. Satriani played an 11 song set that also featured a drum solo by Joe Travers. Satriani recently released his latest album, What Happens Next and the set was filled with songs from the new album with six tracks making the night’s setlist.
At the end of Joe Satriani’s set Phil Collen and John Petrucci both came back out for an encore jam featuring the three guitarists. The jam consisted of the three trading guitar solos over the course of the three song jam that consisted of “Highway Star,” “Superstition,” and “Going Down.”
The G3 tour will head to Europe next with Uli Jon Roth joining John Petrucci and Joe Satriani for a six week run that will go from March 16th thru April 30th.
Phil Collen Setlist:
Quadrant 4 (Billy Cobham cover)
Yo 2 Joe
Bless These Blues (Delta Deep song)
Burnt Sally (Delta Deep song)
Mistreated (Deep Purple cover)
Down in the Delta (Delta Deep song)
John Petrucci Setlist:
Wrath of the Amazons
Jaws of Life
The Happy Song
Damage Control
Glassy-Eyed Zombies
Glasgow Kiss
Joe Satriani Setlist:
Energy
Catbot
Satch Boogie
Cherry Blossoms
Thunder High on the Mountain
Super Funky Badass
Cataclysmic
Headrush
Circles
Always With Me, Always With You
Drum Solo
Summer Song
G3 Jam:
Highway Star (Deep Purple cover) (With John Petrucci, Phil Collen & Debbie Blackwell-Cook)
Superstition (Stevie Wonder cover) (With John Petrucci, Phil Collen & Debbie Blackwell-Cook)
Going Down (The Alabama State Troupers cover) (With John Petrucci, Phil Collen & Debbie Blackwell-Cook)
