At the end of the night, if you feel like you haven't made that connection with the audience, does it wear on you?
Yeah, I mean you start thinking immediately, tomorrow night I'm going to make that connection.
Kind of pushing yourself?
Yep.
Joe, I know this is a busy time for you and I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. As always, it's been great. I look forward to seeing you hit the stage in a couple of hours.
Hey, thank you.
If you've ever seen a Joe Satriani concert then you know that Atlanta was a night to remember. The set list was definitely unusual (in a good way), mixing old and new and showcasing the band as a whole as well as the individual talents that Joe has put together. This was no surprise, because Joe just doesn' t do bad shows. The most surprising thing to me was the crowd. I saw a couple of younger kids, probably around 12 or 13, with stars in their eyes as they watched their guitar hero perform. There were plenty of 20-somethings and 30-somethings present as well, and even some 40 and 50+ folks there. Not your usual concert crowd at all. Most shows just don't attract such a wide variety of age groups. The folks there weren't your average "pushing and shoving" type of group either. I think the truest highlight of the night, for me, was seeing a dad (probably around 50 or 55) with his son, who was in his 30's and mentally disabled as they tried to get close to the stage for just one song. I stood there and watched this crowd actually let them through. That says a lot about Joe's fans .... unusual and amazing, just like the man himself.
Speaking of Joe's fans - I want to say a very special thank you to Rodolfo Alvarado. Rodolfo was at the Atlanta show and he has licensed some of the photos he took to us for this piece. A "new guy working at the photo lab" error caused my entire role of film to be damaged. Thanks again Rodolfo!
