The Reno show was REALLY good. The only real downside was that it was one of the loudest shows I have ever been to, and the kick drum out loud volume had a tendency to cause the guitars to overdistort and blur together, so the mix sounded VERY muddy at times. Phil Collen had the best mix. JP's was very muddy at first, but got better through his set. Satch's mix was a mess, honestly. I couldn't hear his backup guitarist at all most of the time, and there were plenty of times I couldn't even tell what Joe was playing. And that is even with ear plugs to deaden the volume a bit (and thank goodness I had them--it would have literally been painful if I hadn't had them).
Phil Collen's set was surprisingly good. His band has a CD that is going to be released. JP had an advance copy Phil gave him, which he showed me. Phil's band was really fun and talented. I enjoyed his set more than I thought I would.
JP's set was tight, and had a good selection. It started off pretty dark and heavy, which was a nice contrast to the other two sets. The Wonder Woman instrumental to start it off was really cool. He was pretty proud of that one. He told me afterward that when he saw the film, the soundtrack and score immediately jumped out to him, and he thought to himself that he just HAD TO take that main them and do a heavy guitar version of it, which is what led to him working it up for G3. Interestingly, Glasgow Kiss has probably been my least favorite from Suspended Animation, but I really enjoyed it here.
Satch was Satch. I enjoyed it for what it was. But honestly, I was just waiting for the jam. And, man, the jam was REALLY fun. I loved the selections. And using the singer from Phil's group was perfect and really made them feel like complete songs rather than just a familiar backing track for these guys to solo over. That really gave it a different vibe from past G3 jams, and it was a welcome change.