The Straight presents hard-rock guitar genius Joe Satriani in January

Nothing gets a dedicated rock-guitar freak more psyched up than the announcement of a Joe Satriani concert. Local fans of the brilliant Bay Area instrumentalist can now look to the New Year with renewed enthusiasm as he's scheduled to play the Queen E. Theatre on Friday, January 7.

Satch will be touring behind a new album recorded by Langley's own Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Black Sabbath) and mixed at the Warehouse in Gastown. Scheduled for release on October 5, the 11-track disc is titled Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, which is quite an improvement over the title of his last studio album, 2008's Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock.

Satriani is joined on the new release by longtime drummer Jeff Campitelli, bassist Allen Whitmen from the surf-rock trio the Mermen, and keyboardist Mike Keneally, who is best known as Frank Zappa's former "stunt guitarist". If you think that lineup sounds interesting, you're right.

We here at Ear of Newt are extremely happy that Satriani is heading back to Van, and we're particularly tickled that he isn't coming with his socalled "supergroup", Chickenfoot. Any true Satch fan knows that he's way too gifted and musically adventurous to waste time with that type of mindless crotch-rock.

Tix for the Satriani show are priced at $69.50, $54.50, and $39.50, and go on sale this Friday (September 24) at 10 am at www.livenation.com/.

And hey, if Campitelli really wants to bring his cowbell to the gig, that's okay with us:

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