I remember myself, 16 year old girl, discovering more and more the Rock 'n' Roll, Metal music world, just got my first electric guitar and started practicing my favorite songs. Few years after, while I thought I knew how to play, a friend of mine sent me a video, titled "Michael Angelo Batio- Speed Lives" and said, here's a challenge for you, good luck. First time, I didn't realize what just happened, that can not be right, he's just speeding up the video! For the second time I got curious about how he's flipping his palms up and down against the guitar neck. Astounded and shocked, I picked up my guitar and started to search for exercises to practice on, I had to try to play it.

My curiosity got me through his entire discography, starts with "No Boundaries" to "Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity", which opens with "Stop Complaining", one of the inspirational and mood elevating masterpieces I've ever heard. As I recall people I know we're talking about Michael Angelo Batio as if he's just a cover player and a show off, I wondered if it's true, the reason for that talking is 2 albums that known for most of their content as tributes to other popular Rock and Metal musicians "Hands Without Shadows" and "Hands Without Shadows 2 _ Voices" and in between "2 X Again" which is mostly has previous songs only remixed, had been put in the spotlight as an unoriginal and repeatable musician. So why is he doing that? Because he can! And because he's amazingly good at it. At this point he is far beyond being just unrepeatable but an exceptional musician.

While ProgStage we're cooking their next evil plans! One of the plans was bringing Michael Angelo Batio to Israel. Apparently it's his first time in the holyland and even though you can cross this country in a day, he had barely time to stay and explore it.

Some of the reasons, his flight was late from inside the USA, the show was originally placed in 9th of January, but had to skip to the next day and in a day after he already had to go back to his tour in the USA. Another unplanned change, originally the show should've take place at the "Reading 3 hall TLV", which is a huge place with big stage and eventually the show took place at the "Gagarin Club TLV", small and cosy. But surprises didn't stop there, Michael's pedal effects gear didn't arrive from the airport yet and the show was about to begin.

I like when people crush my expectation in a tiny pieces, and one of them was the moment Michael entered the club, as I expected from the Almighty American Guitar Shredder, Michael Angelo Batio to come with a team of at least 5-8 men to carry his mighty gear and to set up the stage, but no, he entered by himself with a guitar case on his shoulder and a case in his hand, gathered up on the stage 'solo', had a quick sound check and... we're ready to go! By this time, his gear has arrived and the crowd rushed into the club.

The opening show headed by Eugene Berger, a honorable musician, Israeli guitarist. Haven't heard of him before but he did rocked the stage and warmed up the atmosphere pretty good . He reminded me a bit of Satriani and Vai mixture, with his performance live on stage, maybe it's the faces, maybe it's the character, but as I look back through a few days after the show and through my curiosity to dig up the internet and search for his materials, I have to say that Berger definitely has his own very professional style.
 

The crowd started to make exciting noises as Michael Angelo Batio opened the double guitar case, just like Pandora's Box, it literally shines from the inside and you could hear angels choir singing from behind, or maybe, it was the silly crowd. Everybody has just popped out their mobile phones and cameras and started to photograph the amazing creation still laying on its cozy bed.

For those who don't know, the double guitar has a truly left-handed neck and a truly right-handed neck, followed by its signature shaped, "Twin-Necked V-Shaped Guitar" you might get surprised to know that it comes actually with left and right guitar pieces attached together, they're also work separately electronics as two individual guitars.
 

While Michael was setting up the double guitar, The mysterious pandora box was lying backwards to most of the people and it got a lot of tension in the crowd. As soon "Michael" finished to set the double guitar, he turned the case toward the crowd and put the guitar on the case shining, glittering like a trophy.

"So everybody here know english, right?" said Michael Angelo Batio with a few opening words and greetings, he took his 'MAB1 – Speed Of Light' guitar, which is amazing, assume the shred position and started to shred his first song. Promised by himself MAB1 series is the perfect guitar for shredding, by it's neck structure and fret design. From the individual point of view, it might be controversial, because everybody has its own taste and feeling of comfort while playing, but I'm willing to try and play this baby one day and figure out how perfect it is by myself.
 

Michael Angelo Batio got us through his own creations, from the classics such as "Rain Forest" and the famous "No Boundaries"to the latest from the "Intermezzo" album. Michael Angelo Batio had a loaded set list with covers to other songs, as he calls it, tributes. these tributes come to pass not only because he can and want, but also every tribute has it's own story and reason and most of them are funny as hell. Quickly I came to realize that Michael Angelo Batio have a good sense of humor and the crowd gets not only hypnotized by his super fast fingers but also highly entertained by his humor and stories.
 

One of the stories touched, I believe not only my heart but everybody in the audience, is the story about how Michael Angelo Batio met Dimebag Darrell and why he decided to dedicate a playing set tribute for "PANTERA", as he finished the story he performed "Cemetary Gates" and "Cowboys From Hell". This amazing ability to sweep the audience away only with a guitar, without any other leads besides a playback charmed me, it reminds me a true classical meaning of music, to express feelings and emotions through tunes and not only by words.
 

About 90 percent of the show was entirely solo, only Michael Angelo Batio and no backing up players. Toward the ending part, Michael picked up his shining double neck guitar and rocked the stage with an extraordinary show like no other. He swept through the necks simultaneously and separately. He lifted slowly the 7 kilos of death to the air, above his head while tapping on it; it was jaw dropping and eye popping experience.
 

This part of the show had its closure feeling, but the show wasn't over yet. For the dessert they had couple of last songs with Shaked Furman - Drums and Or Lubianiker - Bass Guitar, both are very talented and known musicians in Israel, they'd made a highly professional and energetic performance with Michael.
 

When the show was over, Michael gladly accepted to make an autograph session backstage. I discovered another amazing thing, this person, had an astonishing career, and still has it, a huge rockstar! Great, world wide known musician, standing as a humble man, in front of lined up people looking excited more than they are, with a huge smile he agreed to sign CDs, guitars and gladly photographed. Happily answering to all the questions people ask him, with precise details while expansion the subject giving as much information as he can, pulling out a bag of picks and giving them out as candies for children.

After almost a day of flight delay and the 12 hours flight to Israel, this person bringing out a great, clean, professional and outstandingly amazing show, and still have the shining warm energy towards his fans on stage and also on the back stage, truly amazed me. Me, myself had a mission to interview him but people already tired him up with tons of questions and I didn't want to add more, I had a great honor ho just shake his hand and thank him to come to our small country. Although people asked him repeatable questions and a lot of them, I stoked my head with even more questions I want to ask Michael Angelo Batio and maybe I'll have a chance in the future to do so.