Review by Wanda De Verelle-Hill
Steve Vai’s recent tour of Australia concluded in Brisbane’s QPAC Concert Hall last Tuesday night to a standing ovation from an extremely satisfied audience. Three hours of musical mastery from one of the great gods of guitar was well and truly loved by those who attended. Vai’s mind and body meld with his collection of guitars was witnessed by all as he moved his hands effortlessly over the strings showcasing every technique, idea and tangent possible with his instruments. At times he seemed to dance with his guitar, not limited to just his hands Steve used movement, his hips, breath, and even tongue to create magical sounds.
He took the audience on a wild and limitless adventure with extreme melodies and musical expression not bound by any particular genre, but exploring many of them simultaneously. His compositions were mind-bending to listen to. His speed and precision, an absolute joy to watch.
Vai’s well chosen band members all brought their own special touches to the show. Drummer Jeremy Colson’s strong style that can thrash hard, rock solid or samba down street made me wish I wasn’t locked into the very civilised concert hall seating arrangement. Phillip Bynoe earthed the evening with bass grooves that never lost pace with even the highest speed guitar. Dave Weiner, the butt of one of Vai’s many cheesy jokes is an acoustic guitar virtuoso. And the 18 year old keyboard player Michael Arromon demonstrated why he was chosen for the tour with a solo that managed to be humorous, serious, overly technical yet very entertaining. Together they provided the perfect platform for Steve to fly his sound high into the concert hall ceiling.
The set list consisted of many instrumental tracks from Vai’s 1990 album Passion and Warfare as well newer creations from his eighth studio album The Story of Light released last year. Steve played each track with the same fresh enthusiasm you would expect to see when someone is first discovering and figuring out an inspiring riff on their own with no one watching. His warm and generous personality was evident in the way he interacted with his band and included the audience in the show.
Vai’s taste for glam and humour was best expressed in the fourth costume change of the night. After an epic drum solo from Jeremy, Steve entered an unlit stage wearing a light and laser outfit that flashed, ran chase patterns and cast multi pointed lasers from his fingers into the crowd. Every movement created a sci-fi effect, literally embodying the Story of Light… taking glam rock to a new level.
Its like Steve has his own language for the guitar revealed in his mouth movements that accompany his hand movements and every sound emanating from his guitar. In a rare track including vocals Steve gave voice to this language in sounds that remind me of Bols, a language used by classical Indian music teachers to teach Tabla drum playing. Many aspiring guitarists in the audience would have come away with new ideas and dreams of reaching the same level of ease with their guitar as Steve demonstrated throughout the night.
After 33 years of touring with musicians such as Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth and Joe Satriani, Steve does not show any signs of loosing interesting in breaking new ground with sound or sharing his talent with the world. While listening to his solo albums can be quite odd at times, the concepts make total sense when you see him live. Steve Vai is best served live and if you missed him this time make sure you make the effort next time for few people in the world will ever have the musical and technical mastery of this man. He is a phenomenon that will blow your mind, enliven you spirit and remind you that having a sense of humour is perhaps the greatest asset you can have no matter what you do in life.
http://www.vai.com/
http://www.daveweiner.com/
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