Considering he’s a guitarist who’s just a tad accomplished, Steve Vai doesn’t need any special gadgets or concoctions to draw attention to himself in concert.
But that’s the operative word: need.
Vai loves to play with toys, especially of the expensive and six-string electrical variety. His latest gadget — which might appear to some as if it came from a guitarist’s junkyard at the same time the instrument’s enthusiasts would classify it as a thing of beauty — simply added to his legacy and was on display last Sunday night during a 2-hour, 10-minute sans opening act performance at the Aztec Theatre. In support of Jan. 28 release Inviolate, Vai broke out his three-fretboard (acoustic, electric and bass) Hydra for new track “Teeth of the Hydra” (ATM footage below).
If only Vai had three hands to play each fret simultaneously.
It’s always a challenge for an instrumentalist to captivate an audience’s attention for an entire show, but the veteran musician made it look easy. Which came as no surprise.
After all, Vai began his recording career in 1980 with Frank Zappa. He’s won three Grammy Awards and released 10 studio solo albums. He appeared in the 1986 movie “Crossroads” with Ralph Macchio. And of course, there’s that whole David Lee Roth and Whitesnake thing.
Vai focuses strictly on his solo career on tour, and his bandmates not only help him do that, but they each get to enjoy a brief solo of their own time in the spotlight. Guitarist Dave Weiner, bassist Phlip Bynoe and drummer Jeremy Colson brought the rhythm, the rock and the “Greenish Blues” (ATM footage below) to the Aztec while Vai periodically interspersed dialogue with the appreciative two-level crowd. Watch him in further action via ATM Facebook Live footage of “Tender Surrender” and “Whispering A Prayer” and “Dyin’ Day.”
Vai at one point explained that he had to move his entire North American tour to the fall after injuring a shoulder while yanking some tough dough from his pizza oven while cooking for former Roth bandmates Billy Sheehan and Gregg Bissonette — a mishap that required surgery.
As if his virtuoso guitar playing and occasional story telling weren’t entertaining enough, Vai delivered variety to his show in other ways.
Prior to popular Passion and Warfare track “For the Love of God,” Vai forewarned he was about to oversee “something a little different.” He brought out a member of his European tour crew, a man named Dani G., who serves as Vai’s video editor but is also a chef, mixed martial arts fighter and opera singer. With that, Dani G. provided the only vocal accompaniment of the evening, opera style — and did so while wearing a Gojira shirt (ATM Facebook Live footage here).
On finale “Taurus Bulba,” Vai made the evening one not to forget for a young boy, bringing him on stage to jam on one of his many conventional guitars (see 25-picture photo gallery below). After he and his band acknowledged the final round of applause, Vai ended up posing for pics and signing autographs outside the Aztec, thereby making the night memorable for plenty of adults as well.
Variety. Multi-talented. Mega-accomplished.
Simply Vai.
