Steve Vai 

Live reviews

• Steve Vai

  Steve Vai’s adept skills at playing carefully, crafted scales on the guitar at rapid speeds and using intricate techniques to perform his methods truly puts him in a league of his own in the world of guitar virtuosos. It is no joke that Steve Vai is a master at his instrument able to play various styles of music, having toured with the likes of Frank Zappa, Public Image Ltd., David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake. He has also been recognized by critics for his great works, having already won three Grammy awards. He has regularly toured with the G3 concert tour, which is a musical showcase designed by his contemporary, Joe Satriani, in which Joe Satriani and two other well renowned and talented guitarists perform their music individually as well as in a group.

  During live performances Steve Vai is usually backed by musicians that are recognized as the best on their instruments. He often engages in guitar duels during his performances where various members of his band playfully take turns soloing on either the bass or the guitar to see who can perform the best. It is no doubt that Steve Vai wins every time. One of the most interesting parts of a Steve Vai show is all of the different types of guitars he plays throughout the performance. During some parts of the show he plays a triple-neck guitar, where he performs on multiple necks at the same time. Steve Vai often plays in a quirky, angular style and often incorporates bizarre rhythms into his music. Steve Vai also has a very captivating stage presence, wearing bizarre clothing such as black robes and having blasts of wind blow at him while on stage, which lets his hair look like it is blowing in the wind while shredding on his guitar.

  Steve Vai remains at the top of his class for a reason. A chance to see him live should not be missed to let him prove his talents with his lightening fast guitar shredding, and high-energy performance.

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  by wjmcc

• good day ! generation axe in toronto at maseyhall may 4 2016 is a mixed review for me.this 3 hour set is a little too too much of the same sounding guitar solos, but then again that is what you bought your ticket for right" maybe not.this rhythm section is far from good.playing one or 2 note bass lines being used most of the nite were simple jams going on for ever and ever with little or no melodic tone changes to match the lead solo changes..then to make things worse the bass lines were usually and quite simply out of tune with the rip roaring guitar solos making the entire jam sets sound disonent and are musically out of tune most of the night!also cover songs were almost unrecognizable due to guitars and bass/keys as well playing out of key each other and with the actual song progressions.none the less all steve vai sets were great and in key with the band. he was extremly happy on stage and totally makes up for this bands tour.vai had so much fun and it was a pleasure to watch him having such a blast on stage playing with so much confidence,is truly not to be missed this time around. 5 thumbs up for steve vai 4 thumbs up for the other guitar gods and 5 thumbs down for the tacky rhythm section.p,s, there was no stanley clark or edger winter etc. as stated on the tour web site at the toronto gig.

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  by helsinki-

• I have seen many excellent guitarists live, but whilst my favourite ones (Slash, Clapton) base their playing on blues licks, Steve Vai's sheer technical ability blew me away. I really haven't seen anything quite like it. On that front there is no one better, not even Joe Satriani or Eddie Van Halen. And it's still infused with emotion.

  This is no longer a rock concert, but a magic show, a piece of performance art. The sounds he conjures out of his guitar are out of this world, in fact, sometimes not dissimilar to Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, whilst within the context of his songs, it still makes complete sense. You see his fingers move, but it's entirely unclear how he gets his guitar to do what it does. At the same time, the music is funky, heavy and beautiful at the same time.

  Plus, it's great fun. There is a great rapport with his audience and he gets some of them on stage to 'compose' a song with him and his exceptional band on the spot.

  His most famous album, Passion and Warfare, which he played in its entirety, is one of the most iconic instrumental guitar albums ever. If you like melodic guitar music and are interested in seeing a real musician at the top of his game, go and see him. You won't be disappointed.

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  by erik-smit-1

• Saw the Wednesday show in Ottawa. The venue was the theatre at Algonquin. Great venue for shows like this.

  Overall show was 7.5 out of 10. Loved the simplicity of it all. Also enjoyed the latest guys & the use of the film screen. Although some parts were over scripted in the fake dialogue with Satriani for example.

  The main reason why I didn't rate it higher though was the sound mix was off for the first half. The bass was way to high. It was crunching & taking away from the other guitarists with the bass dominance.

  They fixed it for the second half and my head & ears were able to enjoy the show properly. Not sure why it took an entire first half to turn it down though.

  Steve comes through as an approachable down to earth yet fully L.A style of person. Just doing what he loves in nice small venues like the 800 or so that the venue held that night.

  Overall,I love these types of shows. Intimate & close to the artist. If the sound had been better from the start I would of rated it 8.5.

  Must add that I loved that Zappa part big time.

  Also must add that a couple people commented that it was the most women they had ever seen at a Vai concert. Lol.

  Thanks Steve!

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  by mondavino

• Sometimes when watching guitarist Steve Vai perform live you have moments of almost coming out of your body and looking at the situation whilst thinking 'how can a human really play an instrument that fast and that precise?!'. The reason you feel as though you are almost beside yourself is when you are actually within the venue, your whole attention is solely focused on the man and his guitar.

  There is slight feelings of tension occasionally as when he plays to such speeds you imagine he is likely to make a mistake at any moment. However those who know the New Yorker's live show well will know there is more chance of the pope turning up to cover Dolly Parton than Steve actually missing a note all evening. Along with expert instrumental skill, the man also demonstrates the very finest selection of his long discography that currently stands at eight studio albums. 'Treasure Island' and new track 'Gravity Storm' are personal favourites whilst the whole room seems to be in universal agreement 'For the Love of God' from 'Passion & Warfare' is the best performance of the night.

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  by sean-ward

• Mycket bra spelning med 25 års jubileum av albumet: "Passion and Warfare"!

  Alltid speciella spelningar i Stockholm, mycket beroende på Steves kopplingar till Sverige och särskilt Stockholm då hans fru Pia Vai har svenska föräldrar från just Stockholm...

  Om man ska klanka på något tycker jag att ljudet var ganska grötit, tror det mest berodde på mixningen av bas och kompgitarren som tyvärr smetade ihop sig och drog ned Steves ljud, inte hela konserten men allt för ofta!

  Dock en lyckad kväll totalt sett, längtar redan till nästa spelning i Svedala :-)

  // Janne

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  by JTPFZ

• I've seen Steve Vai on 7 ocassions now and this gig was the best of the lot.

  Passion and warfare is Steve's best album so hearing the full album live was special.

  His banter and audience participation is also a nice break to an instrumental set and also the addition of the big screen with appearences from Joe Satriani and Co was certainly different.

  All in all the gig was mind blowing with Steve and the band at there very best. 10/10, it was faultless.

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  by GTDave

• Having seen Vai before I knew what to expect, I enjoyed this show above all others, the video jams were great, and the zappa song was heavy. Also the entire CD was performed (Passion & Warfare) incredible. Highly recomended.

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  by Kdisc

• Amazing opening. Superb end. Whatever happened in between was very Stevish. His interactions with crowd was fun. Promising crowd an amazing show is one thing, delivering more than that is another. He is one of the best.

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  by indra-dutt

• Excellent show, even if having the audience participate in building a song failed pretty horribly :-)

  Hearing Passion and Warfare performer was just perfect, and Mr. Vai himself is a master of showmanship.

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  by janjaf