Vanzilla's Vai Live Review

[vanzilla]

Just got back from the Steve Vai show. Should've left sooner. For the record, I've always been a big Vai fan. The work he did on EEAS was classic. Skyscraper had it's moments. Dug Passion And Warfare, Fire Garden, Flex-able.

To set the scene, the venue he was playing is The Cannery in Nashville, TN. They just reopened this place - and to anyone thinking of seeing a show there, do yourself a favor and avoid it at all cost. The way they arranged this room is ridiculous. Picture if you will a giant bowling lane. Now, the bar is where the gutter would be. You would think they would put the stage where the pins would be, right? Wrong! They put the stage right beside the fucking bar. So it's damn impossible to get a good view.

So right out of the gate, it's hard to enjoy anyone who plays there because of the set up. With that said - a cat named Eric Sardinas opened up for Vai. Eric is a blues dude that plays the dobro with a slide. This motherfucker rocks! He gets it. Had a great sound, incredible stage presence, knew how to work the crowd. Bought the CD and the T-shirt after the show. Got to meet him at the merch booth and couldn't have been nicer. No ego whatsoever. Signed the CD and thanked me for being a fan. If you ever get to see this cat live DO IT. You will not be sorry.

So after an incredible opening act, I was jazzed to check out Steve. After all, this guy is - next to Ed Van Halen - the reason I picked up a guitar. Funky stage lights come on - a hip hop-esque drum loop kicks in - and BAM - Steve comes on stage playing some bad ass solo. This goes on for about 10 minutes. Suddenly, the adrenaline boost I had before the show just took a nose dive.

4 songs in - I'm thinking to myself "Okay Steve, we know you can play a lot of notes really fast - now could you put them together into some sort of structure please. I mean - the guy's great, but he just gets up there and masturbates. And after 40 or so minutes of that, I can't take it.

Head to the bar, bust open a Red Bull thinking maybe I'm just tired. 3 Red Bulls later I'm 10 feet away from the stage. Yes - an hour after he took the stage, nearly half the crowd bolted. What's funny is - I ran into an old buddy of mine at the bar. He said "Ya know, if this was anybody but Steve - this room would be empty, and the people that didn't leave would be throwing shit at the stage."

Anyway - 10 feet from the stage - midway through Sheehan's bass solo that was about 15 minutes too long. Steve comes back out and does some more oriental alien zen new age bullshit. I'm thinking - You know, some Cross Roads would be nice right now. What about Shy Boy? The Attitude Song? Fuck, I don't care play some shit off of that horrible Whitesnake album you made. Anything but this shit.

No luck. More of the same - "Hey everybody, I'm Steve Vai - and I'm going to masturbate for the next 2 and a half hours.":blow: Dude, this guy wacks it more than Michael Jackson at a Chuck E. Cheese.:splooge:

Clock strikes midnight and I'm outta there. But wait van, you can't leave now, there's 45 minutes left.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Do I wish I could play guitar like Steve? Of course.

Do I wish I could get the 3 hours of my life back that I wasted at this concert: Of course.

Final Grade D-

Steve, remember back in 86 when you conquered the world with Roth? Do yourself a favor and revisit those days. Sometimes less is more Steve. Sometimes less is more.

[loss of fools]

good review mate. sorry to hear the show was crap. oh and 5 stars for the review.

[Mr Badguy]

Yeah, that review was cool.

Unlike Steve Vai.

[Hardrock69]

I was there for awhile.

Steve began his set shortly before 10. By 11 I was headed for the parking lot.

I agree with the above review. After 30 minutes I began to look at my watch. I was getting really bored. Not only that, but the PA sucked.

Part of it I think was that the crowd was absorbing a lot of the sound.
I would say there were 800-1000 people there (at the beginning anyway).

Needless to say, I was kinda disappointed. But then, I realized on the drive home that I had felt the same way on the G3 Tour last year, though to a lesser extent, as Steve was playing a shorter set.

I have come to the realization that I do not need to see Steve Vai in concert again (as a solo act anyway). What can he do for me that he has not done already musicianship-wise?

At G3 last year it was Yngwie Malmsteen who kicked everyone's ass. He was up first, then came Steve, which dropped the energy level somewhat, then Joe Satriani came out, and dropped the energy level even further. I would have left, if not for the end-of-show jam with all three guys, as well as Neal Schon AND Nashville guitar-great Johnny Highland (who by the way was at the show last night WITH his guitar).

I figured Johnny might get up and jam with Steve later on as an encore, but I was just too bored to hang around.

I said fuck it and went home.

If you are a die-hard Steve Vai/Billy Sheehan/Tony McAlpine fan, then see the show when they come to your town. Even if you are a fan, the set is boring.

If watching some guys play a million-notes-per-second bores you, stay away.

It gets old REAL fast.

:cool:

[Hardrock69]

Oh, and I am glad the Cannery Ballroom is open again, despite the layout. The room has been set up that way for at least 10 years, but it was closed down for the past 5-7 years or so.

That is now the only venue where small rock shows for 800-1200 people can be held, as the old 328 Performance Hall is now a bare lot with a bunch of weeds growing in it...and the Exit/Inn capacity is not even close to that size....

[vanzilla]

Originally posted by Hardrock69
Oh, and I am glad the Cannery Ballroom is open again, despite the layout. The room has been set up that way for at least 10 years, but it was closed down for the past 5-7 years or so.

That is now the only venue where small rock shows for 800-1200 people can be held, as the old 328 Performance Hall is now a bare lot with a bunch of weeds growing in it...and the Exit/Inn capacity is not even close to that size....

Yeh, it's cool to have something now that 328 is no longer in the picture. But I wish they would've made a more fan friendly layout. Big Fan of Mercy Lounge though!

[Hardrock69]

Yup!
:D

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by vanzilla
Just got back from the Steve Vai show. Should've left sooner. For the record, I've always been a big Vai fan. The work he did on EEAS was classic. Skyscraper had it's moments. Dug Passion And Warfare, Fire Garden, Flex-able.

To set the scene, the venue he was playing is The Cannery in Nashville, TN. They just reopened this place - and to anyone thinking of seeing a show there, do yourself a favor and avoid it at all cost. The way they arranged this room is ridiculous. Picture if you will a giant bowling lane. Now, the bar is where the gutter would be. You would think they would put the stage where the pins would be, right? Wrong! They put the stage right beside the fucking bar. So it's damn impossible to get a good view.

So right out of the gate, it's hard to enjoy anyone who plays there because of the set up. With that said - a cat named Eric Sardinas opened up for Vai. Eric is a blues dude that plays the dobro with a slide. This motherfucker rocks! He gets it. Had a great sound, incredible stage presence, knew how to work the crowd. Bought the CD and the T-shirt after the show. Got to meet him at the merch booth and couldn't have been nicer. No ego whatsoever. Signed the CD and thanked me for being a fan. If you ever get to see this cat live DO IT. You will not be sorry.

So after an incredible opening act, I was jazzed to check out Steve. After all, this guy is - next to Ed Van Halen - the reason I picked up a guitar. Funky stage lights come on - a hip hop-esque drum loop kicks in - and BAM - Steve comes on stage playing some bad ass solo. This goes on for about 10 minutes. Suddenly, the adrenaline boost I had before the show just took a nose dive.

4 songs in - I'm thinking to myself "Okay Steve, we know you can play a lot of notes really fast - now could you put them together into some sort of structure please. I mean - the guy's great, but he just gets up there and masturbates. And after 40 or so minutes of that, I can't take it.

Head to the bar, bust open a Red Bull thinking maybe I'm just tired. 3 Red Bulls later I'm 10 feet away from the stage. Yes - an hour after he took the stage, nearly half the crowd bolted. What's funny is - I ran into an old buddy of mine at the bar. He said "Ya know, if this was anybody but Steve - this room would be empty, and the people that didn't leave would be throwing shit at the stage."

Anyway - 10 feet from the stage - midway through Sheehan's bass solo that was about 15 minutes too long. Steve comes back out and does some more oriental alien zen new age bullshit. I'm thinking - You know, some Cross Roads would be nice right now. What about Shy Boy? The Attitude Song? Fuck, I don't care play some shit off of that horrible Whitesnake album you made. Anything but this shit.

No luck. More of the same - "Hey everybody, I'm Steve Vai - and I'm going to masturbate for the next 2 and a half hours.":blow: Dude, this guy wacks it more than Michael Jackson at a Chuck E. Cheese.:splooge:

Clock strikes midnight and I'm outta there. But wait van, you can't leave now, there's 45 minutes left.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Do I wish I could play guitar like Steve? Of course.

Do I wish I could get the 3 hours of my life back that I wasted at this concert: Of course.

Final Grade D-

Steve, remember back in 86 when you conquered the world with Roth? Do yourself a favor and revisit those days. Sometimes less is more Steve. Sometimes less is more.

Great review.

It just completely confirms my reasons for never going to see him.

Like you I'm a fan of his stuff with Roth, Passion and Warfare and I also liked half of the Sex and Religion CD but the way you describe the gig is exactly how I imagined it.

Plus I would have to go alone because I don't know anyone that would want to sit through that...:)

Were there any girls there?:)

I also worry about being in the GuitarNerd demographic. I think I would have to wear a false beard and spectacles as a disguise in case I met anyone on the way to the gig...:)

The only way I would go see Vai would be if it was in a Brat Pack style setting where I was at a table with waitress service and I could chat with my pals while every so often look over and be impressed.

Cheers!

:gulp:

[monkeythe]

Thanks for the review and saving me a few hours of my life. I was just wondering about his setlist and if it included the crap of the new album.
I think Steve has gone off the deep end and needs to stop his Real Illusion trilogy.

[vanzilla]

Originally posted by Seshmeister
Great review.

It just completely confirms my reasons for never going to see him.

Like you I'm a fan of his stuff with Roth, Passion and Warfare and I also liked half of the Sex and Religion CD but the way you describe the gig is exactly how I imagined it.

Plus I would have to go alone because I don't know anyone that would want to sit through that...:)

Were there any girls there?:)

I also worry about being in the GuitarNerd demographic. I think I would have to wear a false beard and spectacles as a disguise in case I met anyone on the way to the gig...:)

The only way I would go see Vai would be if it was in a Brat Pack style setting where I was at a table with waitress service and I could chat with my pals while every so often look over and be impressed.

Cheers!

:gulp:

Actually, there were a surprising number of girls there. None you would want to take home though. And as always, the guitar nerd herd was out in full force.

[Hardrock69]

Actually I saw some real hotties there!!!

:)

[bueno bob]

Sorry it was such a crap time...man, with such an incredible band (Sheehan and MacAlpine), it should have been a LOT better.

Agreed, though, Malmsteen was the REAL showcase of G3!

[DLR_EngineRoom]

Originally posted by vanzilla
Suddenly, the adrenaline boost I had before the show just took a nose dive.

4 songs in - I'm thinking to myself "Okay Steve, we know you can play a lot of notes really fast - now could you put them together into some sort of structure please. I mean - the guy's great, but he just gets up there and masturbates. And after 40 or so minutes of that, I can't take it.

Steve does some more oriental alien zen new age bullshit. I'm thinking - You know, some Cross Roads would be nice right now. What about Shy Boy? The Attitude Song? Fuck, I don't care play some shit off of that horrible Whitesnake album you made. Anything but this shit.

No luck. More of the same - "Hey everybody, I'm Steve Vai - and I'm going to masturbate for the next 2 and a half hours.":blow: Dude, this guy wacks it more than Michael Jackson at a Chuck E. Cheese.:splooge:

Steve, remember back in 86 when you conquered the world with Roth? Do yourself a favor and revisit those days. Sometimes less is more Steve. Sometimes less is more.

Dave himself said in an interview last year that the reason he broke off with Steve was because of 'Widdley-Widdley'...there was no structure in his solos, and Dave said he needs structure to form songs...

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by vanzilla

Dude, this guy wacks it more than Michael Jackson at a Chuck E. Cheese.:splooge:



:D

[JBall008]

I just picked it up (after reading reviews here and elsewhere, I got it used on eBay), and haven't listened to the whole thing yet.

As always, Steve plays some amazing shit, and as always, he plays some of the weirdest shit. I really am tired of his attempts at vocals (worse than Satch). Just plug the Floral pattern Jem into the Eventide Harmonizer and weedly deedly!

Just previewing it sounds like a lot of melodies I've heard on "Ultra Zone" and some of the others.

Disappointing so far...