Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
The advent of social media throws out many quandaries, one of which would be that there is seemingly very little mystery surrounding music idols anymore. With one click, you can find out what your favorite performer had for breakfast that morning, what they thought of Top Gun: Maverick, or if you follow Steve Van Zandt on Twitter (highly recommended), you learn a whole new way of cursing as well as how to deal with online trolls. Imagine if Facebook or Twitter was around during those infamous American tours from Led Zeppelin, you would see #LedZeppelin trending and wonder what the hell they had done now? The flip side of losing the mystery about A-listers on the Rock spectrum is that sometimes we all get a glimpse of what goes on behind the curtain and the joy that playing music brings to said A-listers. For the last month or so, Steve Vai’s Facebook page has been the go-to place to witness firsthand just how giddy a musician can get about the thought of getting back to doing what they love – playing music in front of a live audience. The moment captured by Vai on the last day of tour rehearsal perfectly summed up how it felt for him and his incredible band to be on the brink of tour opening night, some three years after their last live performance. Fast forward seven days and opening night has come around, in Glasgow.
With the recently released new album ‘Inviolate’ bringing the wow-factor (along with the jaw-dropping “Hydra” guitar), it was finally the chance for the Vai-faithful to hear the material from the album live in the flesh, and with the venue going with a traditional theatre-style seating arrangement, people were there bright and early to score front-row seats and witness the magic up close and personal. Looking primo-relaxed (and less flamboyant than on previous tours) Steve Vai takes to the stage at 8 pm sharp and soaks up the applause from the audience before leading the band into the futuristic tones of ‘Inviolate’ opening track ‘Avalancha’. Rush-like in places, ‘Avalancha’ is a top-notch way of opening your first live show in thirty-six months and gives each band member their own individual chance to shine; especially drummer Jeremy Colson who is in the early throes of one almighty shift behind his kit. The biggest cheers are of course for Vai, who is dazzling all and sundry with not only his playing but also the illuminating lights on his guitar neck. The bluesier stomp of ‘Giant Balls of Gold’ gives an early indication of just how strong a partnership Colson and bassist-extraordinaire Philip Bynoe is, especially when the track takes a left turn into a Dio ‘Holy Diver’-type groove towards the end of the track – which features a killer outro from Vai.
‘Little Pretty’ has Vai changing guitars (love the furry guitar strap!) as dry ice sets the scene, the band retreats back to the drum riser to emphasize that Vai is narrating a story with his music on a track that is begging to be picked up for some ultra-cool movie soundtrack. Second guitarist Dave Weiner alternates between two guitars: one stationary on a stand, one around his neck, and as frightening as it must be to play guitar alongside Steve Vai, Weiner proves time after time that he is no slouch in the guitar department, and particularly impresses on a gorgeous red Fender Stratocaster during his guitar solo later in the set, as well as strapping on an acoustic during what was apparently the first airing of deep cut ‘Dyin’ Day’ from 1996’s ‘Fire Garden’ album…a reward for long-term Vai fans. ‘Tender Surrender’ receives a hero’s welcome, as does the always-thrilling pair of ‘Liberty’ and ‘For The Love of God’ where Vai really does make his guitar sing.
Played over 2.5 hours with an intermission in between, production-wise, this is a simple-but-impressive setup. The large screen behind Colson’s kit flashes up images to accompany each track and gives a subtle hint about the track that the band is tearing through. Candles burning on screen? That will be new track ‘Candlepower’ then (gorgeous clean tones from Vai on this one), electricity crackles across the screen alongside graphics of churches – the lightning-fast hands of ‘Building the Church’, the screen goes green – ‘Greenish Blues’ (which certainly lives up to its name), baby images – ‘I’m Becoming’. All imaginative ways of keeping alive the connection between artist and audience.
As touched on earlier, the band that Vai has assembled is incredible. It’s easy to purely focus just on Vai – who remains an artist that is constantly evolving and refuses to stand still – but it is to their credit that there are times when it is almost impossible not to watch the other three players. Colson, in particular, is a beast and is clearly relishing taking out on his kit all the frustration that the worldwide lockdown brought over the last few years. Bet he slept like a baby after the show.
Steve Vai has live dates lined up in the UK & Europe until July 19th, more information- here.
Review – Dave
Images – Callum Scott
