Steve Vai, London 2022 – Review by Dawn Osborne

Having a gig at an old theatrical venue always adds to the sense of occasion and tonight at the London Palladium is no exception. Steve Vai also breaks the gig into two sets with an Interval which is also eminently civilised. What is not traditional is the large electronic screen, but the graphics are a very important part of the show and for an instrumental gig provide an additional dimension of communication with the audience. Normally I am not a big instrumental gig goer, but the musicianship kept the attention of the audience with no lull in intensity at any point.

 

Kicking off with ‘Avalancha’ there is the contrast of the melody evoking the swinging act of skiiing down a slope with the frenetic crying solos indicating the danger of the theme. Vai throws himself on the floor for additional dramatic effect. ‘Giant Balls of Gold’ come across the screen for the track so titled as Steve Vai hammers his whammy and squeezes the high notes out with a slither of his hips.

 

Telling the audience that it’s nice to hang out in London for his birthday he performs single ‘Little Pretty’ with its ethereal dream like sounds, indeed Vai looks like something out of this world with those cheekbones, still the sharpest around.

‘Tender Surrender’ contrasts its slower passages as Vai massages notes out of the neck in a circular movement with the crazy shaking of his whole body for the wilder sections pointing the guitar forward at the crowd like a gun.

Lights Are On’ is a festival of shredding and finger tapping with Vai taking the opportunity to do a guitar duet and question and answer style rounds with his guitarist and bassist culminating in funky bass.

The crazily contorted finger positions on the fret during ‘Candlepower’ remind me of a sea creature or crab. In ‘Building The Church’ Vai’s extraordinary finger tapping looks like he is playing a keyboard rather than a guitar and his karate chop style use of the whammy turned towards the body of the guitar is a sight to see. By this time he has relaxed into allowing his body to become an extension of the music with fluid movements across the stage. With extraordinary humility he announced the interval and asks the crowd ‘Please come back. I love playing the first song and I want you to see it.’

Before the mellow ‘Greenish Blues’ from the new record ‘Inviolate’ Vai addresses the crowd again explaining how his mother told him that life begins at 40 and how he feels that to be true having reached 62 adding that he’s glad that he did challenge his audience with material that pushed the boundaries since creativity comes from the true person and soul inside.

The clip of the guitar duel in Crossroads gets a huge reaction before Vai launches into the heavy firepower Of ‘Bad Horsie’ with sections of slide and one very realistic neigh he manages to elicit from his bright green Ibanez.

‘I’m Becoming’ with its sharp piercing notes is shown against pictures of Vai as a little boy before he launches into the round cadences of the national anthem like sounding ‘Whispering A Prayer’ which finishes with a futuristic synth sounding section not unlike parts of ‘Snowflakes are Dancing.’

Paradoxically images of new seedlings and roses blooming are the backdrop for ‘Dyin Day’, before a heavy and short drum solo.

We are into the home straight with ‘Zeus In Chains’ with images of thunder and lighting emphasizing the heavy riffs.
The anthemic ‘Liberty’ leads into a dramatic and intense rendition of ‘For The Love of God’ against the backdrop of the video with Vai as a Native American frustrated at the cruelty and senselessness of war (nothing if not topical!).

In the encore ‘Fire Garden Suite IV – Taurus Bulba’ Vai went along the front row allowing people to pull his whammy bar and allowing a child to feel as though he was playing the guitar with him.

Vai was friendly, accessible and humble as well as being otherworldly and amazing. He is a Gemini and duality can be seen in much of his work and performance. It felt like more of a performance than a gig, a feeling deliberately encouraged by the theatre, interval and dramatic backdrops. I departed into the night feeling very pleased I had not missed a rather special show, indeed a veritable walking, breathing phenomena, nothing less.

Dawn Osborne