Gig review: Steve Vai at the Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Live Review: STEVE VAI, Enmore Theatre, Sydney, Sunday, November 5 2023

By PAUL SOUTHWELL

CHARISMATIC and erudite, Grammy Award-winning American guitarist Steve Vai has toured the major cities of the Pacific rim numerous times. His first visit here was in 1988, during his tenure with the incommensurate Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth. Since then, he launched a successful instrumental music solo career and has entertained Australian audiences with his own solo tours and as a vital part to his guitar mentor, Joe Satriani’s G3 concert tour. Vai was last here in 2013, as part of the well-received tour cycle for The Story of Light.

The 2022 release of Inviolate was a success, substantially aided by melodic implementation of the impressively unique Vai and Ibanez guitars triple necked, 36 stringed, 30-pound creation known as the Hydra. The tour touted the inclusion of this incredible instrument; effectively four instruments in one, with a seven-string guitar, a 12-string guitar, a four-string scaled down headless, half fretless bass, and a harp 13 with sympathetic strings. It’s a staggering extrapolation of his late-eighties three-necked heart shaped guitar that audiences saw on the DLR tour many years ago.

Lights dimmed, revealing the backdrop screen that would relay various themed visuals linked to each song throughout the night. Two very small screens were also suspended at either side of the theatre, for the side seating in the refurbished venue. Teasing the eager crowd with brief wah-pedal effected, talking guitar of the DLR era, from side of stage, the band took up their positions, with Vai walking on last, as the four-piece opened with “Avalancha” from Inviolate. Fast guitar runs on one of his many signature Ibanez guitars ensued, with Vai also holding the guitar aloft horizontally by the specially cast tremolo arm, whilst mimicking surfing, balancing with his left hand outstretched, overseeing a huge oriental rug sprawled out across the stage.

Howling guitar lines on a dropped C tuned guitar from Vai melded with harmonised parts played by rhythm guitarist Dante Frisiello using his Animals as Leaders-designed Abasi Concepts Larada guitars. The long serving rhythm section of bassist Philip Bynoe on six string bass and thumping drummer Jeremy Colson were tight and heavy where needed, right from the first note. Wherever Vai’s soloing excursions went into either an improvised section or an abrasive but musically precise solo, his playing would always return to the key melodic theme, with all band members offering up the perfect musical platform for Vai to branch out musically, whilst effortlessly performing guitar techniques that clearly are honed from hours upon hours of dedicated practice.

Straight into the next track with no fuss, Vai and company set about unleashing the aptly titled “Giant Balls of Gold” from Alive in an Ultra World. Vai’s lithe performance saw rising pitches of trills mixed with melodicism and a high-wailing crescendo note amongst the grooving riffs. Finger tapping parts were combined with Vai’s theatrics of full body shaking of the instrument, percussive taps to the back of the guitar neck, his signature circular vibrato and gesticulations of conducting the guitar, between reverse tremolo arm punches.

It was interesting to see Vai perform on an artist swirl painted 335 jazz model, fixed bridge hollow body guitar that is foam filled to stop feedback, for the inspiring Inviolate track, “Little Pretty”. As mercurial shapes and cloud visuals wisped by, Vai let fly with some shimmering guitar work that fit perfectly with his sartorial ensemble of an orange and red speckled long sleeve shirt, lapels, well-worn necklaces and leather pants. His rhythm guitarist and backing keyboardist was seemingly intent on showing off his torso muscles which was largely ridiculous given it was Vai who was the audience focus. Vai plays outside notes with utmost conviction, over changing time signatures and does so without reliance on bells and whistles. It is all in his fingers.

Taking a vocal microphone to address the audience, Vai shared some brief travel anecdotes and his zany sense of humour throwing dance shapes, enhanced by his rhythm section. One of the highlights of the evening followed with a jaw-dropping performance of the Wes Montgomery and Hendrix-inspired chordal wonders of “Tender Surrender” from Alien Love Secrets. The melodic and cascading guitar chimes alongside deft vibrato and variations in tones were masterfully executed. Vai’s playing is otherworldly, increasing intensity and acting as a call and response device with the audience. His control of the instrument at high volume whilst maintaining a sense of melody and musicianship is phenomenal.

More jazz melodies against popping bass from Bynoe during “Lights Are On” from Modern Primitive melded into a screaming, pick attack filled solo of tapping runs during a band tacit which became a funk rhythm vamp, letting Colson sneak in some quick-fire drum fills to then synchronise with Vai. A brief collection of guitarists joined the stage for a choreographed harmonisation of guitar lines before Vai demonstrated his mastery and evolution of a country guitar technique that combines ascending and descending notes using one finger, which he has updated and coined joint shifting, for the Inviolate track “Candlepower”. Vai does not do things by halves, so it was of course a masterclass on the most authentic Stratocaster sounding Ibanez guitar.

A quick unaccompanied guitar solo from Frisiello that combined precise alternate picking and lush, open chords was primarily a display of technical articulation. Vai returned to launch into a superb performance of “Building the Church” from Real Illusions: Reflections, playing a fast overhand tapping passage. As the song progressed, the rhythm section power was full tilt, and Vai’s signature techniques were all on display, including his sliding phrases, interconnected with trills or sharp, pinched notes. His use of searing squealing harmonics empowered by his Sustainiac guitar device, led to ending the track with outright tremolo arm abuse, intertwined with scooped note hits, played with full right-hand force.

Vai’s facial expressions as he plays are interlinked with his lyrical style of playing melodies that includes guitar versions of vocal aspects. The stunning Inviolate track “Greenish Blues” being another example, with some tastefully executed blues guitar stylings mixed with insane virtuosity and perfect volume control, opening up certain key notes to swell and howl, followed by fleet fingered legato and tremolo arm hits synchronised to drum strikes. Vai also held his picking hand outstretched and mimicked pick techniques whilst using his left hand to hammer and pull off notes, showing his left-hand strength and demonstrating a skill mastered for the Inviolate track “Knappsack”, played this way during shoulder surgery recuperation. Only someone like Vai could manage this sort of showmanship and do it musically.

A portion of the 1986 blues guitar road trip film Crossroads was played to introduce and segue into the heavy bottom end track “Bad Horsie”, as opposed to the film’s duel of “Eugene’s Trick Bag”. The song was massive with down tuned guitar, riffing, slide guitar parts and searing high end, replicating horse whinny noises achieved with a whammy pedal.

The lush chordal and sustained notes of next track “I’m Becoming” from Sound Theories, Volume I & II, showed a captivating command of the instrument. It naturally followed with another highlight in the climactic “Whispering a Prayer” from Alive in an Ultra World, which benefited from amusing usage of biological conception visuals during the song, which ended with a grinning picture of Vai as a child. Repeating melodic themes with embellishments, angled tone shifts and increasing intensity combined with playing that utilised feedback to add notes and mix it with deep blubber level tremolo arm dives for effect had the audience entranced. At the end, Vai held his guitar above his head while he fretted a note and manipulated the tremolo arm. The applause for the song’s performance was substantial afterwards such that Vai appeared genuinely moved by the audience reception and thanked them.

A drum solo from Colson provided an array of beats, cymbal work, and a moment of didgeridoo, which then moved into fills galore, double kick drum filled heavier outbursts, some blasting snare hits and more cymbals being smashed mercilessly. Of course, everyone knew what was coming next and being it was the pinnacle of anticipation, audience members were jostling for a closer view of the beast of a guitar that was about to be revealed.

Soon after, crew and techs busied themselves bringing the Hydra guitar to the centre front of the stage, placed on a mounted stand. Once the guitar was in place, Vai walked back on, sporting a leather cap and gleefully unveiled the guitar to the audience, with a cheeky grin, by pulling back a cloak and programming set off the loud opening atmospheric noises of Inviolate’s key track “Teeth of the Hydra”, at which point the venue was alight with phones filming the next part of the performance. Vai leaned into the fixed guitar, sustaining notes and playing big epic chords, with a melodic sense, showing how he used the four-in-one guitars instrumentation to create a musical piece. Whilst not overly complex compared to other songs, Vai relishes in possibilities. Seeing this unwieldy instrument played live was, oddly enough, witnessing the instrumental guitar songwriting genius of Vai.

Three more tracks were played before the encore, including two songs from his huge, post-Whitesnake tenure solo album, Passion and Warfare. “Zeus in Chains” from Inviolate was performed first though – complemented by apt visuals of stone columns and statues – with the stage lighting ranging in streaming colours of blue, gold and purple. Time signature variations, an eastern feel and harmonised guitar parts led to an aggressive guitar solo before reprising the melodic theme. Vai then mentioned the set as having only two more songs to play and then quipped that the song was three hours long. But it was a short, uplifting “Liberty” with a soaring melody that Vai encouraged the audience to sing along as harmony guitar parts allowed Vai to wander to one of the stage front sides and hold his guitar over the audience.

Of course, to finish off the main set, the astonishing piece “For the Love of God” was performed. It’s one of Vai’s most well known in guitar circles and is a blister-inducing, fasting-created piece of music. This tour’s rendition of this unparalleled emotive instrumental was enhanced during an opening portion of the song with the operatic vocals of multi-talented monitor tech of Dani G, singing in synchronisation with the guitar melody line, over the Coral sitar guitar chord progression track and keyboard mix. Visuals displayed the film clip of the day with Vai wearing animal pelts atop snowy mountain areas whilst playing an Ibanez JEM guitar with a barbequed paint finish, cross edited with news reel footage of man’s inhumanity. Emotive guitar playing with stellar sweep picking, fast palm muted guitar figures and extended explorations of improvisation saw the inevitable screaming harmonic to conclude the track. It was met with a large round of applause to finish off the main set.

Returning for the encore, the grandiose, stage musical and Greek mythology inspired “Fire Garden Suite IV – Taurus Bulba” from the dense instrumentation of Fire Garden was used to conclude proceedings. It was, of course, full of Vai’s staple in exotic and intense musicianship, soloing with unrestrained musical passion over modal passages. Theatrical to the last note, Vai proved that he isn’t just an exceptionally gifted guitarist but is a skilled entertainer and an engaging musician, who, alongside his band, offered up yet another masterclass in musicianship.

Vai is indeed a guitar technician and for some, the music may be an acquired taste but his sense of humour whilst performing the impossible, makes it appear effortless. Most importantly, the music and the overall performance by Vai and cohorts is truly sublime. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 10 years to see Vai return to our shores.