Steve Vai at Sony Centre for the Performing Arts – 09/20/12

Written by Agah Bahari and Photos by Lee-Ann Wylie

Steve Vai is, without a doubt, one of the most influential figures in the guitar-world. He has sold over 15 million albums worldwide and won about every award imaginable in the music industry. He started his career by transcribing for Frank Zappa in 1979, went on his first tour with Mr. Zappa a year later and released his first solo album, Flex-Able, in 1983. The rest, as they say, is history. While being mostly recognized for his solo career, Steve Vai has also collaborated with number of greats, including David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne, Terry Bozzio, Devin Townsend, and Joe Satriani.

Steve Vai was back in Toronto to promote his latest album, The Story of Light. After an outstanding opening act by Beverly McClellan, Mr. Vai started his set with Racing the World and Velorum from The Story of Light. He then took sometime to talk to the fans and set the spirit for the show with a quote from Frank Zappa: It’s fucking great to be alive. He then continued with Building the Church and a brilliant performance of one of his classics, Tender Surrender.

Beside the music and his second to none performance ability, one of the most interesting aspects of Steve Vai is the unorthodox way of composition and orchestration. After the successful and equally interesting experience with two violinist in a rock band on his previous tour, Mr. Vai decided to once again surprise the fans. This time, by adding an electric harp virtuoso, Deborah Henson-Conant. As unexpected, shocking and blasphemous as a rock-harp might sound at first, Mrs. Henson-Conant performance and musicianship was everything a fan would enjoy and remember.

Goin’ through some of his masterpieces, including The Animal, Whispering a Prayer and The Audience is Listening, Rescue Me or bury Me, and Sisters, Steve Vai reappeared on the stage in full alien costume and his Ultra guitar to perform The Ultra Zone. He then continued with “a song so new it hasn’t been written yet”, where he quickly demonstrated the way a song is being made. Three of the fans were up on the stage with Steve Vai, one coming up with a drum beat, the other with the bass line and the last of the three with the guitar melody. Impressed with the drum beat and the bass line, Mr. Vai instructed his band on the form and the structure of the piece, then performed it all with guitar melody and solo. Another unique addition to Steve Vai’s entertaining show, killer musicianship and fashionable wardrobe.

The last song of the set was For the Love of God, with it’s hunting melody and the legendary guitar solo, perhaps the most memorable piece in the Vai Catalog. After a standing ovation, Steve Vai and his band were back on the stage for the encore and the last song of the night, Taurus Bulba, a complex segment from a 10-minutes long epic, Fire Garden Suite, which I thought was a good choice to sum up a night of music, in the spirit of late great Frank Zappa.