Steve Vai: Live at the Astoria London

Vai at its best. Some people know Steve Vai from his work with Frank Zappa, the movie Crossroads (1986) and Whitesnake but he is mainly a solo guitarist. This DVD is very good registration of the concert at the Astoria Club in London. Vai plays old songs and new songs and 2Hendrix covers witch he play very good. Most songs are instrumental. On the guitar he is really a freak and an artist and the DVD shows it all. The concert is nice to watch and the sound is good. The band around Vai are top musicians like Billy Sheehan. Sometimes the sound on this video is a little out of sync. The concert is recorded after September 11 2001 and Vai makes some comment about that. A good music DVD for guitar freaks and music lovers.

What can I say? Steve Vai is a god. I bought this DVD after seeing Steve live in April in Toronto. Despite being mostly an instrumentalist, Steve Vai has a compelling stage presence, and he is in excellent form on this DVD. Not only is he the best, the rest of his band are very skilled musicians and some of the best. Billy Sheehan is simply put, an incredible bassist. Tony Macalpine is a shredder capable of playing some of Steve's hardest lines, but that's not just it, his keyboard skill may even surpass his guitar playing. Dave Weiner is another good guitar player who plays most of the rhythm. And finally, Virgil Donati provides a strong back bone to the whole thing, being a very intense drummer (he also has a drum solo, which starts a little slow, but when it builds up it is amazing). The set is great and contains most of his best songs. The highlights (in my opinion) are: Erotic Nightmares (one of my personal faves), Blue Powder, Little Wing, The Crying Machine, The Animal, Jibboom and The Attitude Song. A Vai tradition, Steve brings up Eric Sardinas (his opening man, also a very good guitar player) for the Attitude Song and extended soloing ensues from all players (at this moment, 4 guitarists and a bassist!). It is also noteworthy that Steve reproduces all effects heard in songs (remember the weird interlude in Blue Powder?). Along with his own songs, two Sheehan songs, two Hendrix covers, a classical piece and Dave Weiner's solo are included. Also, listen to the beginning of Fire where Steve talks about Britney Spears. This is also a trend with him, we got to hear about Britney at the Toronto concert, Heh. If you have any interest in guitar, BUY THIS. Hell, buy it even if you don't.