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STEVE VAI Live show review |
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Steve Vai grew up in Carle Place, New York on Long Island. During this time he use to pass the Westbury Music Fair Venue hoping one day to play there. Now over 30 years later, Steve Vai finally got that chance. It happened to be the night of October 6, 2007 and all of us in the audience were treated to over two and a half hours of heartfelt music as the guitarist poured out of his soul in front of his friends and family. |
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Before Mr. Vai took the stage, Long Island local violinist rocker Mark Wood and his band that included another local guitarist John (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) Bivona. Wood's set was a nice intro and the crowd seemed to really dig his renditions of a bunch of Led Zeppelin songs. Wood also mentioned that he was honored to play before for a "Vai" audience because they are the most sophisticated in the world. |
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Seeing Steve Vai's mother in the front row and knowing he was playing before his hometown definitely fueled Vai's passion. You could tell by the way in which he played that this wasn't an everyday/night performance. He made it special by performing a giant set of songs that spanned his entire career and then some. |
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Steve Vai's band was simply incredible. Jeremy Colson was back on drums and percussion. This little guy can really pound it out. My favorite part with him was when he detached part of his drum kit and went to join Vai at the front of the stage for a solo section. I'd never seen another drummer do that. |
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The band had two violinists, one male (Alex Dupue) and one female (Ann Marie Calhoun). These two musicians really added a dimension to the stage and sound., Ann Marie is a beautiful Asian knockout, who drifted around the stage like a butterfly opening her wings with passionate string work and moving her body as she played. Alex was a little gruff looking but boy could this guy play. He matched Vai note for note burning up his violin and they both added keyboards on other tunes when they weren't fiddling. |
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Dave Weiner was back on rhythm guitar and this mild mannered guy can rock! He held down the tempo fort through all the songs so that Vai could go off expressing his six string creativity the way he does so distinctly. Weiner also traded solos with Vai and had his own time to rip out some expressionist soloing. |
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Bryan Beller kept the bass moving and covered all the outstanding bass parts that have been recorded on the tunes. |
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It was a spectacular night of music and the topper was getting the chance to meet Steve Vai after the show. He was a friendly gentleman and who didn't hesitate to meet and greet every last person waiting for him backstage.. |
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Four tour dates – please visit:
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