ARTIST: STEVE VAI
DATE: NOVEMBER 3RD 2023
VENUE: THE FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL
REVIEWER: HEAR 2 ZEN
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANDREW TREADWELL
The band was extraordinarily tight, the sound mix was stellar. The crowd was insane, and they were out in all ages. There is a reason Steve Vai is a Grammy winner, and The Fortitude Music Hall
bore witness as part of the ‘Inviolate’ tour. Backed by Dante Frisiello, on guitar and keys, Philip Bynoe on Bass and Jeremy Colson on Drums
The show began with ‘Avalancha (Inviolate)’ into ‘Giant Balls Of Gold’ and Vai engaged both the crowd and his guitars at the same time, which considering the absurdly difficulty in his licks, its quite a feat.
Tracks like ‘Tender Surrender’, ‘Little Pretty, ‘Lights Are On’ and ‘Alien Love Secrets’ just keep all of the fans in awe ‘Bad Horsie’ brought in a bit of a mosh style vibe
‘Teeth Of The Hydra,’ saw Vai attack this multi headed and necked beast, taming it to his own needs. and you could tell by the amount of phones that appeared this was a moment many were waiting for.
While Vai is the star of the show he makes sure all of his band members are recognized and given their own time to shine, and not to be outdone, the road crew made sure they became the stars of the show too
I love the fact that it was an all ages show, you never know, their might have been the next guitar hero in that very crowd.
Steve shows no signs of letting up with dates well into mid 2024. It’s easy to see why the likes of Zappa, Roth and Coverdale sought the services of this wizard. There is just no one like him.
