STEVE VAI - Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver 2023 (Concert Blog)

STEVE VAI – Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver 2023

Well the 80s Guitar God descended into the Rickshaw Theatre on August 15th, 2023 to a sold-out crowd. And the crowd proved that shredders’ worship is not dead, as the ages in attendance were from younger to older. The masses were there to see Steve Vai shred that evening and that’s what he did.

Steve and the band hit the stage in the cover of darkness. As the rest of his band took the stage Steve Vai sauntered out with the swagger of a rock guitar god. He took center stage with a bright Steve Vai smile and started to shred. Vai came out shredding and didn’t let up. He came out with a straight-out shred and then rolled into some more bluesy music. He continued the onslaught of showing his prowess on the guitar and leaving the crowd with their jaws on the floor as it’s like his arms are independent of his body while he makes his guitars almost tell a story in their own way.

One thing you will always notice is that Vai interacts with the crowd with his charismatic smiles, and now he quips that his wife told him to on this tour “talk” to the crowd more and he took it to heart and made sure he chatted to the crowd more. Vai has always amazed guitar players from the early 80s to date as he can make his guitar talk to you as he shreds on stage.

Vai hit the crowd with songs from previously released albums that showed his unique guitar playing skills to his most recent release Inviolate which displays his new creation the “Hydra”.  The Inviolate tour was sidelined due to the pandemic, but he started up touring again when restrictions were eased and had made the North American tour the final leg. Vancouver, Canada was one of the final shows of the tour and the crowd sent him off in style with a sold-out theatre.

Steve Vai Setlist:

Avalancha

Giant Balls of Gold

Little Pretty

Lights Are On

Incantation

Tender Surrender

Candlepower

Guitar Solo

Building the Church

Greenish Blues

Bad Horsie

I’m Becoming

Whispering a Prayer

Dyin’ Day

Drum Solo

Teeth of the Hydra

Zeus in Chains

Liberty

For the Love of God

Fire Garden Suite IV – Taurus Bulba

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Check out more of my reviews and photos: Shawn Sand

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