To say that Steve Vai plays the guitar is like saying Rembrandt painted pictures. On September 28, he finally made it back to the San Diego area with a show at The Magnolia in El Cajon. Steve and band members Jeremy Colson, Dave Weiner, and Philip Byrne, are out on your in support of the new album Inviolate which is out now. The Magnolia is a great venue for this type of show with fantastic acoustics and great sight lines. What is a little more difficult is to photograph the show without disturbing the concert goers as there is no photo pit area or anyway to shoot directly up front without being in the way of the people sitting in the front row. For this reason, the photographers shoot from the left or right but with Steve playing to the whole room stalking back and forth across the stage, the most difficult part of this shoot was narrowing it down to a reasonable number. What was more difficult was getting great photos of the other band members especially Jeremy on the drums.
The band took the stage and launched into “Avalancha” off the new album and Steve walked out with his guitar being lit by the blue lights embedded in the fret board. The band was tight, with Jeremy and Philip holding down the best and Dave’s guitar filling in around Steve’s playing. This band really is tight and they all are given moments in the concert to show what they really can do. I have been a fan of Jeremy on drums since I saw him play with Billy Idol many years back, and he is both fantastic to hear and to watch. Watch the interaction between Steve and Dave was a joy, it is obvious that they have been playing together for many years and their interaction is nearly on a telepathic level. Philip Bynoe is just rock solid on the bass and along with Jeremy, they keep the songs moving forward as one of the best rhythm sections I have heard. The set was heavy on the new Inviolate album with six of the 17 song list from the new album (19 songs when you count the guitar and drums solos). This doesn’t mean that the older material is ignored. There are two tunes from the 1990 Passion and Warfare album (“Liberty” and “For the Love of god”) and a couple from the 1996 Fire Garden album. After the first three it was time to put the cameras down and enjoy the rest of the show.
Band:
Steve Vai – Guitar
Jeremy Colson – Drums
Dave Weiner – Guitars, keyboard
Philip Bynoe – Bass
SETLIST:
1.) Avalancha
2.) Giant Balls of Gold
3.) Little Pretty
4.) Tender Surrender
5.) Lights Are On
6.) Candlepower
7.) Dave Weiner Solo
8.) Building the Church
9.) Greenish Blues
10.) Bad Horsie
11.) I’m Becoming
12.) Whispering a Prayer
13.) Dyin’ Day
14.) Jeremy Colson Drum Solo
15.) Teeth of the Hydra
16.) Zeus in Chains
17.) Liberty
18.) For The Love Of God
Encore:
19.) Fire Garden Suite IV – Taurus Bulba
Alan Hess is a photographer based in San Diego, where he lives with his wife and two rescued boxers.
Alan is currently the house photographer for a large concert and event venue in Southern California where he photographs everything from major musical acts to ice hockey. When he isn’t out taking photographs, he spends his time writing books and is an accomplished photography educator and trainer.
Alan’s images have been published in a variety of places including news papers, magazines, websites, promotional materials, album artwork, and press releases. His clients include The Associated Press, Fox Television, FX Network, USA Network, Hasbro, Framus Guitars, Gibson, The Dead, Picture Group, Photoshop User Magazine, Steel Pulse, Ziggy Marley, and many more.
He is the author of sixteen photography and technology books covering everything from night and low light photography to multiple shot techniques. His books are sold around the world and have been translated in other languages including: Chinese, French, Polish, Japanese, Thai, and Italian.
