Are You EVO Experienced?

Last Friday was Vai gig day
I was lucky enough to be a EVO Experience ticket holder and as such the day started early at 14:30 where myself and fellow EVO ticket holders queued outside the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, eagerly waiting to see how the day would unfold.

Vai’s right-hand man/website designer etc. Michael Mesker a.k.a Mikey met us at the front door and distributed our EVO Experience passes and goody bags containing a copy of the tour programme, Vai pick and exclusive EVO Experience Interview disc. We were then led to a small room inside and took our seats waiting for Mr Vai to finish with the press.

Shortly after Vai quietly entered the room and took a seat in front us starting off by slowly looking at everyone individually, taking us all in. I really enjoyed the Q&A session, the atmosphere was really chilled and intimate. Mr Vai answered questions patiently with great humour and genuinely seemed very happy to be there. As he did mention, the EVO experience was now his favourite part of the day on the tour.

During the Q&A session I was amazed to see Vai’s guitar, EVO, being passed round! Of course I had a little noodle in Lydian when it was my turn ;).

After the Q&A session we were led down to the stage area to witness the band soundcheck as well as seeing video footage being shot for a music video for ‘Under It All’. It was fascinating to see Vai work, he’d play few notes/chords on the guitar and call out what needed to be tweaked to improve the mix, “2db at 122 cycles”, “cut 1 db at 50Hz” etc.

I was also struck by how relaxed and good humoured he was, cracking jokes here and there though still very professional, ensuring he had everything setup the way he wanted.

Not before long it was 18:00 and time to leave and return for the main show. Our Evo experience was nearly over, I say nearly as it was stated that we would be given prime seats in the venue. I was thrilled to see that I had seat A14, right in the middle of the front row!
Eric Sardinas played support once again, I saw him support a previous Vai UK tour many years ago. His set was raw, high gain slide blues-rock mayhem which delighted the crowd no end and warmed us up perfectly for the main event.

The crowd erupted when Vai ran onto stage, wielding a twin neck Chrome Jem he launched into the track ‘Glorious’ from the new album and we were off! The set contained songs from the new Real Illusions album, crowd favourites and solo spots as well as a stunning acoustic set which featured such songs as ‘Sisters’, ‘Rescue me or Bury Me’, ‘Call it Sleep’, ‘The Boy/Girl Song’ and ‘Pusa Road/Angel Food’. A definite highlight of the show for me.

Vai’s playing was flawless, as was the rest of the band for that matter. Maybe it was my close proximity to the stage and the man himself but I felt it was the best I’ve seen him play. Full of emotion and flamboyant showmanship.

Combined with the pre-show Evo Experience shenanigans this is right up there as one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to, truly enthralling, inspiring and unforgettable.

Pictures of the gig can be seen here.