Steve Vai – ‘Stillness In Motion (Vai Live In L.A.)’ [Review]
UPDATE: TMMP has been reborn! This video has the full story:
Click here to subscribe for free on YouTube!
Steve Vai does not do things by halves.
Stillness In Motion is an instrumental guitar DVD extravaganza like no other. As with every other Vai release to date, Stillness In Motion is riddled with Steve Vai’s signature sense of artistry, humour, and no-holds-barred dedication to quality. Running at over 6 hours (one roughly two-and-a-half-hour show augmented by a three-and-a-half-hour tour documentary), this is more than enough to make up for the recent paucity of Vai-on-record releases.
On Stillness In Motion, cuts from Vai’s most recent studio album (2012’s The Story Of Light) mingle with older songs over the course of a 27-piece set list. If every song from Stillness In Motion were a musician, you’d have enough to make an orchestra – and so choosing favourite moments is an exceptionally tough ask. Personally, having caught Vai on this tour in London sans Beverly McClellan, watching Vai’s favoured Voice vocalist tear through John The Revelator was a (terrible pun ahead) revelatory experience (yeah, I know…), while forever-funky Passion And Warfare tune The Animal could never go unmentioned considering TMMP’s love for the simultaneously heavy and sexy; Whispering A Prayer remains as consistently sublime as it’s been since 2000; and alternately brutal and soaring tunes Velorum and Taurus Bulba bookend one hell of a setlist with plenty of ferocious, all-consuming energy.
Beyond the songs, it goes without saying that the level of musicianship on display throughout Stillness In Motion occupies a space somewhere well above world-class. Backing Vai up is Jeremy Colson on drums (and at one point a strap-on “beast” – stop sniggering at the back, get your mind out of the gutter, and buy the damn DVD to see what I mean); bassist Philip Bynoe (making his first DVD appearance behind Vai since the ’96 G3 release); rock’n’roll harpist Deborah Henson-Conant; and guitarist Dave Weiner, whose harmony lines during Gravity Storm and blissful acoustic spot The Trillium’s Launch mark his elevation to a still higher level of six-string mastery. These guys are capable of turning their hand to literally anything, from the out-of-this-world quirkiness of The Ultra Zone and Salamanders In The Sun to the peaceful intensity of Rescue Me Or Bury Me.
Overall, the rock-show half of Stillness In Motion encompasses everything Vai fans have come to expect from one of the world’s greatest guitarists, and goes on to deliver still more. Visually, Stillness In Motion is a feast – and the accompanying tour doc The Space Between The Notes gets as deep as any Vai fan could possibly hope. By the end of that three-and-a-half-hour journey, you’ll feel like part of the show – and how many guitar fans have been dreaming about that for the past few decades?
TMMP RATING: 100% (Seriously. Essential Listening!)
Was this review on the money or off the mark? Subscribe for free to my YouTube channel, leave a comment, and let me know!
You can also find me on Twitter by clicking here.
See you in the next video!
One response to “Steve Vai – ‘Stillness In Motion (Vai Live In L.A.)’ [Review]”
What do you think?
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Hi Leon, thanks for the review, but we already know Vai puts up a great show. You should add some useful specifications about the DVD like:
1. What sound mix is available? Is there a 5.1 mix or only stereo? Is it PCM or DTS or Dolby?
2. Are the visuals presented in 16:9 (better for HDTV’s) or 4:3? What is the quality of the visuals, do they look sharp or soft, is there significant aliasing / banding etc?