While most of the music loving population was at Osheaga this weekend, I was in the comfortable confines of the Théâtre Beanfield (formerly known as the Théâtre Corona) to bear witness to the majesty of a guitar virtuoso. Up on the stage before a sold-out crowd of devotees was none other than Steve Vai. I still can't believe I was there to shoot the show. There are great guitar players, then there are the masters who play in rarefied air, and Steve Vai belongs in, if not at the top of, that select group. Though he got his start back in the late 1970's with Frank Zappa, my first memories are of his guitar work on the first David Lee Roth solo albums after the singer had left Van Halen. My fandom was locked in a few years later with the release of his solo album, Passion & Warfare. The album is simply amazing and has been cited as being one of
the best instrumental hard rock albums every released. It's one of those albums that I still play, even as it has passed it's 30th anniversary. On the stage, everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives. Steve Vai and his backing band were all smiles, and even took the time to flash some silly smiles at us photographers who were down in the pit. It's nice to get that kind of acknowledgement as I've also been in situations where you're standing there and just get completely ignored. I'll be the first to admit that the pictures where the artist isn't looking at you are often the best, but a little smile everyone now and then is fun. And fun was definitely the theme of the night. The crowd was awesome and everyone was having a great time. His latest album, Vai/Gash was released back in January of this year and is just another in a long line of 
awesome albums. This one, a collaboration with the late singer Johnny 'Gash' Sombrotto, who was a close friend. The album was originally recorded in 1991, but is finally seeing the light of day now. They had bonded over a mutual love of motorcycles, and this album was inspired by the biker lifestyle. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/2500sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm, the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm and the third photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm. There was no opening act for this show, so I kind of let myself get carried away with my shooting. The playing was so good and the guitars so good looking, I couldn't help myself. With that in mind, here are several, make that a lot, more photographs of his performance.
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