Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: This is what the guitar is all about. Steve Vai is a genius and the collection of tracks on this are some of his coolist. Shame there was not a bit of shred from Mr Macalpine.
Rating: 
Summary: What the ......??
Review: This should have been the DVD release of the year. Vai is brilliant. Sheehan is brilliant. I saw the G3 tour that went out before this solo tour, and it was AWESOME. 2 things kill this DVD though. The first, as nearly everyone has mentioned, is the camera work. To call it annoying is an understatement. It has the potential to send Japanese school children into seizures in spots. The second, and most discouraging, is the poor 5.1 audio mix. I know, there's a disclamer when you select it about "checking your equipment", but I have a state of the art home theatre, and this DVD sounded like crap through it. As has been the case with a lot of concert DVD's, the artists tries to do too much with the surround channels and it ends up sounding hollow. The only thing coming though in my center channel was the snare drum. Now, when you go to a concert, is that what's front and center? No. Poor sound imaging. Fortunately, the PCM Stereo mix is decent. Not enough bass for my taste, but that was a problem at the actual show I saw with this band as well. I compensated by using the "6 Channel Stereo" DSP effect on my receiver. This gave me the best sound. I was actually going to give this DVD a 2 star rating, but now that I think about it, I'll give it a 3. I'd recommend buying it, just don't bother with the 5.1 mix.
Rating:
Summary: Guitar Lovers Dream
Review: Enough with these FOOLISH comments regarding this video. This is simply one of the finest DVDs of its kind! If you like Steve Vai or this type of instrumental guitar rock this is THE DVD to own!! For those commenting on the effects or camera angles all I can say is GO WATCH AUSTIN CITY LIMITS if all you want is BLAND,STRAIGHT FORWARD,PBS VIDEO. Steve Vai is a CREATIVE GENIUS. Do you expect HIS PROJECT to be VANILLA?? If you do then you know NOTHING of the man or his music and I wonder why you would buy this anyway. Steve admits in the commentary that he wishes he'd had a pre production meeting with the camera ops before the shows...he didnt and the result is more shots of his face and reaction type shots than he would have liked. Other than that there really isnt ANYTHING to be critical of on this project. You get what you pay for...STEVE VAI MUSIC...being played at its FINEST! The video is digital and the clarity is outstanding. The sound is also above average,compared to other recent live DVDs like Rush in Rio. All in all,this is a MUST HAVE for any VAI fan. Not only do you get one of the premiere guitar players in the world in SV but you get the legendary BILLY SHEEHAN on bass and TONY MCALPINE on keys/guitar. The other players in the band are also total pros and the result is a super tight show. Dont even hesitate if you like this kind of music...click on PURCHASE...NOW!! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Concert Video
Review: This was great! If you like Steve Vai, you'll love it. If you don't, ask yourself where else you could see someone play a guitar solo with his feet, and still be amazed? And what a band! Vai and bassist Billy Sheehan play some blazing extended unison tapping licks so perfect it sounds like one person with an octave divider. Any band that has Tony MacAlpine playing backup guitar and keyboards, you know has to be so technically amazing its ridiculous! A good value too, as the concert disk 1 had over 2 hours of performance with a second backstage disk thrown in.
Rating:
Summary: This DVD is absolutely mandatory for any Vai fan
Review: This DVD is unbelievable. Not only is Vai one of the best guitarists ever, but his entire band also rises to the occasion. The songs are great, and Vai manages to make them excellent as only he can.
It looks like people are complaining about the camera work of the video, since Vai himself produced it. Something should be said about seeing his performance the way he intended us to see it. Would you honestly want to watch his hands and technique the whole time? No, man. This is not a guitar lesson. If you just watch the guitar the whole time, you're missing half of the show. Vai is one of the most animated performers you'll ever see, and this DVD will prove that. The special effects only complement the already superb performance.
This DVD is mandatory for any fan of Steve Vai and is highly recommended for aspiring guitarists.
Rating: 
Summary: long overdue
Review: Vai's stage performances are legendary, and it's about time one came out on DVD. The camera work is fantastic, though the effects are overdone in quite a few places. This is certainly not to say that it completely ruins the impression - the editing is average, for I've seen a lot worse. For example, to my tastes, this DVD is miles above Satriani's Live in San Francisco, in terms of camera angles and camera movement. Also, some of the effects are, in fact appropriate. I'm not a real big fan of Vai's music. I like this DVD mainly because I like the way Steve's shows are orchestrated and planned out. The song selection is decent, from Vai's repertoire. They also do a couple of Hendrix covers and a song from Billy Sheehan's album. Dave gets a solo spot; Tony gets several on both guitar and keyboards. Virgil's drum solo is thrown in towards the end. Yes, Vai overdresses for the occassion. As a matter of fact, he overdoes just about everything he does on stage. And if I were as good with a guitar as he is, I'd expect no one to give me a hard time about overdoing whatever it is I want to overdo when I'm on stage. I'd also feel entitled to say whatever I wanted to - those without a sense of humor (see reviews below) needn't apply. Overall, quality release, something to be watched from beginning to end on an occasion, rather than bits and pieces. 4 stars due to the shortcomings of the video itself - I'd give 4.5 if I could, since I can ignore the effects for the most part.
Rating: 
Summary: just a note
Review: STEVE VAI was the one that produced and edit the video! he said it in the documentary. obviously he was having a lil too much fun with the effects. next time hire a professional crew to tape, AND a professional to edit. if the camera work had been great, i would watch this dvd atleast 5 times a day. since it's so awful, i'll just watch it by listening a few times a month or whenever i feel like listening to steve. one thing i notice, it's hard to listen to steve's song if you're not really listening to it with a critical ear. It's not the type of music where you pop it into the cd player and just bug out, you have to really sit and listen to the difficulty and style to really enjoy it. it's not the type of music for cars or outdoor. it has to be you and the cd player, in your room, alone, turn it up really loud, and just let it amaze you.
Rating:
Summary: Ok, but could be better.
Review: As others have already noted, the camera work is poor and full of cheesy effects. The extramusical elements of the the performance were ridiculous. Vai goes WAY over the top with his theatrics and makes some stupid speeches throughout the concert. I often wish he would focus more on the music and less on the theatrical aspect. Yes, it is entertaining, but only to a point. Vai always seems to go past that point. However, the playing is excellent throughout and is worth buying if you are a Vai fan. Particularly impressive is the performance of 'Whispering a Prayer'. Great piece.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Steve Vai is simply the best. He may very well be the best guitarist in rock music today. His performance is flawless and his style is trademark Vai at his best. Not to mention Billy Sheehan and Tony MacAlpine are both right up there as well....I highly recommend this DVD to any Vai of guitar fan.
Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: I'm kinda old school... 80's old school and graduated in 85. I had heard of Vai, listened to him with David Lee Roth. That was the last time I listened to him. Never really was a fan. After watching this DVD, I regret not following him. I was blown away at his talent. Just watched and listened in pure awe. Everyone in that band for that matter. Good lord, Billy can make that bass sing. I had no idea he was such a great basest. I know some people say Steve needs to grow up and stop acting like a teen... C'mon. It's rock and roll. So what if he's mid 40's and still jumping around like he was 20. More power to him. It's called entertainment. Who wants to watch a bunch of guys just standing around. Where's the fun in that? That would be boring. As far as the production goes?
=================================
Audio is outstanding. I have a very nice home theater and this concert DVD sounded as though I was there. It helps that my speakers are very lively in the first place. Video production is so-so. They don't hold a shot for very long, they use these zoom in and zoom out effects way to much. There were times my eyes actually started to get fatigued. Too much giggling around with the camera shots. Steve, next time get a better video crew. They are the only reason I didn't give this 5 stars.
| 
