Vai rules

VAI. IS. GOD. Seriously. To listen to his recordings is mindblowing. To see him live is a transcendental experience. It was love and suffering and rapture and sex and hate and fear and glory and pain and lust and tenderness and greed and passion and warfare and glee. He has passed the limits of what is technically possible on an electrified fretted instrument and he now approaches at it as if it were something to be toyed with -- while at the same time, there is not a single note that is not fully formed, perfectly shaped, and wholely expressive. I can only imagine that two hundred years ago, concert-goers had the same experience witnessing a performance by Nicolo Paganini. I feel changed for having witnessed this performance.

I double-dog-dare ANYONE to go and see Vai perform and not be musically blown away. In fact, I will reimburse you for the price of your tickets for you're not completely stupified. I will, however, require a statement, in writing, that you're a soulless, tone-deaf moron who is incapable of being affected by any human emotion whatsoever.

Oh yeah, I saw Eric Sardinas play too. Technically, he's quite impressive, but his show was also a pretty good testimony to why you should NOT play an entire show of blues changes in one of two keys with the same tone and the same groove at the same tempo.