Customer Reviews

Steve Vai: Where the Wild Things Are [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know others will go deep with analysis of this product, so I will just state what I think is the most important element. This show seems to have been edited by someone who is not only aware of this type of music, but also a fan. I cannot handle nonstop 2 second cuts to every camera view that I could care less about. The days of the frantic MTV style video presentation are OVER. This DVD is perfect in that aspect, when Steve is going for the "part", you WILL get to see it. And there is also just the right amount of effects and movement to keep it interesting & fresh. Any musician who actually cares about the music, should pay attention to "Where the Wild Things Are" and use this as a reference point for any Producer or Director who will be in charge of presenting an artists true vision in the arena of concert recording. For me: The Perfect Concert DVD HUNT4MUSIC

You can bet that if Vai's putting out a DVD, you're going to get your money's worth and then some. The musicianship is as high as can be expected, and if you're even somewhat familiar with Vai's work, this is no surprise.

What I enjoyed the most were the production values (lighting and DVD specific effects), the little touches of bizarre humor that he's known for (picking with his guitar tech, showing the scat lyrics to Firewall, shamelessly plugging himself in Tender Surrender), and the way he shared the stage with the other musicians. That last aspect impressed me the most, actually. He knows he can play, so he had no problem letting the band step up. Instead of "Dave's Party Piece", he actually got to play one of his own songs from his album (albeit, and abbreviated version). Also, the Lydian jam with Anne Marie and Alex on "The Crying Machine" was just magical.

Like I said, if you're a Vai fan, you're gonna get this DVD, so I'm basically writing this for the casual listener/musician. If you're interested in something different from the cookie cutter commercial garbage that out there. Give this a listen, you might learn something!

Just note....... is a Blu-ray....sort of , but ONLY 720p ,ONLY Dolby Digital(no DTS Master HD audio or the like) and no usual Blu-ray functions ( such as pop up menus over playing video). If you already have the dvd and have gear that 'upscales', DON'T bother buying this version. :)

I had ordered this DVD along with the new Joe Bonamassa DVD at Royal Albert Hall May '09 at the same time. I tend to like more blues based music whatever genre (hence the Bonamassa DVD) and have always thought Steve Vai to be one of the creme de la creme guitar player / musician / creator's out there. For me I was never really into shred type guitar playing, but this is a whole different level. I have known about Steve Vai since his Frank Zappa days but have never had any recordings of his in my own collection except for the Clapton Crossroads concert and watching him in the movie Crossroads guitar showdown with that kid playing the Telecaster. So that makes me a nubie so to speak. I play guitar and have read many articles about Vai and his gear etc. over the past 20+ years or so. Previous post summarized maybe heavy metal Grateful Dead? I am thinking more on the lines of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu on steroids. Whatever, it doesn't really matter. Blah blah blah, I am running on here.

Well this DVD shows just how talented this guy is from this concert date from 2 years ago. Anyone who knows about Steve Vai has always known how talented he is and what he can bring. The band members are absolutely amazingly talented with their own energy that they bring and would think Vai would have nothing less since he is the main guy. I did not know that Steve sings and was kind of surprised at his decent vocal quality.

Already having stated his talent, Mr. Vai is really a great showmen with his humor and antics while playing which makes this DVD all the more fun and jaw dropping with mind boggling musical arrangements. I just love the two violins of Alex Depue and Ann Marie Calhoun that compliment so well. Jeremy Colson the drummer is tireless and will totally blew you away. This young man's energy is a force to be reckoned with. Bryan Beller with his 5 string bass is so good along with second guitarist Dave Weiner playing a 7 string guitar which really adds that additional bottom chunk and gets to be spot lighted on his own. Second guitarist is an oxymoron. This guy is great! Play this DVD or Blue-Ray, whatever you got loud. Seeing is believing what musical human beings are capable of. WOW!

What an incredible performance Steve Vai lays down on Where the Wild Things Are. 2 hours and 40 minutes worth of incredibleness!!!! And wait a minute....a rock concert with violins??? Let's just put it this way: you will think about violinists in a whole new (heavy metal???) light after you watch violinists Alex DePue and Ann Marie Calhoun shred their violins on the second song of the DVD. Vai and the rest of his band (including bassist Bryan Beller, drummer Jeremy Colson & guitarist Dave Weiner) put on an energy filled show in Minneapolis throughout the 27 songs on the DVD (well, 26 really, plus a band intro track).

So why 4 instead of 5 stars? A memo really needs to go out to all bands and music DVD producers that says at minimum: "1) Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards. 2) The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell. 3) Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music." Vai (he produced the DVD too) gets high marks on all 3 aspects with a few unfortunate, stand-out flaws.

Let's break it down then for Where the Wild Things Are:

1 - "Music DVD's should be produced to the highest standards." - It's here and only here that Where the Wild Things Are has its flaws. The main issue is with the picture quality. It was recorded in 720p, but it doesn't look like it. There seems to be some kind of lens filter that really took away from the effect of feeling like I was in the front row of the concert versus watching it on TV. I've watched A LOT of music DVDs, most recently Jeff Beck Live at Ronnie Scott's, so I know with the right lighting a DVD can be produced to have the effect that you're not looking at your TV and more like you're looking through a magic window from the front row of the concert. But Vai's Where the Wild Things Are for whatever reason seems to be a Grade B picture. The picture is good; it's just I've seen much much better. The DVD was recorded in 2007, so there is no excuse for a good versus excellent picture quality. The average picture is not noticeable on a standard def TV, but it's very noticeable on a high def plasma TV. I think that just "flat" would be a good way to describe it.

The visuals are well-directed and "mostly" don't jump all over the place every 2 seconds. There is some of that though, and it's very annoying. For some reason the notion is that quickly changing the visual projects the energy of a song...and that's a stupid notion. The camera shots in Where the Wild Things Are "mostly" give you nice long looks at each performer at the right time; if you were actually at the show, you'd probably be looking at the performer that the camera is on. But every now and then it switched to the quick look editing that killed the illusion of having a front row seat to the show. There were also too many of out of place cheesy video effects; no one wants to see distracting video effects over performance. I just don't understand how that silliness ever finds its way into the final cut of a DVD concert release. There were even some occasional messages that crossed the screen (for example a handwritten note apologizing to a roadie for tripping over him). All of this being a complete hindrance to the enjoyment of the awesome Vai performance.

The sound on Where the Wild Things are is amazing. A thunderous Dolby 5.1 recording will shake your whole house if you're set up for surround. If not, I suggest listening to this through headphones if your DVD player or TV has the output. Talk about feeling like you're at the show?...Just crank up your theater system's volume or use headphones and you'll feel like you're sitting right on the stage with Vai and company.

2 - "The musical performances within should represent the talent that made the studio recorded CDs sell." - The band prior to hitting the stage definitely committed to each other to go out and play the tightest show ever. Regarding playing the songs to represent how they sound on the CD? I can name only 2 Steve Vai songs by name: The Audience is Listening and The Attitude Song, and of the two songs only The Audience is Listening is included in the show. I've included the track listing below, but would you really know any of the songs by their titles? I mean a devoted Vai fan probably would, but I've never even heard any of these compositions until I saw them on the DVD. The 2 hour and 40 minute (mostly) instrumental show (Steve, please, don't sing) on Where the Wild Things Are gets a kind of pass on being true to the CD. For an instrumental show the standard is more about playing the songs as tight as or better than what's on the CDs. And Via and company came through in spades.

3 - "Theatrics are very cool too, as long as you can pull them off without deterioration in the quality of the music." - Unless you call Steve Vai's signature exaggerated facial expressions, prance and swagger theatrics, there are really no over-the-top theatrics at all in the performance...which is great! The band just totally rocks out and plays the music, and as I said earlier, they perform everything to perfection.

So to sum it up, Where the Wild Things Are is killer. But if you wanted to experience it on Blu Ray in 1080p, you don't get that high def picture that you might have expected from a 2009 Blu Ray release. However, the performance is superb and really shows that Vai is one of the most talented guitarists ever. The performance makes Where the Wild Things Are more than worth the purchase. Add it to your cart!

Performance Track Listing:

01. Paint Me Your Face
02. Now We Run
03. Oooo
04. Building The Church
05. Tender Surrender
06. Band Intros
07. Firewall
08. The Crying Machine
09. Shove The Sun Aside
10. I'm Becoming
11. Die To Live
12. Freak Show Excess
13. Apples In Paradise
14. All About Eve
15. Gary 7
16. Beastly Rap
17. Treasure Island
18. Angel Food
19. Earthquake Sky
20. The Audience Is Listening
21. The Murder
22. Juice
23. Whispering A Prayer
24. Taurus Bulba
25. Liberty
26. Answers
27. For The Love Of God

"That sounds like noise, Mr. Vai!!!" Indeed....beautiful noise.

I have been a huge Steve Vai fan since the moment I saw Yankee Rose video in 7th grade... I was like "WHO IS DAT!!!" and went looking for him, bought the album, then the rest is history, tracking down Flexable on vinyl, going to shows, worshiping his amazing technique and style... but this blu ray is the best concert dvd I own. Its crystal clear, sound is superb, you can hear the slightest fuzz from his pickups that the noise gate couldnt supress, clear as a bell, and what an amazing band playing with Steve,,, he always keeps on the cutting edge - inventing new sounds never heard, tried or even dreamed up...this is a must buy, a must own for any music lover.... (who else believes Steve is banging the violinist?!! And bejeebus, they GUSH about eachother in the interview tracks...!! anywhoo...) I have seen this DVD over 4 times already and I have had it since Christmas only...

I can't say I am a Steve Vai follower, but do know he is one the great guitar players alive today. I saw this concert distributed on BluRay and went for it. The video looks great. I was disappointed that they did not release it in one of the BluRay lossless audio formats (e.g., DTS-HD MA). The audio is still the DD-5.1, as distributed on the DVD version. Nontheless, it still is a good sounding audio track.

I like Steve Vai's sense of humour. He seems like a really decent guy. And he truly appears to appreciate his audience. He knows he is good, and his 'posing' at times can be annoying. But heck, he has paid his dues. He can do want he wants. Besides, it's his show.

Overall, this is a great concert for musicians in the audience, especially the guitar players. I like it and recommend to others. What I liked the least is that I did find the music somewhat repetitious after awhile. There is a lot of speed licks, heavy whammy bar, and screaming feedback. Its exciting, but can grow a bit old. But Steve is one of the masters at this, and this concert is recorded and produced really well. As an extra treat, check out the bonus section where he sells his custom distortion pedal. It is really well done.

In January 2008, I reviewed Steve Vai's "Visual Sound Theories" DVD for Amazon and basically said, "I don't think this Steve Vai performance can be topped"... Well, it has been topped and Steve Vai did it with this DVD release, "Where the Wild Things Are". I'm not going to write a long, sappy review but simply state to you... I highly highly recommend this DVD!!! - Enjoy!

I saw Steve & co. in one of the best live shows I've ever seen on this tour in New Jersey, so imagine my delight when I heard that he was putting out a DVD/bluray from the same tour! Suffice it to say, I was not disappointed. In fact, frankly, I was thoroughly blown away.

Chances are, you're familiar with Mr Vai's unhuman chops. I must say that the band he chose for this tour was, by all accounts, very much up to the challenge of playing with a musician of this magnitude. The violinists on this show were amazing and truly added another dimension to Steve's already beautiful and multi-layered music. All the musicians here played together with such harmony that you'd swear they'd been doing it for years. (Some of them have) Also appreciated was the fact that everyone was given their moment to shine. The duet between Alex DePue and the absolutely STUNNING Ann Marie Calhoun left me in awe, wanting to go buy a violin. But not only were the chops all-around fantastic, but more importantly, you could tell that every member was really enjoying themselves, having the time of their lives, and putting their heart and soul into every note played.

As far as the direction of the video, I pretty much considered it flawless. People who buy a Steve Vai video buy it to watch him play guitar. And with Where the Wild Things Are, you won't miss a note. The cameras always knew where to be, which on occasion was focused very closely on Mr. Vai's hands during very difficult passages. Now I know it was filmed in 720p rather than 1080p like some have complained, but I will say that on my 36" 720p television, it was rather spaklingly good quality.

In short, if you love complex music, amazing musicianship, and just a flat-out mind-blowingly good show, BUY THIS DVD (or bluray or whatever) By the end you will be so in awe of what you just watched, you'll need to watch it again and again.

First off, Steve Vai is easily in the upper echelon of guitar players
whom I truly admire! He, the late great Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic, and
Jimi Hendrix are the ones who made me first pick up a guitar and say
"Hell Yeah!--I wanna do that!" (-:
This amazing 2007 concert, done in Minneapolis is simply brilliant!
Steve's virtuosity as well as his diversity and fluid dexerity
are the stuff of legend!
This man is a true genius in my eyes, and this 2 disc DVD showcases
that fact perfectly!
The better question would be what couldn't Steve Vai play?
He's seen them come and go, he's played behind everybody from
Frank Zappa to David Lee Roth and more and hasn't lost any of his
inventiveness and fire along the way!
From experimental electric forays to brilliant acoustic pieces...
all of them will have you rewinding it again and again and asking yourself
"How Did He Do That?" or "Did He Just Do That?"
If you've never had the opportunity to see him live...
this is the next best thing!
Master Steve Vai, I forever bow at your axe altar!! (-:
Guitar players, (or good music lovers) you gotta get this one here!
If I could only recommend 2 Guitar Player DVD's for 2010, it would be
"It Might Get Loud" featuring Jimmy Paige, The Edge and Jack White
and this amazing concert DVD here for sure! (-: Enjoy!