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Although Here I Go Again was on the very short setlist for what would have been my first gig ever had I not been barred from taking the stage in my high school’s auditorium just before showtime for being under suspension that week, any appreciation I might have had for the band itself was not the reason I went to the Ottawa Civic Centre to see Whitesnake on June 18th, 1990. I was going for one reason and one reason only, and that reason was called Steve Vai.
I suspect my first exposure to Steve Vai was through his stellar work with David Lee Roth. I listened to Eat ‘Em And Smile endlessly and gave Skyscraper quite a bit of attention too, but man, when I became aware of the movie Crossroads, pitting the classically-trained, blues-loving wunderkid played by Ralph Macchio against Steve Vai as the Devil’s guitar slinger I was hooked.
That led to the acquisition of Vai’s excellent solo album Flexable that did a great job prepping my ears for the time when I would first hear Frank Zappa (who Vai played with), something I would thank Steve Vai for profusely if I ever got the chance. And now here he comes as a member of Whitesnake. I jumped at the chance to see my own little Paganini play in front of my very eyes.
Faster Pussycat opened the show (despite what the ticket stub says) and if I had bothered to pay them any mind I would have likely been rewarded with a much better show than Whitesnake could ever deliver. That said, when the headliners hit the stage I only saw one man onstage, he in his sparkly skin-tight shirt and spandex, he with the teased hair and dayglo signature guitar, he with fingers so fast one could hardly notice that his bends are never to pitch, he who attached his guitar to a spinning wire suspended from the ceiling during his most showboating solo, he who graced every guitar magazine cover in existence and still couldn’t sell any solo records.
Steve Vai. He was my guitar god for the moment and I worshipped appropriately. It was ninety minutes of widdly-widdly woo-woo badida-badida-badida-badida-badida weeeeeooooow and it made my skin crawl. The dorian mode will do that to a budding guitarist.
It seemed like Vai was only part of Whitesnake for about three weeks so I guess I’m glad I saw it when I did. I wonder who departed from whom? I’m sure Vai was helping the ‘snake sell tickets….maybe he was expecting to get paid by the note.
Todd Man Out 