Steve Vai Reignites Passion And Warfare

The instrumental icon is currently on tour in Europe and he starts his next run Oct. 8 in Riverside, Calif. at Fox Performing Arts Center. The routing includes five shows in California early and eight gigs scheduled in Canada. The first leg of the North American tour wraps up Nov. 2 in Ottawa at the Algonquin College Commons Theatre. Details on the second leg will be announced soon.

The tour highlights music from Passion and Warefare, which was recently re-released. Previously unheard material from the same time period was also made available this year on an album called Modern Primitive.

“The enjoyment that the band is having and the audience response to the shows in Europe has taken us a bit by surprise,” Vai said in a press release. “There is deep appreciation from us in having the opportunity to honor this record with this tour and we are smiling every moment of it.”

For those looking to spend a little more quality time with the guitarist, special VIP packages which allow fans to attend a Q&A, sit in on sound check and purchase exclusive merch are available.

If that wasn’t enough Vai time, the shredder will also host the third Vai Academy guitar camp in Carmel, Calif., Jan. 2-6 next year, and will invite fellow legends Zakk Wylde, Al DiMeola and Carlos Alomar. He also has made a masterclass video available through Truefire.com.

Fans are probably familiar with Vai’s musical pedigree: He took lessons from Algonquin College Commons Theatre at the age of 13 and started working for Frank Zappa at 18. What many do not know is that Vai has very unique ideas about the creative process and champions a technique called Musical Meditation.

Here’s the plan for North America:

Oct. 8 – Riverside, Calif., Fox Performing Arts Center
Oct. 9 – Las Vegas, Nev., House Of Blues
Oct. 11 – San Diego, Calif., House Of Blues
Oct. 12 – Ventura, Calif., Majestic Ventura Theater
Oct. 13 – San Francisco, Calif., The Fillmore
Oct. 14 – Sacramento, Calif., Ace Of Spades
Oct. 16 – Portland, Ore., Revolution Hall
Oct. 17 – Nanaimo, British Columbia, The Port Theatre
Oct. 18 – Kelowna, British Columbia, Kelowna Community Theatre
Oct. 19 – Calgary, Alberta, Jack Singer Concert Hall
Oct. 21 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, O’Brians Event Centre
Oct. 22 – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Burton Cummings Theatre
Oct. 23 – Burnsville, Minn., Ames Center
Oct. 25 – Northfield, Ohio, Hard Rock Live
Oct. 26 – Milwaukee, Wis., Pabst Theater
Oct. 28 – Grand Rapids, Mich., Orbit Room
Oct. 29 – Charleston, S.C., Riviera Theatre
Oct. 30 – Kitchener, Ontario, Centre In The Square
Nov. 1 – London, Ontario, London Music Hall
Nov. 2 – Ottawa, Ontario, Algonquins College Commons Theatre

Presales for these shows open July 21 and the general onsale is July 22. Head over to Vai.com for all things Steve.