Steve Vai is such a rock star! Just look at these pictures and tell me this guy ain’t a rock star! I just got back from Steve’s show at The Egg, and what a show it was! The audience was wall to wall guitar geeks, and once again, Vai showed why he is worshipped by them! He really is one of the best guitar players out there! Steve Vai could walk on the stage with any band in the world and they’d be thrilled to have him! And you couldn’t yank him off the stage with a crane tonight! The encore was an hour, and the show didn’t end until after 11. Vai did everything! Electric, acoustic, band, solo. His virtuosity was on display all night long! From the minute he walked on, it was so refreshing to hear loud, rockin’ music, and that’s what he did for most of the night. The audience loved it and so did I! And The Egg is just about the best venue around for live music. There ain’t a bad seat in the house! My thanks to Ted Etoll at The Egg and Ryan Romenesko with the Vai tour for making it possible!

Steve Vai and his electric harpist, The Egg, Albany, NY, 9-9-12

Rock star and guitarist extraordinaire, Steve Vai, at The Egg in Albany, 9-9-12

In last week’s column, I mentioned that we had a great week for music coming up, and boy, did we! It really started last Friday with The Duke McVinnie Band, who blew a roomful of people away at The Glenford Church. Then Sunday night with Bob Dylan at Bethel Woods, both of which I already wrote about last week. Then rolling into the new week with Mickey Hart at Bearsville, who was great, on Wednesday night, Duke McVinnie wowing them again at Bearsville Friday night, Bob Weir at Bearsville Saturday night, and Steve Vai tonight. Some week, eh? No wonder I’m tired! And there’s no let up next week. We’ve got Jorma, Leon Russell, Coheed and Cambria, The Offspring, J Geils, ZZ Top, Nick Lowe, and more coming this week. I can feel a good one comin’ on! My thanks to Gary Chetkopf and Drew Frankel at WDST for arranging admission into the Bearsville Theater shows last week.

The Rolling Stones are releasing a special compilation to honor their 50^th anniversary. The title is “Grrr”, which for some reason, I find very amusing!

Well, as I said, I’m toast, so let’s get to this week’s live music picks so I can get some sleep.

Wednesday, September 12 – Well, we got JORMA KAUKONEN at The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, ZZ TOP at The Beacon Theater, in Manhattan, and THE OFFSPRING at The Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie. I’d call that a pretty impressive start to the week! In addition, Dwight Yoakum’s guitarist and producer, PETE ANDERSON, is at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, and Americana singer/songwriter, SLAID CLEAVES is at Hill Country Barbecue in Manhattan. Whatta day!
Thursday, September 13 – Two bands with local roots play a double bill at UPAC in Kingston. COHEED AND CAMBRIA and opening act, 3, both with somebody named Eppard in the band, will rock your Thursday, if you let ‘em!
Friday, September 14 – Former Mott The Hoople vocalist, IAN HUNTER, who at one time attracted the best looking women in Rock & Roll to his audience, will rock The Highline Ballroom. Local luminaries, JOHN SEBASTIAN AND JIMMY VIVINO, will display their chops at City Winery, and THE ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD, with a Neville, an Allman, and a Wooten in tow, will be Southern Rockin’ Sullivan Hall. All shows tonight are in Manhattan.
Saturday, September 15 – Upstate in Woodstock, THE KANE BROTHERS BLUES BAND rolls into The Bearsville Theater. They have a long, extensive resume that you should take a look at on the theater’s website, www.bearsvilletheater.com. I’ve got a feeling that this will be a good ‘un. Downstate, we’ve got the former ParliamentarianFunkadelicmentThang AND Talking Head, BERNIE WORRELL, with his orchestra, at Joe’s Pub in the city.
Sunday, September 16 – Aahhh! Rest up. It’s this week’s day off!
Monday, September 17 – WORLD PARTY, a band that had a few really good songs in the 80’s, are at City Winery, one of the last real Country singers, DALE WATSON, is at Hill Country Barbecue, and PATTERSON HOOD AND THE DOWNTOWN RUMBLERS (he of Drive By Truckers and son of legendary Muscle Shoals bassist, David Hood) stop by The Bowery Ballroom, all in Manhattan.
Tuesday, September 18 – There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight! SLASH is at The Hammerstein Ballroom, ROBERT CRAY is at BB King’s, STEPHEN MARLEY is at Irving Plaza, and DEKE DICKERSON makes an appearance at The Rodeo Bar, all in Manhattan, and upstate, NICK LOWE is at The Egg in Albany.
Wednesday, September 19 – The great Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, LEON RUSSELL, returns to The Bearsville Theater and THE J. GEILS BAND, who should be in the Hall of Fame, are at the newly re-opened Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Downstate, THE OFFSPRING pull into Terminal 5 in the city.
Thursday, September 20 – Tonight we’ve got two shows with bands I’m not really into, but both come strongly recommended by people whose opinions I respect, so I’m giving both of them a rewrite. TEDESCHI TRUCKS take over The Beacon Theater in Manhattan and ALO return to The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock.

Have a great week!

Fred Perry is the owner of Reservoir Music Center on Route 28 in Kingston, and founding member of Alt-Country supergroup, The Brooklyn Cowboys, is from a 3rd generation musical family and lives in the Hudson Valley, where he does what he can to promote live music.