Tony Macalpine, Vinnie Moore/Osaka, Japan 2018

This 137-minute live performance at Club Quattro in Umeda, Osaka on May 31st was recorded in digital audience recording from the 2018 Japan tour where the collaboration between two guitar heroes Tony MacAlpine and Vinnie Moore was much talked about. The guitar sound is fully captured in perfect quality with zero sense of distance, and disc 1 contains about an hour of Vinnie Moore’s solo. The performance is truly neo-classical guitar, starting with two consecutive songs from “MELTDOWN”, followed by “Hero Without Honor” from “MIND’S EYE”, a neo-classical return work “THE MAZE”, and a number from the masterpiece “TIME ODYSSEY”. Adding to the excitement was his mentor, Macalpine, who played keyboards with Vinnie on the songs “MIND’S EYE” and “THE MAZE” just like on the album, and even harmonizing with Vinnie on the high-speed theme phrase on the keyboard in “The Maze,” where he even performed a solo. Tony Macalpine on disc 2 was an unexpected highlight, playing all of “MAXIMUM SECURITY” at once, with Vinnie taking on the parts that George Lynch and Jeff Watson had guested on the album. The rhythm section was also the same on both stages, with Pete Griffin a member of Zappa Plays Zappa and a bassist who had come to Japan for GENERATION AXE the previous year. Gergo Borlai, a jazz drummer who had played with Al Di Meola and Scott Henderson, was a strong presence. After recreating “MAXIMUM SECURITY,” they played recent repertoire such as “DEATH OF ROSES” and “CONCRETE GARDENS,” and in the final encore, they ended with a guitar battle with Vinnie on Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein.” Since this was a miraculous tour of Japan with only two shows in Tokyo and Osaka, this is a must-have limited edition memorial item for fans. Disc 1 : (Vinnie Moore) 1. Intro 2. Ridin’ High 3. Check It Out! 4. Hero Without Honor 5. Rain * 6. The Maze * 7. Faith 8. Lifeforce 9. Morning Star * 10. Daydream * 11. Band Introductions 12. Meltdown Vinnie Moore – Guitar / Pete Griffin – Bass / Gergo Borlai – Drums / * with Tony MacAlpine Disc 2 : (Tony Mac Alpine) 1. Intro 2. Autumn Lords 3. Hundreds Of Thousands 4. Tears Of Sahara * 5. Key To The City 6. The Time And The Test 7. Drum Solo 8. The King’s Cup * 9. Sacred Wonder 10. The Vision * 11. Dreamstate 12. Etude #4 Opus #10 (Chopin) 13. Porcelain Doll 14. Death Of Roses 15. Stream Dream 16. Square Circles * 17. Band Introductions 18. Concrete Gardens 19. Frankenstein * Tony MacAlpine – Guitar, Piano / Pete Griffin – Bass / Gergo Borlai – Drums / * with Vinnie Moore [Live at Umeda Club Quattro, Osaka, Japan 31st May 2018]