Steve Vai Hands His Guitar to Audience Member Andy Timmons

A couple years back, guitar legend Steve Vai brought his Passion and Warfare Tour to the Bomb Factory in Dallas.

Lo and behold, who happened to be in the audience but guitarist extraordinaire Andy Timmons. Timmons—who has recorded several albums on Vai's independent Favored Nations label—was in the audience as a fan.

Luckily, the cameras were rolling as Vai spotted Timmons in the front row. As Vai plays the final section of his "Fire Garden Suite" from 1996's Fire Garden, he makes his way to the front row, takes off his beloved Ibanez JEM guitar and hands it to Timmons, who picks up right where Vai leaves off. The crowd—who you can see incredibly well in this powerful video—goes wild, as does Vai.

After shredding for more than a minute, Timmons hands the ax back to Vai at the 1:11 mark. It's a nice moment that's certainly worth checking out.

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Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.