It`s not showing off if you can back it up.
But in any case, the essence of Electric Lead Guitar has always been flopping around on stage, making crazy faces, keeping a solo going for as long as you can, or just belting out loud riffs to the audience.
From Chuck Berry, and others of his time who inspired Rock and Roll / Classic Rock, to Angus Young of AC/DC (watch one of his live performances and tell me any VK artist comes that close to going over-the-top), to Van Halen (IMO one of the closest to playing solos just for the sake of attention, solos like in the song Jump I would honestly say are just there for the sake of having a solo and actually steal momentum from the song), to Randy Rhodes, etc...
As for Yngwie and Paganini not being creative but being more about virtuoso`s showing off, I dont get that.
Paganini and his Caprices changed music, showed people how you can use the Chromatic scale in ways not many has thought of, or been able to implement into compositions seamlessly, and inspired countless musicians... Nothing really sounds like him either.
Yngwie changed guitar. Rising Force was an album that changed everyones perception of what could be done in guitar, especially in modern genres. He is the one that changed the fact that songs were still composed in Box Scales and Regular Major or Minor Chords endlessly, and only certain tempos and phrasing was used. From him spawned a new generation of guitarists, and Rock / Metal was never the same. People started `shredding`, using different chords, scales such as Phrygian, Lydian more, etc... Tracks like Black Sun, Now your Ships are Burned, Icarus Suite etc... changed music, and it was never about showing off, it was his style, and how he composed music inspired by a mix of classical and modern. Live he showed off for sure, but on albums you can look at every note, how cleanly he plays it, how it all makes sense within the composition, how the phrasing all ties together, etc... Guitarists in VK such as Hizaki, etc... are based pretty closely off his style.
And as far as VK live, I agree with others that I wish there is more action and charisma, more flair, etc... I can appreciate a stoic member or band, but I also crave wild stuff like a TMR, Gackt, SuG (Takeru goes all out big or small venue) VAMPS, SID, DOG, Alice Nine (around Vandalize album) concert. Seems more like the older bands and members in Japan are the ones that really deliver a performance and the younger ones need to catch up? Anyone have any good live performers to add?
If anyone is familiar with things in Kabuki like Mie, etc... I feel like more of that should be incorporated into lives nowadays, but then again, a lot of bands play shows in smaller venues most of the time leading up to one big show, and they play for audiences full of fans that go wild for whatever they do, so do some of these bands even have as much of a chance to learn and be big performers? All they have to do is scream Kakattekoi, or play a solo standing on the platform and the crowd pees themselves.
But if you play repeated big venues you have to keep them coming back, have to play to people who may not be as big fans, etc...
Also, if you play Inazuma Rock, and other stuff like that, you are competing with many other huge bands and have to steal the show or you might not be coming back.
Just some of my opinions...