For years, Pat Metheny has been at the forefront of jazz guitar, always mentioned with all the contemporary greats of the last generation. He broke new ground in the 70's, survived the 80's, smoothed out some edges in the 90's, and is back on tour for the entire year of 2002, supporting an incredible new album, Speaking of Now. This new incarnation of the Pat Metheny Group has six amazing voices that spoke, in various arrangements of instrumentation, to the near capacity crowd at the majestic Paramount Theatre in Oakland, CA for three hours on Friday night.
 The show began with Pat playing a "Map of the World" solo on his first guitar of the evening, an acoustic six string, followed by a number with him and Antonio Sanchez, his new drummer who came all the way from Mexico City. The crowd was extremely attentive and respectful the entire evening, and as Pat warmed up, so did we. After longtime keyboardist Lyle Mays and bassist/producer Steve Rodby joined the stage, the quartet immediately launched into "Phase Dance" from the Pat Metheny Group record, with Pat using his Ibanez PM-20 interchanged with an acoustic six string on a stand. This song sent chills down my spine, as I listened to the PMG "white album" every night before bed as a 19 year-old. A beautiful version of a classic song, and the crowd showed their appreciation with a huge roar.
After a taste of the past, Pat was ready to show off his full current band, and trumpeter Cuong Vu and multi-instrumentalist Richard Bona, from Cameroon, joined the stage. They eased into the first of at least seven songs that I counted off of Speaking of Now, including "As It Is" and "You," each one more beautiful than the last. These six men created a very large sound, filling the Paramount to the crest of the balcony. They were into it, and went from song to song for an hour and a half before stopping to say hello and thank us for coming out. The mood of the music changed as often as the instrumentation, and everyone except the drummer switched up what they were playing with each passing song.
Pat's 42 String Pikasso |
Pat played three different handheld acoustic guitars, an acoustic on a stand, his standard cream colored Ibanez PM-20 electric guitar, a mini-acoustic guitar, a Roland guitar synth, and a 42 string Linda Manzer "Pikasso Guitar" that looked and sounded like a harp, while Mays played a grand piano and any of four sythesized pianos. Cuong Vu played trumpet, percussion, and even acoustic guitar (while singing backup), but MVP honors go to Richard Bona. Bona various percussive instruments, including percussive acoustic guitar, and he sang in multiple languages, and also showed off his skills on the bass on a few occasions. These guys have incredible talent and put on a marvelous show.
The whole while, they had an incredible light show that was more prevalent during certain numbers, when the mood called for it, these colors and textures were right on the money, perfectly complementing the notes from the stage. Majestic color palettes, 270 degrees of a lighting truss with multicolored hues.
One highlight was an absolutely mindblowing drum solo, which started slow with only a few taps here and there, picking up steam on the hi-hat. Antonio Sanchez did not miss a beat for at least five minutes, even while breaking a stick during a display of rapid fire sixteenths. The pace increased and ended with a bang, and the audience jumped to their feet with a standing ovation. I honestly have never seen more standing ovations at one concert, every other song was so amazing it seemed to warrant standing up with fists waving in the air, and of course the guy in the balcony doing the "we're not worthy" bowing routine. The man is that revered.
A highlight for our crew was the trio formation of Metheny, Sanchez and Bona on the bass. He picked up a blue bass and stood at the lip of the stage, focused on Pat as he tuned it up. Without speaking, they launched into "Bright Size Life" and Bona did justice to the memory of Jaco, holding his own with incredibly quick fingers. After spending half the show in the back of the stage, we had no idea he was such a proficient bassist. "Who is this guy," we asked each other with nods of admiration. Bona continued to impress the crowd with his amazing voice, adding harmonies to Pat's guitar and Lyle's keyboards on at least half a dozen songs. This native of Cameroon is winning fans nightly on this tour, his talent bursts forth from his inner being every time he opens his mouth.
Pat is a dynamic bandleader and kept switching it up on the attentive crowd. After a slow number, they would pick it up and keep it revving high for a while, changing the mood with the changing melodies. There was one song where Pat and Lyle were both on electric guitar synths and Bona and Rodby were on basses, and they ripped into a blistering composed 80's metal number, crossing the street from the jazz spot and heading towards the offramp of shredding metal. It reminded me of something The Disco Biscuits do, where the guitar and keyboards weave in and out of each other like a double helix, while the drums and bass are locked in, churning forward at a breakneck pace. Love to see an older group with incredible chops pushing the envelope, never satisfied to play the hits of yesteryear. Again, another standing ovation, it seemed unanimous to these Oaklanders that The Pat Metheny Group puts on an amazing show, worthy of such frequent standing O's.
Pat's trademark "jump-hop" when he's hitting a string of notes is hilarious, you can really tell when the guy gets in the groove, and the ebullient expression of ecstatic adulation is escpecially excellent. Plus, the black and white zebra striped "I just escaped from prison" shirt is still in the rotation, which is great to see. You really should go see Pat Metheny Group on this tour if you have not done so already. The guy has been doing this for almost thirty years, and is a master at the craft of electric guitar. Pat was jamming and blazing new trails before it was cool to jam, combining synthetic fusion with a smattering of smootheness and a pinch of psychedelia to keep it unique. If you want to understand the roots of this scene, go see Pat Metheny Group live!
Ted Kartzman
East Bay | North Bay
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