Jotown Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 I saw The Pat Metheny group with Lyle Mays on Austin City Limits tonight. All I can say is; WOW!! I was a huge fan of The Pat Metheny group in the early eighties. I have pretty much lost track of their newer stuff since then. Too busy working on my own music I guess. Anyway, they were just awesome. Unbelievably incredible. Everything that a superb band/musicians should be. I was blown away, again. Check it out if you get a chance. Jotown:) "It's all good: Except when it's Great"
MojoHaiku Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 Hey, Jotown -- Saw the PMG when they were here in Detroit last spring. In fact, using up all of my ticket karma for life, I actually got on Ticketmaster and landed 2 seats, center aisle, second row of the orchestra pit, about five feet away from Pat. Two words: Religious Experience... Jim
Magpel Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 I must have seen the PMG 10 or 12 times in the '80s. It was always a great show. They brought a sense of drama to their concerts that is not typical to jazz. It's hard to comapre now, but the original lineup with Egan and Gotlieb was my favorite, though I saw some great shows with Pedro Aznar as well. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp
Mark Zeger Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 Metheny is my favorite musician, and I try to catch him live whenever I can. I saw the latest edition of the PMG last April in NYC. Antonio Sanchez is an absolutely sick drummer. If I hadn't seen him play his solo from 4 rows away, I would have sworn 2 people were playing. There aren't enough words to describe Richard Bona's musicianship. He's in the band as a percussionist/vocalist, but for "Bright Size Life", he came out front to play bass (his primary instrument) and just killed everyone in the audience. I highly recommend Bona's album "Reverence". There have been so many versions of the PMG that it's hard to pick a favorite. I once saw them with the great Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Nana Vasconcelos, and what he can play on a berimbau is amazing. Pedro Aznar is another great musician...what ever happened to him? I'd probably favor the band with Mark Ledford/David Blamires.
Dogfur Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 Yeah, I caught a bit of that last night. I've seen him a few times over the years, always great. Anybody catch who the new drummer was? It wasn't Paul Wertigo, Metheny's regular. Woof!
linwood Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 I saw him at the House of Blues this past November. He and the band were fantastic. I was delighted when I realized he had Richard Bona on perc and vocals. Not to mention when he brought him out front to play bass on Bright Size Life. Man, it sounded like Jaco and Bob Moses. Unbelievable! If you haven't seen it already, go get the "We Live Here" DVD. That's what a band sounds like. One of the best live recordings I've heard. BTW another dvd worth seeing is the Diana Krall Live in Paris. A lot of Claus Ogerman arrangements and he comes out and conducts on a couple tunes. Another fantastic recording.
Super 8 Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 Oh yeah! Pat is just about my favorite guitarist. He's a prime example of a guitarist who can play cirles around just about anybody out there but rarely feels the need to demonstrate the fact. Such great tone! Does he still use that toothbrush to secure his strap to the peg??? He is one of the few guitarists who values DYNAMICS in his picking. Electric guitars have a very limited dynamic range, and very few guitarists think in terms of dynamics. Metheny really exploits it to it's fullest. I read somewhere that he feels he plays best when he's hungry. So, he often doesn't eat for a day or two before he does a recording... Paul Wertico is a fine drummer who has done some work and producing for jazz vocalist, Kurt Elling -who went to a small high school with my wife. So there it is... 4 degrees of separation between me and Metheny! And do you think I even get a stinking Christmas card once a year!?!? Noooo... Super 8 Hear my stuff here
D_dup3 Posted January 26, 2003 Posted January 26, 2003 Whoo-hoo! That's later this week where I live (Kenfunky)...so, please, nobody post the outcome... :rolleyes:
whitefang Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 Why post the outcome? With Pat, the outcome should be obvious! Anyway, if you're going to be seeing it later, I guarantee satisfaction. It was great! Whitefang I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
Skip_dup1 Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 [quote]He is one of the few guitarists who values DYNAMICS in his picking. Electric guitars have a very limited dynamic range, and very few guitarists think in terms of dynamics. Metheny really exploits it to it's fullest. [/QB][/quote]amen to that...
whitefang Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 Oh, and was it just my TV set, or does Metheny use a heavier guage string than one would expect? They almost looked like 12's. Whitefang I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
linwood Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 starts with an 011- they are d'addario flatwounds.
D_dup3 Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by whitefang: [b]Why post the outcome? [/b][/quote]Well, you know...maybe they lose by 20 points...maybe they put too much flash powder in the drum kit & it blows up unexpectedly BIG...maybe Jagger comes on to sing that duet they recorded...maybe some teenage girl storms the stage & gets past security, dragging Pat to the floor & breaking his guitar...maybe he suddenly breaks into a version of "Too Much Monkey Business"... :D
Salyphus Posted January 27, 2003 Posted January 27, 2003 Man, it's rare that anything makes me regret not watching TV, but this is one of those instances, I wish I could see this! Then again, I did get to see Pat Metheny with his Quartet a few years ago at Yoshi's, a small jazz club in Oakland, so I guess I won't complain ;)
whitefang Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by d: [b][QUOTE]...maybe he suddenly breaks into a version of "Too Much Monkey Business"... :D [/b][/quote]Now, THAT would be worth hearing! Whitefang I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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