Pat Metheny Trio: Town Hall, NYC (March 18, 2008) Apr 05 '08 (Updated Apr 14 '08)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1 by The Prodigy From $11 Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 The Bottom Line A tight triangle on stage: a jazz version of a hyped up Asteroids game: pings and volleys, catches and starts, solos and exchanges, melody and rhythmic liftoff into possibility. The most dangerous facet of the trio in music, live jazz especially, is possibly the handoff; the passing of the musical baton to another player at 60 miles an hour on stage. Few players can handle this pass as expertly as the current Pat Metheny Trio: Metheny (guitars), Christian McBride (bass), and Antonio Sanchez (drums). But, even they can have their moments. There were times during their 2-hour set at the Town Hall in NYC (March 18, 2008) where minor flubs entered the mix, possibly because this was the last show of the U.S. leg of the tour; possibly out of excitement to be playing out in New York, and more likely, because things happen onstage. And, the reason is not that it’s an off-night either, it’s more that the handoff is an accepted and expected institution within certain jazz formats. The crowd was universally receptive to what Metheny and company were doing. They didn’t mind; Pat-Heads are generally there for the long haul with the shaggy haired guitar wonder. In the smaller trio format, he allows himself to step away from his leadership role on one level and function as a musician solely in advance of exploration, sound, and form. The smaller format breaks down the layers of epidermis that can surround his group compositions. In the trio format, his songs are reduced to muscle, sinew, tendons and bone. To be sure, however, the one thing about guitarist Pat Metheny that most fans “get” about him is that, he’s going to do what he wants to do no matter what you think. Though Metheny has a surprising level of popularity across musical spectrums (amongst jazz heads, guitar freaks, contemporary jazz fans, even new agers); his musical pursuits remain focused and based on artistic ideals outside of resolute commercial aims. Instead, Metheny remains true to himself and a higher purpose with his music. The mop of hair, Einstein-like was still there, with a bit of gray. The usual horizontal striped shirt was gone this evening. Instead it was black jeans, black sneakers and a black shirt with white piping from the recesses of his closet. Outside of his Dorian Grey appearance, his only constant is his array of guitars, his sharply textured and melodic works, his belief in improvisation, and his occasional experiments with dissonance and cacophony. With the 2008 tour, there is little chance for error. There is no added saxophone or piano—just three guys in a tight triangle on stage going for it like a jazz version of a hyped up Asteroids game: pings and volleys, catches and starts, solos and exchanges, melody and rhythmic liftoff into possibility. And, at 53, Metheny shows no signs of slowing down. Indeed, he appears to be hitting his stride. The latest trio record Day Trip (2008, Nonesuch) is an assured, easy talking album with some wonderful trio interplay, though the sonic temperature remains at a simmer throughout for the most part. Day Trip is one of his more Jim Hall-like records in recent memory, with an old fashioned tonal approach to the trio format, and some bluesy introspection and inquiry. Day Trip is one of Metheny’s “groove” records — a subtle excursion into tonal range, rhythm and melodic inquiry. At the Town Hall show, the setlist from McBride, Sanchez, and Metheny played off of old favorites and added some new intrigue. Metheny and McBride remained pretty much in sync all night, packed tight against Sanchez’s drumkit as if playing in a closet. McBride and Sanchez are a tight rhythm section with nicely spaced color and solid support to Metheny’s guitar narrative. Sanchez is a drummer with a gift for exposition; his solos go places, his meanderings never too far off the beat, and he can close in space faster than many others. He is muscular without too much brashness; he swings as well as anyone; and his brush work is tightly nuanced and free. McBride is much the same player: muscular, unflappable, smooth, with an underlying funk and blues nuance to his improvisational chances. He solos less as a supportive element but as a co-equal narrator, testing the outlines of the song but coloring within the lines with abandon. Highlights Town Hall was about a lot of individual moments within the trio whole. The new songs from Day Trip stood side-by-side with concert chestnuts like The Bat and Lone Jack with no worries. Outside of the studio some of the subtlety of the Day Trip material is exchanged for stage harmonics but overall, the new material held up well in the live environment. In particular, Calvin’s Keys and Let’s Move groove well on stage. The harmonic reach of Metheny’s guitar language was evident in the few appearances of the guitar synth. In the ending of When We Were Free, Pat willed the synth into a sonic reverie at times and then reduced it into an eulogy of tone and sound recessing in and out until it was reduced to vapor. The audience remained utterly silent with anticipation as Metheny, Sanchez and McBride hung notes in suspension. This was quite extraordinary, especially in light that the next track performed was Is This America? (Katrina 2005), a ballad with a bit of political edge to it, but one that works as an elegy to all of the horrors and failures of August 2005. [Anyone who ever thought that things like that don’t and can’t happen in America was forced to re-examine those beliefs, which shouldn’t have surprised anyone given the cravenness and the wholesale incompetence of the Bush administration.] The one encore performed brought out the power trio underpinnings to the proceedings. Here, on the incendiary Back Arm and Blackcharge, Metheny and McBride went toe-to-toe with McBride playing electric bass for the only time in the evening. With Pat adding guitar synth exclamation points all over the place, McBride matched his intensity with rhythmic bursts and colorful runs matching Metheny’s attack and volley. Sanchez did all he could to keep up. It was an absolute thrashing, leaving the audience out of breath and ready for the next one…until next time. Setlist [Partial: I think Day Trip (?) or Snova(?) was also played somewhere] Solo Pieces: Make Peace ??? The Sound of Water (with Pikasso) with Trio: Son of Thirteen Let’s Move Calvin’s Keys Whatnot The Bat Police People When We Were Free (with guitar synth) Is This America? (Katrina 2005) Lone Jack Encore: Back Arm and Blackcharge (with guitar synth) Sources www.patmetheny.com

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