The longest and most impressive song of the evening was also the only one that began a little shakily. The crowd, though not moved to a standing ovation as it was for several other tracks, was nonetheless admirably appreciative, and Metheny seemed especially exhilarated afterward. Beginning with free shards of distortion, it gradually became earthier and more skronky – sounding most like “Trigonometry” from the Ornette record at first and later like “Broadway Blues,” the closing track of the Pat Metheny Group debut, but it was also not impossible to hear quotes from Zero Tolerance, and maybe even “The Calling,” from the underrated 1984 album with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins, Rejoicing. It was even more shocking to see the chaos emerge after a dazzling polyrhythmic solo from Dyson on tambourine and kick pedals, and from a (possibly fretless) amplified and overdriven acoustic guitar. Metheny has always had an avant-garde, non-smooth side – he recorded albums with Ornette Coleman and Derek Bailey, and, of course, made the infamous straight solo noise record Zero Tolerance for Silence, but it was surprising to see him acknowledge that aspect of his career in front of a mostly older, presumably more risk-averse paying audience. Metheny gave his bandmates plenty of opportunity to strut their stuff, letting each take long solos (at one point even leaving the stage) and duetting with both – with Fishman on a sparkling and intent “Phase Dance,” from the Pat Metheny Group’s self-titled 1978 debut album, and with Dyson on an extremely unexpected and jaw-dropping free/noise number. But by the time the trio took “Bright Size Life,” the opening song from Metheny’s 1976 debut album of the same name – still perhaps the maestro’s snappiest and most recognizable riff – through its paces, everything started to click. Dyson initially underplayed on the drums, sticking to rapid, close work on cymbals and snares, and Fishman appeared slightly nervous about keeping up with Metheny’s characteristic ebullience. Both seemed a bit slow to settle in as Metheny took them through a bouncy run-through of “So May It Secretly Begin,” from the 1987 classic Still Life (Talking). Though it may resemble an imaginary instrument, Metheny made it sound very real, turning the empyreal “Into the Dream,” from 1997’s Imaginary Day, into an extended polyphonic meditation and a cosmic hoedown, at one point knocking on its vast body and later triggering a sampled bass line through some sort of mysterious technological wizardry (possibly a Synclavier setup.)Īfter demonstrating that one man can sound like a full band with the right tools, the current iteration of the Side-Eye group, formed by Metheny to highlight younger up-and-coming jazz musicians, walked on stage: drummer Joe Dyson and organ/keyboard player Chris Fishman. Metheny began the show solo, playing a custom-built monster of a harp/guitar called the “Pikasso,” presumably because its multiple necks, two sound holes and wealth of criss-crossing strings make it resemble a Cubist painting (or an AI-generated image that went overboard). Live, it’s a different story, that smoothness showing all sorts of precisely defined, oddly contoured and unexpected edges, while Metheny’s elastic fervor - which can read as cheese to the uninitiated - fills a room with a boundlessly confident, even forceful authority. Limpid and silky, it can often seem sanded down - “too smooth,” as many detractors argue - in the studio, overly processed both in the sonic and the culinary sense. The surroundings were mildly opulent without being fussy, boasted a capacious stage for Metheny’s impressive wealth of keyboards, guitars and homemade instruments (more on those later) and, most importantly, pristine acoustics that allowed the nearly full house to hear the nuances of every note with razor-sharp clarity.Īnd about that tone while Metheny’s many excellent albums capture his exuberant skill, eclectic influences and complex moods, they don’t, it turns out, do justice to the way his guitar actually sounds. Playing for the first time in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre, a surprisingly intimate 1,800-person room that opened, along with the rest of the performing arts center in which it’s housed, in 2011, Pat Metheny had a space ideally suited for his famously buttery tone. Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO
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