Pat Metheny Group
House of Blues, Orlando FL
March 19, 2005

How do you describe this to anyone who has not been to a Pat Metheny Group concert, is not yet a fan, or even those who have not yet immersed themselves in the adventurous and breathtakingly complex new CD, The Way Up? There could not have been a more perfect place to experience this music than The House of Blues in Orlando, where the area in front of the stage is general admission standing room. You can lean on a barrier set up less than a foot from the stage, surrounded by other people who love this artist and this music as much as you do. By the time this tour reached Florida enthusiastic reviews were all over the internet, from the raves of concertgoers who said they had never experienced anything like it to professional music writers who abandoned their analytical detachment and wrote like passionate fans. I tried to avoid reading about it, wanting to keep some sense of surprise intact, or not have anticipation override the actual experience. One thing I should know by now is that with PMG anticipation never overrides the experience, the experience is always beyond expectation.

So we stood there and talked about previous PMG concerts and friends who had seen this one already and waited for "The Loop," a repeated segment of the first part of The Way Up that reviewers said was being played through the sound system before the concert. When it began it had a hypnotic effect, everyone became quiet and moved closer to the stage. After about 15 minutes or so the lights were dimmed, and Pat Metheny walked to the front of the stage, sat on a speaker and began to play an improvisation on "This Is Not America" along with the loop. It gradually segued into the opening theme of "The Way Up-Part 1" as the other members of the band joined him onstage. And so, the first song, which is the entire CD, begins. It is over an hour long, an overwhelming montage of frequently changing tempos, textures, rhythms and instrumentation. The music and the musicianship leave you suspended in awe. Metheny seamlessly transitions through a series of guitars, acoustic, electric, synth, sitar and multiple string configurations. Lyle Mays is simply amazing, moving through the textural changes and emotional crescendos with such fluidity, the keyboard and piano being much more in the foreground in this composition than on recent PMG tours. Chuong Vu on trumpet added an edgy density to the more intense segments of the piece and drummer Antonio Sanchez delivered some explosive solos. Through it all the entire group seemed to be having the time of their life and they stood beaming at the audience during a standing ovation that only ended as Metheny approached the mic to introduce the band and begin the next song.

The second half of the concert was a perfectly chosen collection of songs spanning the group’s career and stylistic diversity. The first were more jazzy and improvisational, from Question and Answer. From Secret Story he did "Always and Forever" as a beautiful duet with Grégoire Maret on harmonica followed by a lyrical piano improvisation from Lyle Mays. "Into the Dream" featured the astonishing 42-string guitar, and there was a dazzling segue between two disparate and definitive PMG songs, "Last Train Home" and "Roots Of Coincidence." They brought back "Are You Going With Me" from Offramp and "James," another long time fan favorite. Through it all the joyous chemistry between these musicians was evident. As Steve Rodby began an extended solo Metheny sat behind a speaker and looked like an enthralled fan. During Sanchez’s drum solos the musicians onstage were as attentive as the fans in front. Then, after playing this amazing music for over three hours they all came out front and hung out, signed autographs and talked to fans for at least another hour. The fact that musicians of this caliber play as they do, then grin in the glow of a five-minute standing, yelling, and whooping ovation, then hang out with fans like a bunch of regular guys further illustrates the intangible factors that set this group both ahead and apart. With each new CD and each new tour they continue to outdo themselves and we continue to try to find words that will do the experience justice. In the end that is not possible. Celtic tradition speaks of "thin places," places where the veil between the real and the transcendent is removed. Perhaps that comes closest to describing this concert. It was "thin place" created by music that leaves you believing that music can indeed have that power.

- Shannon West