ere a et et a a oe

 

page 10

THE OTHER PRESS

  

November 9th, 1984

 

sunday night with Metheny

Once again, a Vancouver audience
was treated to an evening with the Pat
Metheny Group, continuing an annual
tradition of bringing to us perhaps the

by Sean Schonfeld

most original sound in progressive

 

jazz.

They have followed a good formula:
first, put on to vinyl songs that can
only get better with time, and will
always interest the new fan: and then,
once you've established a solid foun-
dation and a strong following, your
newer, maybe weirder material will be
better accepted. People will always
return to hear the new stuff as long as
they expect a good dose of the older
favourites. Regardless of whether this
formula has been consciously followed
by the P.M.G., they have done it with
style, and their popularity is in-
creasing.

So, as always, the group played to
an eager, appreciative, and packed
Q.E. crowd on the 28th, but broke
tradition by playing Phase Dance as
the second song: Forward March, from
the new First Circle |.p., was the show
opener. The band members approach-
ed the stage, while the house lights
were still on, from the wings and the
aisles, playing a very off-key, off-
tempo, spacey march that was meant
to be funny, and was. Out of Phase
Dance into some others: Yolanda You

Learn, The First Circle, Tell it All
(from their latest), James, and Are
You Going With Me? (from Offramp),
plus ‘’a few new ones with no names,’’
and a slow Metheny-style We Can
Work it Out that they ‘‘just learned a
couple days ago.’’ For the encore, it
was the favourite, the title cut from
‘78's American Garage. No surprises
there.

The lineup has changed, though,
since the ‘82 Offramp album. Pedro
Aznar has replaced ‘fellow Brazilian
Nana Vasconcelos on ‘extra bizarre
instruments’’ and vocals. He does a
good job, but Nana’s style was unique.
Gone also is Dan Gottlib, replaced by
Paul’ Wertico (who played too loud
during Lyle Mays’ solo on San
Lorenzo).

But the core of the group has
remained unchanged since 1980:
Metheny on guitars and sitar; Mays,
as he sits barricaded behing his
keyboards, mixing accoustic and syn-
thesized sounds with incredible, tex-
tured blends; and the rock-steady
bie Rodby on accoustic and electric

ass.

The band has fantastic control over
dynamics; sometimes roaring, other
times playing so softly that the noise of
the few tactless photographers was
painfully clear. If Pat heard those
clicks during his quiet spots, he
pretended not to notice.

Metheny still commands the most

 

 

 

r
The Bard Speaks:
Laughter Let Loose

Jealousy jousted
Sharp spears spoken
Hearts wide open
True love ousted?

Laughter let loose
A wild west wind
For eyes to find

The calm and the truce.

by Robert Thomas

Laurence Arnold

%

rapt attention during his brand of jazz
guitar. Those clean, characteristic
solos that never cease to amaze.
Through a combination of expert
organization, the use of only first-rate
equipment, and his meticulous ap-
proach to his art, Pat Metheny gives to
his live performances the same clarity
and perfection that he does on record,
which is rare.

Humour has also been a part of his

Pat gets his kicks by playing his licks!!!

 

shows, and during .Ornette (for O.
Coleman), he did a hilarious parody of
heavy metal guitarist tricks - distortion
leads, thumb-slapping the strings, and
super-fast vibrato - all on his guitar,
synthesizer. His use of this instrume’
has been tedious in past shows, bu
thankfully this time, he didn’t overdo
it. If he ever wanted to dump jazz for
hard pop-rock, a lot of MTV bands
would be shamed.

  
 
   
  
 
  

 

&

 

Nominations are open

on Tuesday Nov. 13 for positions on
the Other Publications Society

Board of Directors. The election
will be held on Tuesday Nov. 27.

Note:All nomination forms must have the signatures of
10 Douglas College students.