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mugsy Nov 21 2011 at 8:51 PM	I am wondering why we haven’t heard much from our friends overseas...regarding the Trio tour? I for one, would love to hear about the shows, since it doesn’t look promising for a US tour...
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yossarian Dec 02 2011 at 6:33 PM	Last trio gig of the tour coming up in Athens, after what appears to be a few days’ break in the eastern med. Wish I was out there. I reckon the boys should stop over in London on the way home and do a gig. Is the QEH free?
Dazedcat Dec 01 2011 at 3:40 PM	Pat’s latest podcast about this trio is quite good, very illuminating.
thehague Nov 29 2011 at 3:24 PM	Then that would be "Find me in your wee dram", lol.
Antoñete Nov 28 2011 at 5:30 PM	Ha, ha, Pete. I make plenty of unwitting typos, but this is a good one. Though I’ve needed wordreference to understand it, I confess.
Pete_Vancouver Nov 28 2011 at 2:49 PM	Antonete : "Find me in your drams" may well have been an unwitting typo , but it does provide a rather inspirational song title in its own merit . As these boards occasionally benefit from the contributions of some aficionados of the malt-based beverage , the idea of a fine 12-year-old brew and a Metheny composition would be enough to send me off to sleep nicely .
mugsy Nov 26 2011 at 9:19 PM	Thank you all, for your very descriptive and upbeat reviews. I caught this trio back during the 99-00 tour and they were great then. I can only imagine the depth their playing has reached today. I too, only wish that I could travel right now, but unfortunately, it is not in my cards in the moment. I do hope they make another CD - ’11-’12, perhaps?
Bikenjazz Nov 25 2011 at 9:54 AM	Thank you Scratch and Ms. A for your descriptive and elaborative perceptions of the concerts. I saw Pat and Larry back in September here in Portland, Oregon...........and, I had the sneaking feeling and knowledge that by now.........the boys and Mr. Stewart would REALLY be warmed up. Thanks again for the posts from someone who wishes he could be there, see there, and feel there.
george watson Nov 24 2011 at 5:13 PM	Having seen the feedback on this forum from early on in the tour, I decided to jump on a plane from Scotland to Spain for a Metheny road trip. Boy was it worth it ! First gig for me was on the south coast in Cartagena in a new and stunningly modern concert venue beside the port. The two hour set had something for everyone from right across Pat’s huge catalogue. Great to hear the trio. It was mesmerising - as you might expect. The set included a pikasso guitar piece which was dramatic, as well as a new to me improvised tune which sounded great and was also visually spectacular. Final encore was Pat solo - you could hear a pin drop. Immense. From here I drove through a massive thunderstorm before boarding the high speed train which took me cross country to Madrid and the Teatro Circo Price, a different type of venue and a crowd who were really up for it. The set contained five or six changes to the previous night and the reaction of the crowd reflected the performance on stage. Bill is such a dynamic player and brings an attacking edge as well as a bit of fun to the party while Larry drives things along with detail and precision. Pat was enjoying the gig and a blistering solo brought the crowd to their feet. The set ran to four encores. Highlight of the trip though was the last song of the evening in Madrid on the baritone, beautiful and breathtaking. Gracias and more please !
thehague Nov 24 2011 at 3:30 PM	Great reviews, Scratch and Antoñete. Much appreciated.
METHenyaddicted Nov 24 2011 at 3:16 PM	Especially refreshing is the ’improv without a name’ that has seemed to adopt a slavic-folk song start as it began to play thoughout the eastern Europe tour. I love this cosmic improv which, if I may wax eloquently, brings to the imagination tinkling cymbals of sounds not unlike a spring melt as it grows into a rushing torrent carving its way through canyonlands to emerge a tamed gentle flow at the Pacfic ocean. I call this improv ’Melts’ or ’Musical ELements in a Tapestry of Syncopation. But perhaps, Garagers can suggest a creative title for this ’improv without a name’ - it deserves one. Hope it gets put on an upcoming dvd.
Dazedcat Nov 24 2011 at 2:21 PM	Great review Scratch, thanks for taking the time to post it. Sounds truly epic.
Antoñete Nov 24 2011 at 7:49 AM	Healthy_Scratch, fantastic report of your Spanish Metheny Tour! I’ve enjoyed so much reading it. I agree with you about "Find me in your drams", and about "The good life" (which is a song I never paid so much attention to) and the rest of the encores, who were superb. Something similar happened to me with "Stranger in town", That’s another song I had never paid the attention it deserves, until I heard it as an encore on the Orchestrion tour which was a revelation for me. My other highlight was to experience live the expanded "Question and Answer". Amazing solo by Larry on that song and shivering when Bill is soloing and then you see Pat’s grabbing his synth guitar, then calmly pushes some pedal with his foot, then another, then a third one... and then you know. Something is going to happen here.
healthy_scratch Nov 23 2011 at 10:46 AM	Ask and ye shall recieve... Its true as Antoñete pointed out (BTW good to see you again in Teatro Circo Price!), I enjoyed my mini tour of Spain which was conveniently wrapped around a weekend. Quite the little tour capped off by taking my almost 5-year old to his first concert in Madrid. Needless to say he enjoyed it immensely especially the guitar with all the strings. The shows were fantastic a dream setlist for me. These guys throw it down each and every night. I stupidly forgot to bring a pen to each of the shows to jot down the setlist, I know I had my Blackberry but I am too much of a Luddite to pull it out for setlist purposes at a show. I had seen this Trio before in 99-00 very early on that tour and they have gelled and matured very well. They are a better unit now from what I saw over the three nights. Both Bill and Larry have big ears and listen - not merely following but carving new paths through some pretty treacherous changes at times. This band is on fire do not hesitate to see them if they come near you. I had great seats as well in Madrid and Seville. Front row centre in Seville, 2nd row center in Madrid. These were both sit down more formal affairs. Seville was your typical nice reasonably modern theatre with comfy seats and good sound. Madrid was in a rounded 40s-50s circus ring-like theatre where you feel like Vincent Price may have felt at home. The upper levels consist of plush red seats in a ring around the stage and climbing fairly steeply up to the roof. The floor is where the circus ring would be and it has been filled up with more plush red seats. Zaragoza was different scene entirely - kind of like going to a Jazz Festival (like what I remember the North Sea Festival used to be when it was in Den Haag). A big auditorium where half the floor was filled with candle lit tables and the other half were just folded up seats. Add to this there was a full bar set up inside the venue where you could order tapas and all kinds of drinks at very reasonable prices (I mean a glass of quite decent Spanish red at 2 euros a pop, and tapas at equally reasonable prices and in good quantity, giddy up!). I had not had time to eat dinner before the show so I made the most of this. There were also actually video screens so you could always have a good view of the stage no matter where you ahppen to be. This was actually a good idea as the hall was rather cavernous. Anyhow Zaragoza for my for my taste and mood was a very fitting setup for a Friday night and to be fair everyone seemed rather respectful and quiet meaning both the staff who worked the gig as well as the audience, no small feat given the potential problems such a setup could actually entail anywhere to be honest. Definitely a little different from the standard European Metheny experience at other indoor venues I have had the pleasure of attending. All three shows were phenomenal and though the setlists differed little minus the encores, as you all know Pat seldom plays anything the same way once anyhow. Its a trio greatest hits package as well for me, it is one kick ass song after another. I think Zaragoza wins for the different ambiance and overall experience. Mind you Pat was pumped to play in Madrid and the very enthusiastic and appreciative crowd pulled him out for four excellent encores even on a Monday night. I have a feeling there may have been time constraints with the hall in Seville hence only one encore, because it was not like the playing or vibe was off. I mean I do not even know where to begin with highlights just say everything. The one moment that really got me is the return of Find Me In Your Dreams to the original acoustic setting I saw it in first. I saw it first in 2006 in its acoustic format in Cordoba with the Antonio & Christian trio. This was the song of the night for me in Cordoba on that eve and once again was my personal highlight across these 3 shows. This, primarily because the ballad has returned to its nylon 6-string acoustic format and it is purely and simply a sublime piece of music. I think the power and beauty of this song was mitigated somewhat on the Metheny - Meldhau disc mostly for the instrumentation (electric guitar piano format), for me it lost some of its punch on record. So much to my delight Pat reached for the Manzer standard tuned nylon 6-string and poored his heart into delivering a poignant tribute to his local friend and cutting edge musician in his own right, flamenco pioneer Enrique Morente. Pat spoke of their previous collaborations on record and in concert and used the piece as a fitting tribute to his friend and colleague who passed away last December after complications from surgery. He also mentioned that Enrique’s daughter Estrella has set lyrics to the piece and that it will be available on her forthcoming album. But mentioning one song in isolation does not do justice to the talent of the trio and the pace and build of the entire show that culminates in the segment where Pat blows people’s minds. I have seen hundreds of concerts from across all idioms Jazz, Rock, Blues Funk and all shades in between and quite simply the energy, dedication as an artist, the passion for pushing the boundaries of the guitar as an instrument and the level of improvisation Pat brings to the stage night in night out has always floored me. Add to this his prolific output as a songwriter, but perhaps Pat’s greatest accomplishment as a live performer is his capacity to transmit the sheer joy he communicates through his music from the stage each and every time I see him. Like the finest vintages Pat just keeps getting better with age and essentially he is his own genre of music. By the way The Good Life is simply the most joyous encore ever what a fine tune to wind down the evening with! And that would be the long but not the short of it all from my point of view.
thehague Nov 23 2011 at 5:26 AM	Unfortunately no gigs in Holland.
john Nov 22 2011 at 1:27 PM	You’ve not heard anything from the U.K. as he ain’t been here. Maybe 2012. Cheers John
Antoñete Nov 22 2011 at 8:22 AM	Maybe Healthy_Scratch can tell us about his spanish Pat Metheny Tour. He was Saturday in Seville (540 kms.), Sunday in Zaragoza (860 kms.) and yesterday in Madrid (320 kms.) at the other side of the aisle with his family, including as he said, his spiderman dressed 5 year old son.
Antoñete Nov 22 2011 at 8:17 AM	Hi, Mugsy: I can tell you that Pat and Co played yesterday in Madrid. No Madrid newspaper, either on line or paper has, at this moment, published a word about it. And the show was part of the city’s jazz festival. The amostphere was great, much better than it was at the Orchestrion show. And to my surprise, the theater was packed with an apreciative and respectful audience who made Pat and co. play four encores, which had some unexpected bites of pleasure. The show, as always. Great conception, fantastic playing, masterpieces, variety of songs, music, instruments, playing, well... Pat Metheny.
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