Ed S Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) I went to the the Pat Metheny Unity group concert last night (3/19) at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts. In a word - terrific. Metheny opened playing solo guitar with one of his specially designed guitars that has multiple sets of strings on it. It was okay, but I have to admit it was my least favorite part of the show. He was then joined on stage by the original Unity Band. They played a bunch of stuff from that album and a few Metheny classics before Metheny finally went to the mic and introduced the band and joked that they were sort of their own opening act - as he used that opportunity to introduce the new Unity Group and their new album - Kin. I had never heard the music on Kin prior to last night and was looking forward to hearing it for the first time. Some adjectives that popped in my head while listening to various sections of the album - beautiful, powerful, interesting, intense, gorgeous, lush, textured, creative, orchestral. The Unity Group is the Unity Band - Chris Potter, Ben Williams, Antonio Sanchez - plus multi-instumentalist/vocalist Giulio Carmassi. Also added to the mix was an array of Metheny's orchestrion devices. Loved every minute of it. After the Kin stuff, Metheny played a series of duets with each band member. Each was different and a nice diversion from the group material- virtuoso caliber playing. After that - there were a few more songs out of Metheny's extensive catalog - both from PMG and his other bands. An encore followed - Are You Going With Me - to which Potter added an interesting new dimension by playing flute. For a second encore - Metheny came out solo with an acoustic guitar and proceeded to perform a medley of some of his more famous songs - most of which I'd only heard as PMG material - concluding with a great reading of Farmer's Trust. I thought the performance was stunning. Overall, a great night of music from one of my favorites. Metheny was on fire. Each of the band members were prominent throughout the night as well. Potter was a monster on sax, Williams and Sanchez were excellent. The new guy - Carmassi - added a nice dimension and his vocals on the group pieces were audible - but not overpowering - more to add depth and texture. The orchestrion also added nice layers to the music - particularly in the quieter pieces. I liked the more toned down interpretations of PMG material as well. Show lasted about 5 minutes short of 3 hours with no breaks. Awesome night. Edited for some typos Edited March 20, 2014 by Ed Swinnich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) Sounds great and will be tempted to go and see them when they tour the UK. You can never accuse Metheny of short-changing the audience with the generous duration of his concerts. Edited March 20, 2014 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xybert Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) I've really enjoyed the new album, sounds like the live show would be a blast. Edited March 20, 2014 by xybert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tranemonk Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Sounds fantastic... I'm going in a couple of weeks when he's here in Boston! Both Unity Band records are outstanding.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 I was there last night as well, having bought a ticket after seeing the group in Columbus last week. Although I had a seat at the end of the front row in Buffalo, the vibes entirely blocked my view of Carmassi . I agree that it was a great night. I think that the only difference in set material was the avant-garde-sounding tune (from Song X?) from the Unity Band part of the set. I've been a Chris Potter fan for years, so I got a kick out of seeing him strum a guitar, and he is definitely firing on all cylinders. Their duo on 'Solar' was particularly inspired. The title tune from Bright Size Life is so ingrained in my memory that I kept expecting some Jaco-like harmonics from Ben Williams when they did a duo, but Williams really shined on that classic and throughout the rest of the night. Another highlight of the concerts for me was Pat's solo encore. I guess I need to pick up Tap and One Quiet Night. All in all, they played a lot of the strong material from Unity Band and Kin. Although Bright Size Life was one of the first jazz albums I bought 12 or so years ago, it's only been in the last year and half (since seeing the Unity Band in 2012) that I've really dug into more of his work (outside of the record with Scofield). For me, now that his music has gotten into my head, it’s become addictive. He has assembled a top-notch band that shouldn’t be missed live or on record. I can't wait to hear where they go next, especially with the expanded lineup; with Carmassi playing almost everything and the added textures of the Orchestrion, an already expansive group has become even more so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed S Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 Hey Justin, Thanks for putting some titles to the music I was hearing. I recognized melodies but am terrible with song names. Glad you like the show as well. Are you from Buffalo or Columbus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin V Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 Hey Justin, Thanks for putting some titles to the music I was hearing. I recognized melodies but am terrible with song names. Glad you like the show as well. Are you from Buffalo or Columbus? Well I'm from Erie but live in the Cleveland area. I logged almost 700 miles of Metheny-related driving in a week's time. If you saw my car, you'd know that that was an accomplishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 Given this discussion, I thought it might be worthwhile to repost my previous post in September of 2012 in the "What Live Music Are You Going to See Tonight?" thread. ================= If anyone has even a passing interest in Pat Metheny, I HIGHLY recommend trying to catch a Unity Band show. I saw them last night in Orange County and they were absolutely burning. They played for almost 2.5 hours, which included four encores. About 95% of the sold out crowd remained after the end of the last encore.Pat spent most of the night on his hollow-body Gibson electric, jumping to synth for two songs from the new album (Roofdogs and one other), an Orchestrion showcase, and Are You Going with Me (with Potter playing Lyle Mays' parts on the flute!) during the first encore. He began the night on his Pikasso guitar and added his six-string acoustic for part of one song from Unity Band and for an incredible solo acoustic medley (I caught Minuano, Last Train Home, and This Is Not America at least). Except for maybe the first turn on the acoustic, Pat's style was instantly recognizable on all his assortment of guitars.Chris Potter is a great foil for Pat on the lead, and the second highlight of the night for me was a smokin' Metheny-Potter duo version of Solar, with the song beginning as a round, Potter offset from Metheny by the first eight bars of the tune. Incredible.The highlight of the night was a lengthy mini-"Orchestrion" tune constructed over a D-C + D pedal point vamp, with three distinct 'sections' of loops recorded by Pat for a stripped-down Orchestrion (finger cymbals, two xylophone, jars, and one set of cymbals/drums, I believe). After Pat built the vamps, the rest of the band joined in, with Pat and Chris Potter often engaging in soloing simultaneously.The CD doesn't really do justice to seeing this group live. Several songs have an faint-ECM sound on disc, but live, everything was much more "in your face," so to speak. Even their rendition of Two Folk Songs was more immediate than what I remember from 80/81.The primary reason for this "in your face" immediacy, I think, is Antonio Sanchez, who is a force of nature. I never saw Pat with Roy Haynes, but I'm not sure there is a better drummer for Pat than Antonio Sanchez. Their communication was telepathic and his post-bop/disguised funk style is a perfect match for Pat's writing.In any case, one of the best shows I have ever attended. ================ We've recently moved, so I haven't been able to listen much to the new album yet. I am definitely planning to see the new Unity Band live again, however. Other thoughts: I've seen Pat solo with the Orchestrion, and I think the "evolution" of that instrument is pretty neat to witness. The way he's integrated the Orchestrion is completely organic and truly adds a dimension to the band's sound, and the way the rest of the band has embraced it has eliminated any "gimmicky" aspect of it (if there ever was one). Even when Sanchez's and the Orchestrion were "dual" drummers, everything just seemed right. I'd be curious to hear how Carmassi adds his percussion (if he does) to the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Shearn Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Seeing them live in NYC next friday. Cannot wait!!! A friend of mine who's never heard Pat will have her mind blown, I think. The only bad review I've seen of this tour came from Howard Reich, who just went in with the agenda to bash Pat. He has no tolerance for jazz that goes past 1970, clearly, or that uses electronics. Pat's son is a huge dance music fan (heard him say that in other interviews) and part of the title track's sonic influence comes from what Pat's heard in that music....... so so great Edited March 21, 2014 by CJ Shearn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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