Pat Metheny at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (9/26/23) -Review By: Niki Kaos

Extraordinary. Exceptional. Enthralling. Pat Metheny’s compositions, arrangements and guitar work
dazzled a rapt audience at the Troy Saving Bank Music Hall for his latest solo tour. This was a show
where you could hear a pin drop, and it was clear the fans were ready to relish Metheny’s technical
wizardry translated to a range of emotive musical styles.

An intimate feel with a unique twist. The stage had all these unidentifiable objects under black drop
cloths surrounding the musician, who had hair like a salt and pepper Einstein and a twinkle in his eye to
match. These “props” will be revealed later during the show. Metheny opens with a selection of songs
from his latest album, Dream Box. And dreamy is exactly the feeling as ethereal melodies are enveloped
by a bass that resonates throughout the hall.

It’s hard to believe all this sound is coming from one person and one guitar. But that was just the
beginning. And there were SOOO many guitars for one person! Metheny’s guitar tech was efficient and
unobtrusive while he supplied a range of options throughout the show, discreetly removing and
replacing the instruments between songs.

Metheny changes guitars like Beyonce changes outfits, and each one adds something extra and specific
to the song. During one of his vignettes between songs he comments to the people sitting in the front
rows of the hall, calling them out as suspected guitar players. It is fair, because they all are watching
attentively every move in hopes of gleaning some lessons from this master class.

I am one of these people. I study each guitar to understand what are the tricks that help achieve such
magic? Metheny is one step ahead of me and asks us guitar players to indulge him while he describes
what he is doing for those in the audience who are not guitar nerds. He further endears, explaining the
difference between nylon and steel strings, what a baritone guitar sounds like, and why he collaborated
to invent a 42-string guitar called the Pikasso, which he played for us during the show.

The stories about the instruments and how he selects each one as carefully as he selects band members
are as entertaining as the songs. The concepts are distilled in a way that helps inform the audience
without overwhelming with technical detail. I’m starting to wonder if this man is some kind of deity in
the disguise of Puck causing impish mischief though the power of musical expression.
Oh, remember how I mentioned those mysterious props earlier? As Metheny expertly makes his way
from the nylon string classical guitar leaning arrangements to the differently electrified, ambient, and
meticulously detailed guitarwork selected from songs spanning his career, we start to see the loop
pedals employed. And the one man show turns into a one-man band. Occasionally, a drop cloth is
removed to reveal another instrument set up to be played. And then the mother of all cloth is dropped,
and a percussion wall is revealed.

It’s very hard to explain because I’ve never seen anything like it before employed in a live concert.
Metheny’s website explains “Orchestrionics is the term that I am using to describe a method of
developing ensemble-oriented music using acoustic and acoustoelectric musical instruments that are
mechanically controlled in a variety of ways, using solenoids and pneumatics.”

It was captivating to witness, but the most fascinating thing was how well it added to the music. These
are not just your average bells and whistles – these are intricately designed instruments programmed to
employ in perfect coordination percussion and sonic tones that accompany Metheny’s live performance.
At one point, he had three different guitars set up on loopers, hung up on stands, the “orchestronics”
going in the background, and picks up a fourth guitar to solo over the rest of the music. Normally I would
think – gee- this guy is really showing off. But it just seemed so perfectly effortless that I didn’t care – I
just was mesmerized, entertained, and inspired.

There was never a dull moment – and the audience hung on to every word and every note. There were
three standing ovations at the end of the show for the final three songs. Because we knew it wasn’t the
encore, but what we had just witnessed was so remarkable, people were compelled to stand up and
acknowledge gratitude for being a part of the moment. This tour is just getting started, so if you are a
Metheny fan, I highly encourage you to find the closest city or make a road trip and check out this tour.
It’s phenomenal.

Kudos to the Troy Music Hall for this and the many other amazing shows they bring to Troy. The range of
thoughtfully selected acts complements the hall’s renown acoustics beautifully. If you’re interested in
their future programs or becoming a subscriber so you get the best access to future events, visit:
https://www.troymusichall.org/support-us/