There’s got to be a reason that an artist like Pat Metheny continues to be as popular both as a recording and touring artist, and all of the draws of Mr. Metheny were well displayed in the cozy confines of Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre. Simply put, he is one of those rare musician/artists that attracts a wide swath of fans for a wide variety of reasons.
For the guitar freaks, all you have to do is count the number of different axes he used. He opened up with his patented 3-necked guitar with built in zither on a lovely solo ballad. By the time he gotten to his fourth song with the stellar team of Chris Potter/reeds, Ben Williams/b and Antonio Sanchez/dr, he had gone through 5 6 stringers (Could anyone REALLY tell the difference between a wide body and narrow body hollow guitar?). For those who simply want some impressive chops on display, Metheny went one on one with each sideman (each a leader of his own band when not with Mr. M). He wailed through a standard at lightning speed with the dexterous Potter, honed down the blues with Williams, and went arm wrestling with Sanchez on a free for all improvisation that created enough sparks to start a forest fire.
For those who just want a cooking groove, Metheny and the Unity Band delivered exciting rivulets of sound from their recent release, with exciting unison lines between Potter and Metheny on “Roofdogs” and earthy focused changes of moods and directions on “Come and See.” For the mad scientist in all of us, Metheny again brought out his giant lab kit of the Orchestron and looked like Dr. Brown in Back To The Future as he experimented with sounds and textures on the startling clever “Orchestron Sketch”. By the time he closed with “This Is Not America” and “Sept 15” and showing his prowess at romantic strumming, picking and harmonizing, Metheny had satisfied those that came for the heart, the soul and the toe tapping. Not an easy feat, showing that fans always appreciate an artist who is always on the search for new musical lands.