Pat Metheny at Sumida Triphony Hall

This article first appeared in JazzTokyo and was translated from Japanese.

Pat Metheny
Sumida Triphony Hall
Tokyo, Japan
May 27 & 28, 2025

The announcement of Pat Metheny's 2025 Japan Solo Tour arrived unexpectedly, thrilling fans.

The Dream Box Tour solo concerts, held across Japan from January to February 2024, marked a striking departure from Metheny's previous performances, leaving an indelible impression.

Given the tour's profound impact and its extensive run from Sapporo to Osaka, many speculated that Metheny might not return to Japan for some time. Yet, in February 2025, just a year later, the surprising news of his return sparked widespread excitement among fans.

The 2025 Japan tour was part of the "Dream Box / Moondial" Asia-Oceania Tour, which began in Hawaii on May 9. The itinerary included China (May 16—21), South Korea (May 23-25), Japan (May 27-28), Singapore (May 30), and Australia (June 1). However, an urgent medical procedure forced the cancellation of the China dates. With Japan's performances just ten days later, fans were anxious, but fortunately, the issue was not serious, and the tour proceeded as planned from South Korea onward.

Concert Day

Before the performance, a large bookshelf-like structure, draped in black cloth, stood at the back of the stage, accompanied by amplifiers, a chair, and an acoustic guitar. Audience members approached the stage, capturing photos with their smartphones. As the start time neared, a recorded greeting by Pat Metheny played through the hall. The English audio faded into Japanese, discussing topics such as solo performance, his relationship with Charlie Haden, acoustic guitar techniques, and the baritone guitar, offering insight into the concert's structure. It concluded with, "I think you'll be surprised by tonight's performance," eliciting enthusiastic applause.

Enter Stage Left

Pat Metheny entered slowly from stage left, settled into a central chair, removed his jacket, and placed it carefully on an amplifier. With a nylon-string acoustic guitar, he performed a medley of familiar songs, captivating the audience with his serene mastery.

A Bold Departure

This nylon-string medley had opened the 2024 concerts, but what followed was unprecedented—not only for 2024 but in Metheny's entire career. Remarkably, he launched into a lengthy, unscripted monologue in English without an interpreter. "For 50 years, I've rarely spoken at length into a microphone, but tonight, I'm going to talk a lot!" he declared. The monologue, lasting over five minutes after the first song, covered his beginnings as a guitarist in a family of trumpet players, his discovery of the Beatles and jazz, and memories of Charlie Haden. The second piece, a medley from his 1997 duo album with Haden, Beyond the Missouri Sky, followed.

A World Crafted by Diverse Guitars

For the third piece, Metheny switched to a steel-string baritone guitar for "Song for the Boys." Its resonant low tones and crisp strums filled the hall with warmth.

The fourth piece showcased a Taylor 8-string steel-string acoustic guitar, positioned stage right. Evoking Zero Tolerance for Silence (1994), the avant-garde performance featured wild head movements and scratchy noises from scraping the round-wound strings with a pick. The live intensity was electrifying.

This guitar, a type of baritone, has a standard tuning of A-D-G-C-E-A, with doubled third and fourth strings (mimicking a 12-string guitar) often strung an octave higher. Sources suggest Metheny sometimes uses a unique tuning, such as F-C-D#-E-C#-A#-A#-A, though the exact tuning for this performance remains unclear. Notably, while Metheny meticulously tuned each guitar before playing, this one, pre-positioned on a stand, was played without adjustment—perhaps intentional for its avant-garde style.

The fifth piece introduced the 42-string Picasso guitar, its shimmering highs and rich lows reverberating through the hall. Used since the 1997 Imaginary Day tour, its visual and sonic presence dominated, even among other distinctive instruments.

Baritone Guitars: The Heart of the Tour

Before the sixth piece, Metheny delivered another extended monologue, explaining the baritone guitar's unique sound. By tuning the third and fourth strings an octave higher, it creates a layered effect, as if three guitars—low (1st and 2nd strings), high (3rd and 4th strings), and mid-range (5th and 6th strings)—play in unison.

The sixth piece featured a steel-string baritone guitar with fanned frets, performing a medley from One Quiet Night (2003) and What's It All About (2011). The deep resonance of the 5th and 6th strings blended beautifully with mid-and high-range tones. A nylon-string baritone guitar followed, presenting three pieces from Moondial (2024), its soft, luminous tone enveloping the hall.

A Sonic Universe of Loopers, Orchestrion, and Unique Guitars

After the Moondial pieces, Metheny played bass notes on the nylon-string baritone guitar, recording them into a looper. With these looping, he performed the standard "Morning of the Carnival" on an electric guitar, signaling the start of the looper-driven second half.

The next piece, a blues progression, began with bass parts recorded into the looper using the 6th string of an Ibanez PM-200-style electric guitar with a Charlie Christian pickup. Despite its standard appearance, the 6th string, equivalent to a bass guitar's 3rd string (reportedly 0.080-inch gauge), was designed for layering sounds.

To deepen the sound, Metheny likely used the Gamechanger Audio PLUS Pedal, which sustains the last note played, akin to a piano's sustain pedal. Its distinctive effect enhanced several electric guitar sections. The standard "I Fall in Love Too Easily" followed, performed soulfully without the looper. Another looper-driven piece ensued, and the audience roared as if it were the finale. Then, the black cloth at the stage's rear was removed, revealing the Orchestrion.

Metheny picked up an Ibanez PM-120 stage right, using its AXON pickup to send MIDI signals, controlling the Orchestrion's glockenspiel, cymbals, and other sounds. His joy in improvising with the vibrant Orchestrion was palpable.

A mini-cymbal soon began marking rhythm, and a 3/4 blues piece started, ascending chromatically three times before returning to the original key. A white ball stage right flashed red, white, and blue, visually reinforcing the 3/4 rhythm. Metheny darted between guitars and a bass, layering sounds to build the backing track. He then took up a Roland G303 guitar, its GR300 guitar synth producing emotive, weeping tones that stirred the audience as the key shifted. The piece ended with a sharp sextuplet phrase, prompting a standing ovation.

Encore

The encore featured "Sueño Con Mexico" with the Orchestrion, radiating warmth and nostalgia. From Metheny's 1979 solo album New Chautauqua, it features multi-tracked guitars with two arpeggio patterns—C-G-D-E and C-G-B-F#—repeated while shifting bass notes create vibrant harmonies. For instance, the C-G-D-E arpeggio sounds like C/D with a D bass, Fmaj9 with an F bass, and C/Bb with a Bb bass. These delicate shifts amplify the song's beauty. Originally crafted with multi-tracked guitars, seeing this 50-year-old concept reborn live with modern loopers and sequencers was profoundly moving.

Amid thunderous applause, Metheny performed solo pieces on steel-and nylon-string baritone guitars, concluding the concert. Smiling broadly, he spread his arms, bowed deeply, tucked his elbows, and briskly exited, as he did in 2024.

The 2-hour-30-minute, uninterrupted performance encapsulated Metheny's nearly 50-year career, from his 1970s debut to his 2024 album, in a profoundly rich experience.

Despite a pre-tour medical procedure, Metheny's energy was boundless. The setlist mirrored the 2024 Sapporo concert I attended, but its texture was markedly refined. Since 2024, Metheny performed 84 solo concerts across the U.S. and Europe, culminating in this performance. The 2024 shows were exceptional, but this concert's smoothness and harmonic richness surpassed them. At over 70, Metheny's continued evolution is awe-inspiring.

A superstar at his peak, yet relentlessly pushing forward. What new world will he explore next? I eagerly await and will follow him always.

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