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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1982)
Saint Patrick returns to Emerald Empire By Matt Meyer Olth* Emerald A little bit of heaven dropped into the Hult Center Wednesday night Pat Metheny, the jazz guitarist Rolling Stone magazine says "plays like wind through the trees in heaven,” and his band mesmerized their audience with three straight hours of angelic music Whether making his gui tar whisper and caress sweet melodies sounding like a gentle breeze, or whipping out wild synthesized guitar runs in a whirlwind of sound, Metheny blew through his second Eugene appearance this year with energy, humor and consis tent quality “Yeah, it was a lot of fun out there,' Metheny said backstage after the show "We've had four really good nights in a row, and we've been ready to play here ” Other performances on this tour will recorded for a live al bum Metheny is considering Unfortunately, the Eugene concert won't be included, due to difficulties scheduling the recording equipment Metheny said he'd heard and read good things about the Mult Center, and was curious to know whether they were true "Everyone kept telling me it was the best You’re always skep tical when you hear that "It's by far the best there is It's probably the best concert hall in the world "To give you an idea, this is the first time in over four years we haven't used our own P A This place is really incredible It's like playing in a cross between a recording studio and a living room" Despite Metheny's glowing report, the sound system did have problems adjusting to the hall's first jazz-rock show The much-acclaimed acoustics of the Silva Concert Hall served only to amplify poor mixing at the beginning of the concert Pat Metheny screamed solos and murmured melodies while living up to his reputation as the guitarist who “plays like wind through the trees in heaven" during his performance at the Hult Center Wednesday and electronic hum at the end During the first two songs, Lyle Mays' spectacular piano work was almost inaudible and the treble on Dan Gottlieb’s cym bals and Nana Vasconcelos' percussive instruments was similarly muted Later in the concert, a phenomenal berim bau solo by Vasconcelos was marred by a distracting bass hum One song, "James," featured a stringless guitar-synthesizer called a synclavier, with a deep, bell-like tone somewhere between tubular bells and a clavier According to Metheny, the instrument "translates gui tar-like gestures into something the computer can understand It's really 'out1. " His synclavier is a prototype, and there are still a few bugs to be worked out At times, he says, it throws in notes that haven't been fingered by the musician. “It's very hard to play,'' Meth eny said You've got to be so careful, you can't really get into it like other instruments Even tonight I had some trouble with it." Metheny's music has two components: academic and emotional Some of the songs take scholarly concentration to fully appreciate the musical stylings and improvisations the band produces At other times, the music quietly reaches down into the listener's soul and un expectedly releases emotions in a rich flow of feeling. In either mode, the band blends tradi tional melodic jazz with straight-ahead modern jazz im provisations. Finally, the Pat Metheny Group blends the modern, high-tech sound of synthesizers with the mellow, traditional sounds of acoustic guitar and the ancient berimbau, a per cussive instrument resembling a gourd attached to a bow "We re real interested in us ing advances in technology in a musical way," Metheny says. "I see no reason why a berimbau — which is thousands of years old — shouldn’t appear next to a synthesizer If you've got something to say, a' musical statement to make, it doesn't matter if you use a kazoo or a $10,000 guitar synthesizer.'' The audience Wednesday night gladly accepted all phases of Metheny's music, from the wildly abstract to the soft and smooth One of the high points of the concert was the debut of six original tunes written a week before the band started its two month tour Many of the songs were untitled, and varied from a soft acoustic ballad (accom panied by duck imitations by Vasconcelos) to hard-hitting improvisational pieces with per cussion debbie roberts a true reflection Ah, adolescence! — a time of "zits" and innocence For most of us, puberty was a pain, and growing up was just an awkward phase, or so our parents said In "Gregory's Girl," adoles cence abounds, and no one is spared its cute ness, insecurity, and moments of pain — including the audience "Gregory's Girl" is a refreshing respite from the formula drugged-out teenage runaway movie and the kid-sex movies a la Brooke Shields ram pant nowadays in television and cinema The film, made in Cumbermauld, Scotland, is filled with quaint phrases such as "a wee bit, lassie” and "really goot, mum." Best of all, "Gregory's Girl" has teenagers who really look like kids growing up One of those kids is Gregory (Gordon John Sinclair), a spindle-legged soccer player who deals with acne and who by his own admission "bruises like a peach ” A bright boy with a strange sense of humor (he likes to dance lying down), Gregory is terribly in love with the star of his soccer team — Dorothy (Dee Hepburn) Dorothy is everything Gregory isn't — self assured, talented and quite robust Dorothy "hardly bruises at all.” The story, thereafter, follows a delightful, though sometimes too cute, course charting Gregory's antics and efforts as he tries to ask Dorothy for a date One scene in which Dorothy encounters Gregory in the locker room is particularly en dearing as Gregory in embarrassment tries to shield his "breasts" from Dorothy’s gaze Another scene has Gregory asking advice about love, not from his friends, but from his sister, Madeline (Allison Forster) Madeline is wise to the ways of courtship and tells Gregory that he better start concentrating on colors when he dresses But Madeline still sensibly drinks "ginger beer and ice cream — because she's just a kid after all" "Gregory s Girl” isn't the best film, but it makes you feel good about having gone through puberty, and it makes you awfully glad that you re done with it all The acting is natural, the ending has an entertaining twist, and the film is a charmer aililil Oatmeat Chocolate Chip JSate Bate f|£| Oatmeal Raistn !|iii!!IISii!l Be«3nut But^r Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip MONSTER COOKIE CO 460 Willamette Eugene, OR 97401 687-1064 Wholesale & Retail r . once you’ve hit ROCK BOTTOM ... there’s nowhere else to go! 25% ,o 60% Guaranteed Savings! on factory seconds close outs and discon tmued leans Choose from denims cords and fabrics m a variety of colors and styles We can t advertise our brand names cause our prices are SO LOW THOUSANDS OF PAIRS IN STOCK! 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