Rating: 
Summary: I Love This DVD
Review: As a casual fan, I was surprised at how thoroughly I enjoyed this disc. I've followed Metheny's career sporadically since the mid-70s, and I've always felt that (sorry Forrest Gump) a Pat Metheny album was like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you're going to get. But I've always enjoyed the adventurous spirit inherent in the music, if not always the music itself. Having seen "We Live Here", I'm prepared to dust off the CDs and give them a fresh listen. I didn't particularly care for the interviews edited into the concert footage -- they would have been fine were they included as an add-on feature, *after* the show. But watching Metheny perform and interact with the other excellent musicians in the group gave me a renewed appreciation for the PMG. I went to "First Circle" with some skepticism. It seemed to me a difficult composition to successfully perform live, coupled with the fact that Pedro Aznar's vocals were replaced with those by David Blamires and Mark Ledford. But they carried it off perfectly before an enthusiastic Japanese audience. "First Circle" and "Antonia" are well worth the price of admission. In terms of production values, sound, picture quality and content, this is one of the finer concert DVDs in my library. I can't stop playing it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent production; group in good form; not the best music
Review: As a dedicated and long-term Pat Metheny fan, I can say that this concert and interview video is well-produced and satisfying overall. The interview clips are short, but usually interesting. Pat and Lyle Mays are the most articulate and interesting of the lot. Pat's comments on his relationship to music and the audience capture the essential of musical integrity. (Take that, Kenny G!) Paul Wertico, on the other hand, just shows a photo of his new baby and stammers out a few things... But on to the music. This tour promoted the "We Live Here" recording, one of my least favorite of the PMG offerings. About half of the tunes have quite a pop feel. Some of these include the dreaded drum machine. There is more voice (but never words or scat) than on any other PMG recording I can remember. Nevertheless, even this "We Live Here" material is well done and has the added dimension of spontaneity and creativity when performed live. The two singers play an amazing host of instruments as well (brass, vibes, guitar, accordian, etc.), which add a pleasing colar and texture. Several PMG standards, such as "First Circle," are featured and played excellently. The low point is "This is Not America," which is not jazz by any standard. It's chief virtue is that is short. To my knowledge, "Scrap Metal" has never been recorded on CD. It is an "outside" or intense free jazz kind of piece, probably influenced by Pat's association with saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman ("Song X"). It features Wertico on drums, who relies more a bit much on special effects (cowbells that trigger samples) and a mountain of cymbols. Give me a well-crafted jazz solo on a small kit (say, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes) any day. Pat is in very good form. He takes off in full flight on the final piece, which features a quick guitar chop as the main phrase. Despite my complaints, seeing this much of Pat's playing makes the video worthwhile. Nevertheless, I'd take a video of a Pat Metheny Trio date any time, since that allows him to improvise more freely and interact with the other musicians in way truer to the ambience of jazz. Douglas Groothuis
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Love it!
Review: Context: I am a long time Metheny fan, guitarist, have been to 3 of his concerts, am not an audiofile but do prefer high quality sound.
I am very happy with my purchase of this DVD. Most of his best songs from that era are on here and are reproduced very well. I thought the sound quality was good to excellent. Not every shot was concentrated on Metheny's spectacular guitar work but there was still plenty of it to be had. Don't care for Scrap Metal, but hey...it's a DVD, just skip it!
As for the interviews, I didn't find them to be particularly instrusive or exceptionally boring. I give it a thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Typical PMG
Review: good licks from the rythem section with Lyle's usual outstanding job adding texture and etherial alure to each track. Pat some what uninspired plucks and plays, adds the signature stamp of the PMG to each track. A mellow attempt at hip hop-fusion and R&B? Maybe but I am sure your toes will be taping and your head will be bobbin'
peace out
Rating:
Summary: Typical PMG
Review: good licks from the rythem section with Lyle's usual outstanding job adding texture and etherial alure to each track. Pat some what uninspired plucks and plays, adds the signature stamp of the PMG to each track. A mellow attempt at hip hop-fusion and R&B? Maybe but I am sure your toes will be taping and your head will be bobbin'
peace out
Rating:
Summary: Pat Metheny Group - We Live Here DVD
Review: I absolutely love this DVD. I had not heard any of the music from "We Live Here" before purchasing this and was not disappointed. The group's playing was impeccable, and the sound quality on the disc itself is fantantisc. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the Pat Metheny Group and is a must have for fans.
There has been some concern in other reviews over the nature of the music itself. The music from "We Live Here" is mostly more 'pop' oriented (for lack of a better term), which to those who are jazz diehards, some of the tunes will probably not appeal. There are a few tunes on the disc that I personally didn't enjoy, but the other great tracks more than made up for it. Most of the interviews on the disc have some great insights into the group, but a few are not so useful. There aren't any extras other than that.
More extras would have been nice, and a few tunes weren't my cup of tea, but it is still a great outing that showcases the Group's original sound.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Video Production Ever
Review: I am a HUGE fan of Metheny's musicianship and vision, and have been following him and the band for many years. I've come to know the trademark style and effort put into projects, not only from Pat but also from Mays, Rodby, and Wertico. I guess I assumed that the same standards would be applied to the camera work, and production of this recording - not so. I can't believe this video made it to production. To begin, and maybe most insulting is the fact that during the short interviews with the band members, the video producer mixed up the name of the two of the band members. Pat's guitar neck was cut out of a lot of shots, or they seemed to think that his facial expressions were the most important visual. Or when the camera person did decide to shoot Pat's guitar, either his picking hand or fretboard hand would not be shown or would not be caught in the full view of the camera. Solos by the members would not be shown, just so that we can see a distant view of his percussion players. Steve Rodby was barely shown, and overall the choice to cut between muscians came at inappropriate times. This video could have been played just to solely take in the recorded audio, but the levels of audio vary depending on who is being shown on the screen!!! This video must not have been screened by the PMG. I spit on the work of Takayuki Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kambara, and Kambara Music.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Video Production Ever
Review: I am a HUGE fan of Metheny's musicianship and vision, and have been following him and the band for many years. I've come to know the trademark style and effort put into projects, not only from Pat but also from Mays, Rodby, and Wertico. I guess I assumed that the same standards would be applied to the camera work, and production of this recording - not so. I can't believe this video made it to production. To begin, and maybe most insulting is the fact that during the short interviews with the band members, the video producer mixed up the name of the two of the band members. Pat's guitar neck was cut out of a lot of shots, or they seemed to think that his facial expressions were the most important visual. Or when the camera person did decide to shoot Pat's guitar, either his picking hand or fretboard hand would not be shown or would not be caught in the full view of the camera. Solos by the members would not be shown, just so that we can see a distant view of his percussion players. Steve Rodby was barely shown, and overall the choice to cut between muscians came at inappropriate times. This video could have been played just to solely take in the recorded audio, but the levels of audio vary depending on who is being shown on the screen!!! This video must not have been screened by the PMG. I spit on the work of Takayuki Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kambara, and Kambara Music.
Rating: 
Summary: not the most dynamic performance
Review: I am somewhat disappointed by this performance. The DVD contains Pat Metheny Group's recorded Japanese concert in 1995, interspersed with interviews. In my opinion, the transitions to interviews are rather abrupt, often cutting off the applause of the audience when a song ends. The performance of the songs are mixed. "Antonia" is the most memorable performance of the bunch. On some of Pat's older compositions the absence of Pedro Aznar is evident. For example, "First Circle" sounds strangely muted. For comparison, the same song performed in the "More Travels" video is much more dynamic. The live versions of songs for the album "We live here" were actually not bad. There are variations that make them interestingly different than the studio version.
Rating:
Summary: Great PMG DVD
Review: I like this DVD a lot because the performance and songs are just awesome. I've been listening to the PMG for a long time but never seen them in concert. By watching this DVD it's like adding a new dimension to the music because you can actually see how they play the instruments, how they create some of the small but interesting sounds, etc. One drawback is that the musician interviews are not separated from the concert performance. But this is just a small drawback cause you can always skip the track to go to the next song. If you're a PMG fan, I recommend this DVD to you.
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