Marty Friedman at Cotton Club
A tearful confession of a guitar-loving rock critic: Maestro Marty Friedman can do no wrong when he holds a guitar.
Marty Friedman at Cotton Club, Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan on 24th August 2024
Marty Friedman is an extraordinary musician. He creates magic with his guitar. He does things with those guitars that few others can. He is constantly reinventing himself and pushing boundaries and genres. He has no limits. It is always a pleasure and an adventure to attend his shows.
Having seen Marty perform regularly over the years, his performances at the Cotton Club in Tokyo are among my favourites. It is a jazz club setting with the audience seated at tables and being served food and drinks. In such an intimate venue, every audience member is close to the stage and can fully take in the performance. In true jazz club fashion, Marty and his terrific band performed two sets in one evening. These shows are part of his celebration of the release of his latest album, “Drama”.
From “Drama” we got to hear the excellent “Deep End”, “Illumination” and “Tearful Confession”. Marty flirted with the audience when his version of “Amagi goe” was followed by the legendary guitar riffs of Megadeth’s “Tornado of Souls”. While Marty is always pushing forward as an artist, the odd tip of the hat to the past is appreciated by his devoted fans. ”Bittersweet”, from his 1994 “Introduction” album, was an emotional highlight of the show. It is such a beautiful piece of music that was performed to perfection. It was an evening full of excellent performances of splendid songs such as “I Love You”.
Marty’s band is tighter than tight. There is musical chemistry between the band members. They seem to enjoy playing together which is evident in the on-stage banter between them. Marty’s usual suspects – Chargeeeeee on drums, Wakazaemon on bass and Naoki Morioka on guitar – were joined by keyboardist Mika Maruki and violinist Ayasa guested on a few songs. The combination of Marty’s guitar and Ayasa’s violin worked brilliantly. What a beautiful combination.
Both sets were performed entirely instrumentally. With the skill level of the musicians on stage, no one is missing any vocals.
Read our recent review of the “Drama” album here.
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