14-September-2017
Ascend Amphitheater
 Nashville, USA

Nashville Scene (Source)

Van Morrison Keeps It Simple in Career-Spanning Show at Ascend

The legendary singer-songwriter didn't have much to say, but the songs speak for themselves

Van Morrison accepted his lifetime achievement award for songwriting at the Americana Honors and Awards Wednesday night with just two words: “Thank you.” With that, he joined the house band for a performance of his new single “Transformation,” and then he rolled out. So it was no surprise to The Spin that he didn’t have much to say on Thursday at Ascend Amphitheater. Van the Man has taken a number of steps to make sure there’s not a whole lot of fuss these days. Review passes have reportedly been in short supply for recent shows, and Thursday night’s came with a strictly-enforced no-photography rule (with one exception made for a shooter from Getty). He even kept things close to home by having his daughter, Shana Morrison, open the show.

We arrived as the younger Morrison was closing out her set, and it wasn’t long before the Van Band — several members of which had just been backing Shana — took the stage and, as the sold-out crowd found their seats, the bandleader announced the main attraction.

“Ladies and gentleman, Sir Van Morrison!”

The man himself — decked out in a pinstripe suit, fedora and sunglasses — strolled up from the back of the cavernous shed playing the saxophone as band rolled into the classic “Moondance.” With that they were off on a 23-song set of blues, rock and soul set that zig-zagged back and forth through Morrison’s enormous catalogue. The list included songs that were hits for his first band, Them, like “Don’t Start Crying Now” and “Here Comes the Night,” as well as covers of old standards like the R&B classic “(Night Time Is) The Right Time.” Surprisingly, it did not include the new single, “Transformation,” which he’d played the night before at the Ryman.

Odd bird though Morrison may be, his performance was strictly professional. He did the job and little else. During musical interludes, or verses sung by his fantastic duo of backup singers — who elicited mid-song cheers from the lawn on multiple occasions — Van would shuffle back from the microphone to take a slow drink from a glass of water or, once or twice, blow his nose. While he did seem to brighten up a bit when he had a saxophone around his neck or a harmonica in his hand, he mostly had the appearance of a man who’d just clocked in for work.

What a job it is, though. The 6,800 or so Van fans in the house — and honestly, it's tough to find anyone who doesn't appreciate his work — lapped up every second of their time with the man and his inimitable band. "Wild Night" inspired dancing in the aisles, and as he and his backup vocalists traded wails on "(Night Time Is) The Right Time," the crowd was pulled to its feet.

Among the few words he spoke all night that weren't lyrics were in his introduction of his daughter, who came back out to join him for a rendition of “Old Black Magic.” He stumbled a bit, but at least he can laugh at himself.

“I hope you understood that, because I didn’t,” he told the crowd.

He followed that with a rare cut — “Mechanical Bliss,” the title cut from an unreleased LP recorded in the mid 1970s — which, as he proudly noted, featured timpani and had him fighting back laughter throughout. After that he called out a direction to the band that also served as an acquiescence to a crowd that had been patiently waiting for That Song.

“OK, 'Brown Eyed Girl.' ”

The Ascend staff, which had been dutifully shutting down amateur iPhone photographers all night did their best, but for these few minutes, their efforts were largely futile. Morrison exited the stage one song later, but came back for a rollicking rendition of his hit with Them, “Gloria.” He left again but the band kept playing, cycling through solos during a 15-minute jam session.

By the time the last note rang out, Van may well have been on a flight to the next show.

Setlist (Thanks Dan H.)
Moondance
Have I Told You Lately
Warm Love
Sometimes We Cry
Days Like This
Enlightenment
Baby Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes the Night
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Wild Night
Half as Much
In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Don’t You Make Me High
Whenever God Shines His Light
Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)
(Night Time Is) The Right Time
Help Me
Old Black Magic (with Shana Morrison)
Mechanical Bliss
Brown Eyed Girl
Real Real Gone / You Send Me
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

10-September-2017
Hersheypark Stadium
 Hershey, USA

The Morning Call

REVIEW: Van Morrison's Moondance caps day of highlights at Outlaw Music Festival at HersheyPark stadium

HERSHEY — It was a marvelous night for a Moondance.
With a large, glowing moon filling the late-summer sky above HersheyPark Stadium, Van Morrison, one of the best singers in rock history, showed his still prestigious power in a set that delightfully danced through his career to headline the Outlaw Music Festival.

Morrison’s only East Coast concert this year – and first in Pennsylvania in nearly a decade – was the highlight of a daylong festival that had many highlights, several provided by Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real, and others by a blissfully energetic set by The Avett Brothers and a warm nightcap from festival curator Willie Nelson.

Morrison, in a gray striped suit and matching fedora, wearing dark shades even at night, actually opened his penultimate set with “Moondance” – or, more precisely two versions of it: An instrumental on which Morrison played saxophone, then a very jazzy vocal version with his horn of a voice an equal instrument.

It was a lovely start to an 18-song, 75-minute set that continually pleased with both song selection and powerful performance – putting timeless hits beside wonderful deep cuts and interesting covers.

The second song, “Warm Love,” a Top 40 hit for Morrison 45 years ago, was astonishing – still wonderfully warm with violin from his four-man band and two back-up singers.
On the newer (only 20 years old) song ”Sometimes We Cry,” Morrison snapped out words and pushed his vocals. The song was so good that a good number of the crowd of somewhere around 25,000 danced to it.

And on the new, very bluesy “Roll with the Punches” – the title track to his new album, due out Sept. 22. (It was the only song he played from it) – Morrison showed how much of a bellow his voice still carries.

The first half of the set offered straight-forward, sometimes shortened versions of songs, though many still carried delightful moments: Him playing harmonica and singing through an old radio mic on “Baby Please Don’t Go,” an inspired pairing of “Don’t Start Crying Now” and “Custard Pie.”

But there also were stunning highlights: A powerful version of “Here Comes the Night,” the 1965 hit for Morrison’s pre-solo band Them and an inspired version of his minor hit “Cleaning Windows,” tied to a cover of the Gene Vincent rockabilly classic “Be-Bop-A-Lula.”
But in the second half of Morrison’s set, nearly every song was a highlight.

While pairing “Ancient Highway” and “Raincheck,” Morrison held on the mic stand and rocked front-to-back, then danced slightly. “In the Afternoon” was slow and sensual.
And while it was a pleasure to hear his “Wild Nights,” now more than 45 years old. But to hear it played more muted, as if those wild nights are memories that are still calling, was transcendent.

Morrison’s vocals are universal. His cover of the Ray Charles hit “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was surprisingly country, and he absolutely bellowed the end notes. The gorgeous “Whenever God Shines His Light,” on which Morrison again played harmonica, was very contemporary gospel.

And Morrison wailed – wailed – on the bluesy "Night Time Is the Right Time," another Charles hit. It got a huge response from the crowd.

The fact that Morrison, at 72, still has that kind of power is amazing. He closed his set with a great seven-minute version of Them’s “Gloria,” which had all the power of the original.
But it was the second-last song that showed how good Morrison was. It was another bluesy offering, Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me.” As Morrison played harmonica, many in the crowd danced as if there were no reason for inhibition.

Morrison made sure it was a marvelous night for a moondance.
-John J. Moser

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Moondance
Warm Love
Sometimes We Cry
Roll With The Punches
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Cryin' Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes the Night
Cleaning Windows
In the Afternoon
Wild Night
Can't Stop Loving You
Whenever God
Nighttime is the Right Time
Help Me
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

13-August-2017
Slieve Donard Hotel
 Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Per)
Moondance
Have I Told You Lateley
Warm Love
Sometimes We Cry
Roll With the Punches
I Can Tell
Cleaning Windows
Precious Time
Baby, Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/Don’t Start Crying Now/Custard Pie/Here Comes the Night
In the Afternoon/Shake, Rattle & Roll
Days Like This
How Far From God
Night Time Is The Right Time
Help Me
Mechanical Bliss
Bright Side Of the Road
In the Garden
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

11-July-2017
Porchester Hall
London, England

via Matthew J.

Pamela sent in this review
After experiencing the ‘greatest hits’ at Hampton Court, I was very much hoping that Van would use this concert to depart from those and give us some rarer treats from his fabulous repertoire.

On arrival inside the Hall, it was clear that Van would be show-casing his new CD – Roll With The Punches. Indeed, there were two large display banners either side of the stage, until a few minutes before the concert, to advertise it and to let us know it would be released on 22 September.

A few of the central seats on the front row were reserved. First ‘VIP’ to take their seat turned out to be the sister of Stuart McIlroy, who plays piano on the new album and who was on stage for much of the time. The next (and final) VIP was Lenny Henry and guest, who took their seats just before the lights went down.

“I hope he’s going to remove his f****n hat” whispered my husband, Chris. I don’t think Lenny heard but he did remove his rather natty trilby and then Van and the band came on stage, taking us through the first two familiar numbers of Too Late and Have I Told You Lately.

Van was in chatty mode and told us that his new album would be coming out in September and that this gig was being filmed “for promotional purposes”. He introduced the title track and said the song had been written by Don Black, with Van writing the music. It turned out to be a slow blues number.

He then took us through another six songs from the new album – Bo Diddley’s I Can Tell, a jaunty little ditty that I have seen Van sing at recent gigs, whilst shaking his maracas; Next followed a couple of Van’s songs from the new album. First was, Transformation. Noticeably, this was not a blues number, which is what the majority of the new album will consist of. It sounded to me like he had yet again tweaked the familiar but terrific melody from Tupulo Honey / Crazy Love / Why Must I Always Explain. Next, we got Too Much Trouble – another blues number and one of the better ones that we heard from the new album. These were followed by Bo Diddley’s Right on Josaphine and Sam Cooke’s Bring It On Home to Me. Perfectly enjoyable but not necessarily the type of song that I want to hear at a Van Morrison show. For the sixth number, Van welcomed onto stage his “old china plate”, Georgie Fame, to join him for Count Basie’s Goin’ To Chicago, probably the most uninspiring of the songs we had heard so far and, for me, a waste of the duet opportunity.
The last time Chris and I had seen Van Morrison and Georgie Fame on stage together, they ended up playing Symphony Sid. Worried that this gig was going the same way, Chris wasn’t taking any chances, so when there was a pause, he bellowed for Vanlose Stairway. We were only in the second row. Did Van hear? We won’t know, but he turned to his band and instructed them to play Vanlose Stairway. This rendition alone was worth the ticket price and easily the highlight of the night by far. Van played brilliant harmonica and the duet with Fame was sensational. A true feast for the ears! It’s moments like these that make you wonder why Van can’t perform more of his own truly great songs at his gigs? The irony of Van performing a number such as this is that it totally dwarfs the other material. Presumably not the effect which he wishes to produce!

We then came down to earth with a decent version of Sometimes We Cry, with Van chuckling during his pauses. Then the band launched into the immediately recognisable introduction to Fame, which Van introduced as another song from his new album. Just when I was wondering why had Van put this song on his new album when it had already been on What’s Wrong With This Picture?, he told us. He had “re-done it because people didn’t get it the first time” and because his songs weren’t played on the radio so he thought he would release it again. Hmmm, a rather spurious reason for regurgitating what I think is an ordinary song from his back catalogue.

That was it for the new album. Van then trotted out the usual Baby Please Don’t Go medley. Weirdly, during Parchman Farm, he asked if we had heard the song before?!? Hasn’t it appeared on virtually every set list during the past few years?!? Onto Help Me, which was noticeable in its variation through Stuart’s dextrous piano interludes. Unfortunately, it appeared that Van was having a good peer at his stopwatch because Help Me was a somewhat truncated version and, after requesting a big hand for the band, he disappeared off stage at the 70-minute mark. Time had been saved by the non-appearance of BEG and Moondance – no great loss, but it would have been nice to have had something instead. That was not to be. Back he came for a very brief rendition of Gloria, which featured a light-hearted moment when Mez forgot to “Knock Upon My Door”, leaving Van waiting for the drum beat, which didn’t arrive! Van then left the stage for the final time but even the band’s jam was cut short and the house lights came on bringing the concert to a seemingly rather abrupt end at 75 minutes!!! Perhaps Van was paying the film crew by the second?!?

On the way out, I passed a couple discussing how it was a shame that he hadn’t played BEG! For me, perhaps that was one of the reasons why the show was rather better than Hampton Court!!

Clearly, it was interesting to hear songs from the new album but, in my opinion, it is such a pity that after the fantastic Keep Me Singing – surely his best album for many years – Van has focussed this time on the blues with the majority not even being his songs. I am very frustrated that my two favourite artists – Van and Bob Dylan – seem to have become so obsessed with the idea of covering other people’s songs when they have two of the best canons of work of anyone. At least Roll With The Punches is not a triple album, unlike Bob’s Triplicate!
-Pamela Kendix

Setlist (Thanks Malcolm M.)
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately (Swing version)
Roll With The Punches
I Can Tell (Bo Didley song )
Transformation
Too Much Trouble
Ride On Josephine (Bo Didley song)
Bring It On Home To Me
Goin’ To Chicago (with Georgie Fame)
Vanlose Stairway (with Georgie Fame)
Sometimes We Cry
Fame
Baby Please Don’t Go / Parchment Farm / Don’t Start Crying Now / Custard Pie
Help Me
Gloria

Time: 75 min.

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

01-July-2017
Eden Sessions
Cornwall, England

During the gig, Van announced he has new album coming out in September. He then sang three songs from it which are noted in setlist below.

Long time Van fan, Pat Corley, was at the gig in Cornwall and did a nice review on his blog, Visions of Pat.

Setlist
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately
I Can Tell
Transformation (New Song)
Roll With the Punches (New Song)
Ride On Josephine (Bo Diddley Cover on New Album)
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Cry Cry Baby/Custard Pie
Here Comes The Night
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Days Like This
Moondance
Sometimes We Cry
Why Must I Always Explain
In The Afternoon/ Ancient Highway
Wild Night
I'm Carrying A Torch
I Can't Stop Loving You
Jackie Wilson Said
Whenever God Shines His Light
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

15-June-2017
Hampton Court
East Molesey, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan Hynes sent in this review:
Van Morrison returned once more to the scene of a number of inspirational concerts by him over the years but sadly tonight's show was not one of them. After the first half dozen songs it was clear that Van was coasting and that we were going to be treated(?) to a typical open air festival set consisting almost entirely of the radio friendly 'so called hits'and so it proved. The set list says it all really and it was the most disappointing Van show I have attended since the equally disappointing Blenheim Palace show two years ago with Van just churning out a mainly up tempo set with the minimum of effort. Apart from In the Afternoon which was the clear highlight and Carrying A Torch there were no real magical moments as Van was happy to just belt out the hits. The show was so predictable that I was able to write down the last three songs on the set list consisting of Help Me, Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria before they were even performed. If I had been asked before the concert to draw up a set list of the Van songs I least wanted to hear, well most of them were played tonight.

An interesting new initiative introduced by Hampton Court festival organisers this year was the provision of an area to one side of the stage where the already noisy and talkative audience were encouraged and facilitated to abandon their seats and dance and talk even more loudly than before for maximum annoyance for the real music lovers in the rest of the audience.These 'fans' were particularly enterprising during In The Afternoon to such an extent that they succeeded in almost totally drowning out the vocals of Van and his two backing singers during the quietest segments. Thank you very much!!

It is to be hoped that when Van returns to playing indoor concerts after the summer festivals he will delve a lot more deeply into his extensive body of work.The current set list which has varied very little for quite a long time is utterly predictable,almost totally devoid of Van's really inspirational work and quite frankly has long since reached saturation point.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Too Late
Moondance
Magic Time
Have I Told You Lately(fast version)
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don 't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie/Here Comes The Night
Precious Time
Days Like This
Enlightenment
I Can't Stop Loving You
All Work and No Play
Wild Night
Carrying A Torch
In The Afternoon
Jackie Wilson Said
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 39m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

02-June-2017
BBK Music Legends Festival
 Bilbao, Spain

Setlist (Thanks Jose A.)
Too Late
Moondance
The New Symphony Sid w/Georgie Fame
Sack O’woe w/Georgie Fame
Vanlose Stairway w/Georgie Fame
Have I Told You Lately
Sometimes We Cry
Playhouse
Bring It On Home To Me w/Imelda May
Baby Please Don't Go / Parchman Farm / Don't Start Crying Now
Whenever God Shines His Lights On Me
Carrying A Torch
Days Like This
Precious Time
Someone Like You
All Work And No Play
In The Midnight
Think Twice Before You Go
Wild Night
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

19-March-2017
The Theatre At Ace Hotel
 Los Angeles, USA

Forbes

Van Morrison Pays Tribute To Chuck Berry At L.A. Show

What better way to spend St. Patrick’s Day weekend than with one of Ireland’s greatest musical exports, Van “The Man” Morrison? The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer spent three nights, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at the Theater At Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.

Reflecting an incredibly eclectic more than 50-year career that includes some of the greatest songs in rock history – “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Moondance,” “Saint Dominic’s Preview,” “Gloria” and countless more – Morrison concerts in recent years can be whatever the singer/songwriter feels like at that time, be it troubadour, folk rocker or, most likely, a jazz and blues cat.

It was the jazz and blues cat that took the stage for the closing show of his three-night stand. Even the gorgeous ballad “Have I Told You Lately,” was transformed into a swinging jazz number by Morrison and his superior band.

Looking the part in a dark suit, hat and sunglasses, Morrison worked through a mix of hits, such as “Moondance,” the upbeat “Wild Night,” the 1987 single “Someone Like You” and the agical closer “Into The Mystic,” and lesser-known fare like 1991’s “Why Must I Always Explain?,” a highlight for the way it was extended into a jazz jam, last year’s “Every Time I See A River” and the brilliant “Ballerina,” from the landmark Astral Weeks.

One of the highlights of the final night was a nod to rock and roll founding father Chuck Berry, who passed away this weekend, at the age of ninety. Morrison introduced his band’s cover of Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” as a tribute to the late rock legend, starting with a strong guitar solo, followed by Morrison’s lively and reverent interpretation of Berry’s timeless 1958 classic, one of his biggest commercial successes, hitting No 2 on the Billboard pop charts and No 1 on the R&B charts.

Of course musicians all around the world rightfully paid tribute to Berry this weekend, but seeing an artist of Morrison’s stature, a fellow Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer, added a sense of gravitas that only a handful of living musicians can match.

That applies to Morrison’s concerts in general. Though he is never going to be the type to play a greatest hits set, that is not who he is nor has he ever been as an artist, his place as a true rock icon and one of the greatest vocalists in the history of the genre is unquestionable. Just seeing that presence and listening to “the voice” still sound so powerful and compelling on songs like “Into The Mystic” make for spine-tingling moment that every true rock fan should experience at least once.
-Steve Baltin

Setlist (Thanks John M.)
Look Beyond the Hill
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Someone Like You
Going Down to Bangor
Wild Night
Sweet Little Sixteen "Tribute to Chuck Berry"
Playhouse
Sometimes We Cry
Moondance
Precious Time
Days Like This
Cleaning Windows/ Johnny B Goode
In the Afternoon/ Ancient highway/ Raincheck/ Sitting Pretty
Baby Please Don't Go/ Parchman Farm/ Don't Start Cryin' Now/ Custard Pie
Why Must I Always Explain
Help Me
Ballerina
Into The Mystic/ High on the Hill/ Sense of Wonder

18-March-2017
The Theatre At Ace Hotel
 Los Angeles, USA

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Look Beyond the Hill
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Someone Like You
Moondance
Carrying a Torch
Cleaning Windows
Sometime We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/ Parchman Farm/ Don't Start Cryin/ Custard Pie
In the Afternoon/ Ancient highway/ Raincheck/ Sitting Pretty
Wild Night
Days Like This
Precious Time
Whenever God Shines His Light
Enlightenment
Help Me
Ballerina
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

17-March-2017
The Theatre At Ace Hotel
 Los Angeles, USA

Los Angeles Times

Van Morrison brings Irish heartbeat to L.A. for St. Patrick's Day

Lightning, we’re often told, doesn’t strike the same place twice. Instead, it hits unpredictably — a principle also true of a Van Morrison live performance.

On Friday, at the first of three nights at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, the veteran Irish singer, songwriter, poet, saxophonist, harmonica player, guitarist and sometimes shaman once again cast spells and summoned the kind of artistic forces that have made his music exceptionally rewarding for more than half a century.

Where most musicians find the high points of their shows in their iconic songs and biggest hits, Morrison used them Friday chiefly as signposts pointing to the vistas he was most interested in exploring.

The result was a performance that was generous with his most familiar numbers — “Moondance,” “Wild Night,” “Have I Told You Lately,” “Bright Side of the Road” — but which soared most convincingly in songs that got little mass public exposure when he first released them.

He delivered the hits efficiently, in an almost business-like way, but with remarkable nuance and definition thanks to the savvy support from his band of four instrumentalists and two singers.

But he truly ascended into the emotional stratosphere when he called on “Too Many Myths,” a cut from his 2003 album “What’s Wrong With This Picture?”

Lyrically, it’s another of his essays on the price of fame — ”There’s too many myths/Can’t you see I’m just trying to stay in the game” — but in the moment, it became a meditation on a sincere search for what’s real in life.

The spiritual side of things is frequently at the crux of Morrison’s music-making, and Friday he also addressed matters of the soul in “Enlightenment,” in which he shared his struggle with the quest for meaning: “Chop that wood, carry water/What’s the sound of one hand clapping?/Enlightenment — don’t know what it is.”

Those two songs encapsulate key themes Morrison returns to repeatedly, ideas that form a yin-yang exploration on his recordings and in concert: on one hand, his struggle not to succumb to forces that would hold him down, and on the other, a yearning to connect with humanity’s higher nature in an effort to be lifted up.

As those themes were expressed Friday, Morrison elicited cheers and shouts from the near-capacity crowd. So did his blues excursion that began with “Baby Please Don’t Go,” the standard with which his first band, Them, had a hit in 1964. The song was the first part of an extended medley that segued into Bukka White’s “Parchman Farm,” Morrison’s Them-era song “Don’t Start Crying Now” and a boogie-woogie version of Sonny Terry’s “Custard Pie.”

When the 71-year-old Belfast, Northern Ireland, native subsequently dipped into his groundbreaking 1968 album “Astral Weeks” for “Ballerina” near the end of the set, he shifted onto yet another emotional plane, delving deep into the meditative possibilities in its jazz-soul-folk mix. Guitarist Dave Keary served up an exquisite solo on a Spanish classical instrument that beautifully answered Morrison’s plaintive vocal.

Oh, yes, and Friday was St. Patrick’s Day. Yet anyone who came hoping to hear one of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated musician of the rock-era take on “Danny Boy,” “Whiskey in the Jar,” “I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen” and the like probably also still expects Bob Dylan to play “Like a Rolling Stone” just like it sounded on record.

Still, Morrison did acknowledge the occasion, turning to the traditional “Star of the County Down” from his stellar collaboration in 1986 with the Chieftains, “Irish Heartbeat.” In doing so, he gave it an entirely new treatment, replacing the stately march of that rendition with a rollicking arrangement that turned it into a kissing cousin of Del Shannon’s “Runaway.”

“Happy St. Patrick’s Day,” he said at the end.

His set didn’t include “Into the Mystic” this night, but that’s just a technicality. He took his audience there anyway.
-Randy Lewis

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Sometimes We Cry
Precious Time
Days Like This
Wild Night
Moondance
In the Midnight
Why Must I Always Explain
Star of the County Down
In the Afternoon/ Stretching Out/ Sittin' Pretty
I Can't Stop Loving You
Bright Side of the Road
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/ Parchman Farm/ Don't Start Cryin Now/ Custard Pie
Enlightenment
Ballerina
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

16-February-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan's review of third and final night at Nells
The third and final night of Van's stint at Nell's was not prefaced by a statement from him that this would be a total blues set but he commenced once more with Goldfish Bowl which tonight featured a great extended guitar solo from Dave Keary. This was followed by the jazzy Symphony Sid and the lively Keep Mediocrity At Bay before Van slowed things down for Beautiful Vision featuring Sumudu on some shared vocals. Playhouse raised the tempo once more before Sometimes We Cry afforded Dana the opportunity to excel on vocals during a really good version. Bo Diddley's I Can Tell got another airing tonight and, if anything, was even better than the previous night. The Baby Please Don't Go etc. medley got a further outing before In The Midnight brought some order to proceedings once more. When Think Twice Before You Go was followed by Precious Time we had most definitely entered the 'hits' territory that Van had told us we wouldn't be entering on the first night. Corrective surgery was clearly urgently required and a momentary lull afforded dedicated Van fan Pamela Kendix (who was seated right in front of Van in the front row) the opportunity to request Why Must I Always Explain. Van responded by saying "Give Me A Rest" before adding that they needed to slow things down and picking up his electric guitar. And so it came to pass that Van delivered a top class version which included both backing singers finishing Van's lines and an excellent extended guitar solo by Van at the end. I Can't Stop Loving You featured both backing singers once more before another fine rendition of In The Afternoon which included nice guitar and trumpet solos. When All In The Game made a welcome return to the set list it was evident that Van was now firmly 'in the zone' and so it proved as he once more confirmed that he still has no Plan B and no safety net. Having thanked the band Van departed before returning for an incredible 15 minute version of Help Me which included a brilliant extended harmonica solo from Van which had the audience roaring and the band members smiling at one another in admiration. When Van had departed, the band members did their party pieces which included an excellent understated trumpet solo by Paul Moran ,fine bass from Paul Moore and great vocals from Dana and Sumudu.

This show was the best of the three in my view with the final 40 minutes or so in particular reminding us why we keep coming back for more.
-Brendan Hynes

via Matthew Jeffrey

Set List
Goldfish Bowl
Symphony Sid
Keep Mediocrity At Bay
Beautiful Vision
Playhouse
Sometimes We Cry
I Can Tell
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Midnight
Think Twice Before You Go
Precious Time
Why Must I Always Explain
I Can't Stop Loving You
In The Afternoon
All In The Game
Help Me

Set Time 1h 29m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

15-February-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan's take on night two at Nells
As on the first night, Van announced at the outset that it would be a blues set given the name of the venue and he commenced the show once again with Goldfish Bowl which featured a great trumpet solo from Paul Moran. Playhouse moved things along at a brisk pace followed swiftly by Talk Is Cheap with Van first making a reference to "fake news". Fame was very strong once again and was followed by two covers in Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (which saw Van chuckling merrily for the first couple of verses) and I Believe To My Soul. The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword from the new album then got a further airing followed by the most welcome inclusion of Beautiful Vision which featured Sumudu extensively on shared vocals and fine steel guitar from Dave Keary. Going Down to Bangor put us all in holiday mode and was followed by a great cover of Bo Diddley's I Can Tell which saw fine guitar and organ solos from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. I Can't Stop Loving You featured both Sumudu and Dana Masters on vocals and they featured individually to great effect on Sometimes We Cry(Dana) and Whenever God Shines His Light (Sumudu).Van reprised his Maritime blues medley of Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie to bring us all back with him to share his 1964 memories. In The Afternoon followed to great acclaim and once more was the highlight of the night featuring lovely guitar and trumpet solos and lovely backing vocals from Dana and Sumudu who repeated the phrase "it's my life, it's your life baby" over and over to complement Van's extended and quite superb vocal workout. It was quite magical. Help Me and Gloria brought proceedings to a most lively conclusion once more.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Goldfish Bowl
Playhouse
Talk Is Cheap
Fame
Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket
I Believe To My Soul
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
Beautiful Vision
Going Down To Bangor
I Can Tell
I Can't Stop Loving You
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Gloria

Set Time 1h 30m

via Matthew Jeffrey

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

14-February-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan Hynes checks in with review of night one at Nells
Right from the outset Van laid down a marker as he stated that the only reason they were playing Nells was because it is a jazz and blues club so they would be playing a mainly blues set. His announcement that there would be no 'hits' was quite enthusiastically received by a sizeable number of attendees which seemed to surprise Van who retorted "that's good?". Before opening with Goldfish Bowl, Van likened the song's theme to the new term "alternate facts" before delivering quite a good version which was followed by a really strong Fame. Look Beyond The Hill and The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword from the new album followed in quick succession but in my view these are two of the weakest tracks and I was hoping for a first live performance of In Tiberon but it was not to be tonight. It may have been Valentines Day but Van was in no mood for sentiment as a request for Someone Like You was summarily dismissed with a rebuke that if one wanted to hear such songs then the large concerts were the place to hear them (this was quite a departure from previous shows at Nells where Van has often invited requests and been quite happy to play some of his more creative and lesser played material with no insistence that it be strictly blues or jazz material!) I Believe To My Soul which followed featured a great trumpet solo from Paul Moran while Dave Keary excelled on guitar during Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket which ran into Stormy Monday and Lonely Avenue. Going Down To Bangor raised the tempo considerably and gave Van the opportunity to reminisce about his bucket and spade while singing "tra la la tra la lee"! Rock Me Baby/Early In The Morning fairly rocked but at this stage we had probably reached 'blues overload' so a really powerful version of Sometimes We Cry(which saw Dana Masters get a deserved ovation for her vocal contribution) was quite a welcome diversion. We were quickly brought back to blues territory with Talk Is Cheap with Van once more making reference to alternate facts. Van then announced a blues medley from his time playing The Maritime in Belfast back in 1964 and featured Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie(which saw Van became quite amused and to wonder whether lyrics which may have been acceptable in 1964 still are). A second deviation from the blues trail followed and brought us instead down the ancient highway with a quite magnificent In The Afternoon which went on for an age and was far and away the highpoint of the night and fully deserving of the extended ovation it received. The opening bars of Help Me indicated that the end was nigh and so it proved as Van asked for "a big hand for the band" before departing only to return one more time for Gloria which inevitably featured the band much more than it did Van as he beat a hasty retreat and left them to it as they kept playing for quite some time to stretch out the set time.

via Matthew Jeffrey

Van was in good form throughout and in fine voice in what was a committed performance albeit somewhat restricted by the overwhelming adherence to the 'blues only' theme which resulted in exactly half of the songs performed being cover versions of other artists' work.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Goldfish Bowl
Fame
Look Beyond the Hill
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
I Believe To My Soul
Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket/Stormy Monday/Lonely Avenue
Going Down To Bangor
Rock Me Baby/Early In The Morning
Sometimes We Cry
Talk Is Cheap
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Gloria

Set Time-1h 28m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)