Listen To Van in Nashville Concert Streaming on BBC

Van Morrison in Nashville, Christmas Day at 3pm on BBC Radio Ulster
(Click Van Morrison In Nashville)

BBC Radio Ulster simply sparkles with star surprises this Christmas. There’s a veritable musical feast of entertainment over the festive season kicking off on Christmas Day with Van Morrison in Nashville at 3pm.

Ralph McLean presents an exclusive concert featuring Belfast’s own Van the Man in concert at the hallowed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, recorded earlier this year. The concert will include traces from the country inspired album Pay the Devil as well as classic Van Morrison songs.

Van's "Pay The Devil" Makes 2006 Year End Lists

Denver Post - Best of 2006: Pop music
4. "Pay the Devil," Van Morrison: To be filed under: fans of Van Morrison, country & western, quality music. Van Morrison is far from flawless, but his voice remains sterling - especially when paired with lush countrypolitan compositions.

NY Daily News - The most listenable CDs
Van Morrison: "Pay the Devil" Who knew country music would be the thing to shake Van out of his doldrums?

CMT - Country Albums of 2006
(Noteworthy Albums) Van Morrison, Pay the Devil (Lost Highway)

GJSentinel - Top Releases of the 2006
In March the releases were Van Morrison’s country CD “Pay the Devil”

Musicbox-Online's Readers' Favorites for 2006
Readers' Favorites - 2006:
1) John Mayer - Continuum
2) Van Morrison - Pay the Devil
3) T Bone Burnett - The True False Identity
4) The Little Willies - The Little Willies
5) David Gilmour - On an Island

Amazon.com's Top 100 Customers' Favorites of 2006

31. Pay The Devil

New CD In '07: At The Movies - The Soundtrack Hits

Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits Collects 19 Cinematic Music Gems

Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits Collects 19 Cinematic Music Gems
CD to Be Released February 13, 2007 by Manhattan/EMI

Watch the video Van did for Days Like This from the movie As Good As It Gets which appears on the new cd. (Thanks: Julian Barnes/EMI)

Van Morrison's music plays a role in many of modern cinema's most cherished films. Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits, to be released February 13 by Manhattan/EMI Music Catalog Marketing, collects, for the first time, 19 of Morrison's best-known songs, presented as they've been featured in films. In addition to favorites including "Gloria" from The Outsiders, "Wild Night" from Thelma & Louise, and "Brown Eyed Girl" from Born On The Fourth Of July, the new collection includes a previously unreleased live version of "Moondance" from An American Werewolf In London, recorded live with strings in 1986 at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre.

The cinematic qualities of Van Morrison's songs make it no surprise that he is one of the most popular choices for movie music. His compositions have graced the soundtrack of many box office hits over the years.

That Martin Scorsese is a Van Morrison fan is unsurprising: the connection was made when Robbie Robertson's former roommate directed The Last Waltz, The Band's historic farewell performance in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. Rock writer and spectator Greil Marcus described Morrison's entrance as the catalyst that "turned the show round... There he was on stage, in a maroon suit and a green top, singing to the rafters. They cut into 'Caravan' (with John Simon waving The Band's volume up and down), and the horns at their most effective -- while Van burned holes in the floor... It was a triumph, and as the song ended Van began to kick his leg in sheer exuberance, and he kicked his way right offstage like a Rockette. The crowd had given him a fine welcome and they cheered wildly when he left."

Morrison's live version of the Pink Floyd classic "Comfortably Numb," featured by Scorsese in his 2006 blockbuster The Departed, was cut in Berlin some 16 years earlier when Roger Waters put on a live production of "The Wall." There was a Band connection again, with Levon Helm and Rick Danko contributing background vocals.

Departed star Jack Nicholson also appeared in James L Brooks's As Good As It Gets, which used the title track from Days Like This, Van's latest album at the time of release (1997). But it's the earlier classics that have inevitably attracted the most attention from directors, even if some have been performed by others.

Not one but two Vietnam movies have featured his music, and, as befits the timescale, they have chosen 1960s vintage material. "Brown Eyed Girl," Morrison's first U.S. solo hit from 1967, was Oliver Stone's choice in 1989 for the Born On The Fourth Of July soundtrack, while the earlier "Baby, Please Don't Go" from Morrison's Them days appeared in 1987's Good Morning Vietnam. Continuing the military theme but moving forward a musical decade, Taylor Hackford's An Officer And A Gentleman visited the often overlooked Wavelength album for "Hungry For Your Love" -- a fine addition to a well above average soundtrack.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, the tender "Someone Like You" was not only a highlight of Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss but also Bridget Jones' Diary. And Michael Hoffmann's One Fine Day, the George Clooney/Michelle Pfeiffer film from 1996, included Morrison's classic "Have I Told You Lately?"

Mark Joffe's The Matchmaker reflected Morrison's Irish heritage by telling the story of an election campaigner (Marcy Tizard, played by Janeane Garofalo) who visits an Irish village to track down the ancestral roots of the U.S. senator she works for, only to find romance. Suitably, the track selected was "Irish Heartbeat," Morrison's 1983 creation with The Chieftains.

With An American Werewolf In London, John Landis created the classic horror movie. Typical of his witty style was his use of music, and he incorporated a number of different 'moon-themed' pop songs including "Moondance," which, because of the contrast in mood this created, echoed the comedy/tragedy juxtaposition.

Van Morrison has announced several upcoming concert dates. For more information and updates, visit www.vanmorrison.co.uk.

Van Morrison At The Movies: The Soundtrack Hits
1. Gloria (performed by Them) -- The Outsiders
2. Baby, Please Don't Go (performed by Them) -- Wild At Heart
3. Jackie Wilson Said -- Pope of Greenwich Village
4. Domino (live) -- Clean & Sober
5. Moondance (live)* -- An American Werewolf In London
6. Queen Of The Slipstream -- Extreme Close-Up
7. Wild Night -- Thelma & Louise
8. Caravan (live) -- The Last Waltz
9. Wonderful Remark -- King Of Comedy
10. Brown Eyed Girl -- Born On The Fourth Of July
11. Days Like This -- As Good As It Gets
12. Into The Mystic (live) -- Patch Adams
13. Hungry For Your Love -- An Officer And A Gentleman
14. Someone Like You -- French Kiss
15. Bright Side Of The Road -- Fever Pitch
16. Have I Told You Lately? -- One Fine Day
17. Real Real Gone -- Donovan Quick
18. Irish Heartbeat (with Chieftains) -- The Matchmaker
19. Comfortably Numb (live) -- The Departed
* previously unreleased

Someone Like You From Only The Lonely (1991)

Here's A Clip Which features the Late John Candy, Ally Sheedy & the Great Maureen O'Hara (Playing the Typical Irish Mother To Perfection) Along With One Of Van's Great Love Songs.

BBC Radio Interview With Van

Reclusive Van Morrison opens up
One of rock's most reclusive figures, Van Morrison, releases his 36th album Magic Time on Monday.

He gave a rare interview to the Today programme, talking about how he finds inspiration after 40 years in the business.

Van Dedicates Song To Ahmet Ertegun

At last Friday night's show in Glasgow, when Van and his band were finishing "Gloria", usually the last song of the show, Van called out for Ray Charles' classic "What I'd Say" and dedicated the song to Ahmet Ertegun who had died earlier in the day.

Ahmet Ertegun 1923-2006

"When I first heard Ray Charles, he was a flop artist on a small label in California," Ertegun said on NPR's Morning Edition in 2005. "He hadn't sold any records. And I bought his contract for $2,500."

By 1959, Charles had topped the charts with "What'd I Say," and a major label, ABC-Paramount, came calling with a deal he could not refuse.

Malvern Concert Review 08-Dec-06

I took some time off last week to go see Van in the UK. Here is a brief review of the first show I saw (other being Bristol the following night).

Van opened with a very nice "Enlightenment" into the rarely played "Once A Day". Next up was a pretty "Steal My Heart Away" Later Van did "Baby, Pls, Don't Go" with some solid Harp playing by Van at the begining - he then mention playing it along with this next song at the Marintine in Belfast in the 60s and started into "Don't Start Cryin' Now". Since we were in Malvern, he strapped on the acoustic guitar and did a beautiful "Little Village", blowing on his sax towards the end. "Shot of Rythmn & Blues" made a rare return to setlist (with Van again mentioning a street in Belfast in intro). This was probably the most quiet audience I ever heard in all the years of going to Van gigs - a far cry from the American audiences I'm use to. All in all a very satisfying show.


Check out Simon's Site for full setlist.

Malvern is a pretty town, especially near Christmas.
-John Gilligan

Al Pacino To Honour Van At Oscar Wilde Event

Pacino is Wilde about Van the Man By Claire McNeilly

05 December 2006
Ulster's favourite musical son, Van Morrison, is to be honoured by legendary actor Al Pacino at an Oscar Wilde event.

Oscar winner Pacino will introduce Van at the US-Ireland Alliance's second annual Oscar Wilde night.

The event, officially called Oscar Wilde: Honouring Irish Writing in Film, is due to take place on February 22, at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles.

Pacino, who delivered a speech to students when he was at Trinity College in Dublin two weeks ago, told Alliance president Trina Vargo that he was a big fan of Morrison.

"Al agreed to participate because he is a great friend and fan of Van's," she said.

"It's an added bonus that he also has a great interest in Ireland and the namesake of out event."

Also being honoured, at what is fast becoming one of the hottest pre-Academy Awards parties, is screenwriter William Monahan and Belfast-born writer/director Terry George, best known for Hotel Rwanda.

Ms Vargo confirmed that Culture Ireland, which promotes the best of Ireland's arts and culture internationally, had agreed to sponsor Van's performance.

John O'Donoghue, the Republic's Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism, paid tribute to both men.

"Van Morrison and Terry George are exemplary cultural representatives of this island, both using the great gifts of lyrics and words - in song and script - telling Irish stories that have universal appeal," he said.

Culture Ireland joins the Irish Film Board and Walt Disney Studios as sponsors of the event.

Rod Stewart On Van

Rod Stewart Interview With Uncut

So Rod Stewart, asks Uncut, any amusing run-ins with Van Morrison?

Me and Ronnie Wood went out for dinner with him in the mid-90s. he started chatting up Rachel (Hunter), not knowing she was my wife. When he found out who she was he started in on her sister. Then tried it on with her mum. Bloody nightmare.

But that was years ago. He's a mellower cat now, right?

Earlier this year I took my daughters to see him play in LA. The promoter tels me Van would love to meet me backstage. So off I go. Van walks towards me and I stand up to give him a friendly hug and he just barges past me. Unbelievable. Why can't he just be nice to people?

Watch Van On "Austin City Limits"

Click here to get your own player.



Thanks to the folks at Bunkervision!!

Concert Review Zaragoza 17-Nov-06

Zaragoza Jazz Festival In Spain.
Translated to English via Google.
18/11/2006 JAVIER LOSILLA

The Irish musician, Van Morrison, showed the glory last night, with a full room in the first of his two Zaragozanos concerts.

Morrison is a customary man: he likes to
begin punctual the concerts, and to finalize them
also on time predicted. Thus the things, they
lacked five minutes for the nine at night, and
already was its band in the setting heating the
environment. And at nine o'clock or´clock roared
the old lion of Belfast. Good, the verb to roar
does not define exactly the tone of the first
forty minutes of the concert, that turned out to
be especially tranquil. Correct, preciosistas if
is wanted, but without that energy that defines
al Morrison braver. And that that in that time
launched things as Moondance and Days Like This.

For moments we think that the key of that
placidity was in the band, without metals and
with the violin and the steel guitar tempering
and sending above the other instruments. But
then we verify that the key was in the leader,
that was being reserved. Why?

When it attacked a very powerful one St. James
Infirmary, some we told us: now awakes the wild
animal. Was just then in which we feel al better
Morrison, al white blacker, al sharper
musician. And we promised them us happy thinking
that, from there, the pulse of the action would
go for those courses.

False alarm: after that crest, that ascent to the
skies, they played cat and mouse, alternating
disruptive and brilliant passages with
more domesticated offerings. It was a
section in which had pieces such as Beautiful
Vision and Brown Eye Girl (Morrison recorded it
in its first disk, in 1968).
Blues, soul, country, rock... Morrison
touches all the sticks, and all were touched last
night in the Multipurpose. With the wisdom of
whom carries on his backs a long and splendid
career, and elevating from time to time the level
(torrid ballads in which he is a teacher!) to
elevations of magnificent emotion.

So that, ten years after its first visit to
Zaragoza, Morrison carried its faithful
followers of the glory, limbo, and
reverse. The glory reached with some songs, when
the voice freed its better registrations and of
the sax you left the most ardent notes, and the
limbo, that pleasant place and without starts:
the correction, that is to say: beautiful, but
not of that cutting beauty that traps and snatches.

And finally, with the view of the clock
(nothing of repeat, ¡would lack more!), a little
Glory knocked down, as they approached
10:30 pm at night.
Morrison, as an agent
of the blues, leaves beeping of the setting
when sound the bells reserve guards that mark the
end of the evening. The musicians concluded the
piece with vigor, perhaps fearful to be become
pumpkins. Or in mice devoured by the lion.

Van Adds U.S. West Coast Dates February '07

Tickets On Sale For Los Angeles. Show is At The Gibson Theater On 21-Feb-07

Then On To San Rafael on 23-Feb-07. Tix On Sale November 19 At 10:00am PST

Van On The All-TIME 100 Albums List

The All-TIME 100 Albums

So here's how we chose the albums for the All-TIME 100. We researched and listened and agonized until we had a list of the greatest and most influential records ever - and then everyone complained because there was no Pink Floyd on it. And that's exactly how it should be. We hope you'll treat the All-TIME 100 as a great musical parlor game. Read and listen to the arguments for the selections, then tell us what we missed or got wrong. Or even possibly what we got right.

1970s
London Calling The Clash Sony, 1979
One Nation Under a Groove Parliament / Funkadelic Warner Brothers, 1978
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols Warner Brothers/Wea, 1977
Rumours Fleetwood Mac Warner Brothers, 1977
Hotel California The Eagles Elektra/Wea, 1976
Ramones The Ramones Sire, 1976
Songs in the Key of Life Stevie Wonder Motown, 1976
Born to Run Bruce Springsteen Sony, 1975
Horses Patti Smith Arista, 1975
Red Headed Stranger Willie Nelson Sony, 1975
Call Me Al Green The Right Stuff, 1973
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Elton John MCA, 1973
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust David Bowie RCA, 1972
Exile on Main Street The Rolling Stones Virgin, 1972
Talking Book Stevie Wonder UMG Recordings, 1972
The Harder They Come Jimmy Cliff and Various Artists Island, 1972
Blue Joni Mitchell Warner Brothers/Wea, 1971
Coat of Many Colors Dolly Parton RCA, 1971
Hunky Dory David Bowie RCA, 1971
Led Zeppelin IV (a.k.a. Zoso) Led Zeppelin Wea International, 1971
Paranoid Black Sabbath Warner Brothers, 1971
Sticky Fingers The Rolling Stones Virgin, 1971
Tapestry Carole King Ode/A&M, 1971
What's Going On Marvin Gaye Motown, 1971
Who's Next The Who Mobile Fidelity, 1971
After the Gold Rush Neil Young Reprise, 1970
Bridge Over Troubled Water Simon and Garfunkel Columbia, 1970
John Lennon Plastic Ono Band Apple/EMI, 1970
Moondance Van Morrison Warner Brothers/Wea, 1970

1960s
Abbey Road The Beatles Capitol, 1969
Bitches Brew Miles Davis Sony, 1969
Stand! Sly & the Family Stone Epic, 1969
The Band The Band Capitol, 1969
Astral Weeks Van Morrison Warner Brothers/Wea, 1968
At Folsom Prison Johnny Cash Sony, 1968
Lady Soul Aretha Franklin Atlantic, 1968
The Beatles ("The White Album") The Beatles Capitol, 1968
Are You Experienced The Jimi Hendrix Experience Experience Hendrix, 1967
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You Aretha Franklin Atlantic, 1967
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles Capitol, 1967
The Velvet Underground and Nico The Velvet Underground Polydor/Pgd, 1967
Blonde on Blonde Bob Dylan Columbia, 1966
Pet Sounds The Beach Boys DCC, 1966
Revolver The Beatles Capitol, 1966
Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan Columbia, 1965
Otis Blue Otis Redding Atlantic, 1965
Rubber Soul The Beatles Capitol, 1965
A Love Supreme John Coltrane Impulse, 1964
Live at the Apollo (1963) James Brown Polydor, 1963
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Ray Charles ABC/Paramount, 1962
King of the Delta Blues Singers Robert Johnson Columbia, 1961

No Satisfaction

San Francisco Chronicle
The tale is told that before last Monday's show in Oakland, Mick Jagger stopped by at Van Morrison's trailer to see him. An aide went inside to tell Morrison that Jagger was there, and Morrison told him to say he was napping. Later, during the show, Jagger's emissaries went to Morrison's trailer to ask if he'd sit in and play with the Stones. He had already returned to his hotel.

Morrison Back In Detroit After 20 Years

Detroit Free Press
BY KIM SILARSKI

Van Morrison hasn't set foot in southeastern
Michigan in more than two decades. When he takes
the stage tonight at the Masonic Temple, he'll
probably look as if he wants to be anywhere but
there.

None of that matters to local fans of Van the Man,
the legendary Celtic soulster whose four-decade
career has influenced rockers from Bruce
Springsteen to Iggy Pop. When tickets went on sale
in September, all 4,200 seats were snatched up in
minutes.

"I'm really excited," says pharmaceutical sales rep
Amy Irwin, 36, of Belleville, who is seeing
Morrison for the first time since her older sister
turned her on to the artist 20 years ago.

"I've heard about his onstage demeanor. I'm hoping
it won't come off badly. He will get quite the
welcome here because people are just so grateful to
see him," Irwin says.

Since he formed and fronted the band Them in 1964,
Irishman Morrison has applied his unusual vocal
style to various musical genres while producing a
string of hits. Who (over age 30, anyway) doesn't
know all the lyrics to "Moondance"? The rock
standard "Gloria"? Or "Brown Eyed Girl"? Then
there's "Astral Weeks," one of the first-ever
concept albums. The list goes on and on.

Morrison has played just six live shows in four
visits to southeast Michigan during his entire
career, according to www.setlist.com. He debuted
Feb. 21-23, 1969, at the Grande Ballroom; appeared
Oct. 17, 1974, at the Masonic; returned to Masonic
for a show Oct. 29, 1978 and most recently played
the Fox Theatre on July 15, 1986.

He came down with a severe case of stage fright in
the early 1970s and has struggled to play in front
of big audiences ever since. Still, Morrison has
managed to tour consistently over the years, and on
this current jaunt is even opening some Rolling
Stones dates.

"Every single singer in Detroit was influenced by
Van Morrison," says Matt Smith of local band
Outrageous Cherry. Like Irwin, he happened to be
listening to Morrison music when contacted for this
story.

"From Rob Tyner to Iggy Pop to Bob Seger, everyone
sounded like Van Morrison and Them," says Smith,
who has been tied up in the recording studio and
isn't attending tonight's concert.

If recent reviews hold, Morrison will emerge
dressed in a dark suit, hat and sunglasses for a
set of only about 90 minutes, playing songs from
throughout his career, a fair amount from "Pay the
Devil," the country CD he released in March, and
maybe a few choice cover tunes.

Jim Stocks, 48, and Stacey Porvin Stocks, 35,
newlywed social workers from Eastpointe, caught
Morrison in April at Chicago's United Center and
will be at the Masonic tonight.

"I'm rather biased toward the song 'Into the
Mystic,' and he didn't play it in there. When he
did it in Toronto in 2004, it made me cry," says
Porvin Stocks, a fan for the past 15 years.

Jim Stocks is hoping Morrison has a special Motor
City treat in store tonight, such as a song by one
of the artist's big influences: bluesman John Lee
Hooker, who started his career in Detroit.

"In Chicago, he did a Muddy Waters tune, 'Mannish
Boy,' with a big harmonica solo in the middle of
it. It was awesome."

Setlist:

Back on Top
Days like this
Talk is cheap
Thers Stands the Glass
I'm Not Feeling It Any More
Beautiful Vision
Real real gone
I Cant stop loving you
Moondance
St. James Infirmary
(Dedication)Choppin Wood
Precious Time
It's All in the Game
Wild Night
Crazy Love
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Van Tops Stones In Oakland 06-Nov-06

From Inside Bay Area.

The nearly unthinkable occurred on Monday night at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland.

Van Morrison, one of the least dependable live performers in rock history, topped the Rolling Stones, a band that many believe to be the finest concert act in the business.

Whoa. Who could have seen that coming?

Well, for starters, anybody who attended Morrison’s other shows this year in the Bay Area. The 61-year-old “Belfast Cowboy” was at the top of his game during gigs back in March at the Masonic in San Francisco and in September at the U.C. Greek in Berkeley. His opening set for the Stones on Monday was arguably even more impressive than those two previous outings.

The Stones, for their part, delivered a fine headlining set that was a tad stronger than the one put on at AT&T Park (then called SBC) in San Francisco almost exactly one year prior. Yet, it once again felt a bit mechanical, sterile and cold _ as if a Stones DVD was simply being played on an enormous screen.

It seems odd to knock a band for being overly professional, but the criticism might fit when it comes to the Stones.

The concert was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was knocked back a night after Stones front man Mick Jagger was advised to take four days off from the tour to recover from recent throat problems. Perhaps, the vocalist should have scheduled an even longer recovery time. Something certainly seemed to be bothering the vocalist early in the night. It could have been his throat. Or, maybe, it was just age.

The combined age of the four Stones _ Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarists Ron Wood and Keith Richards _ is 249. Combine that with a Herculean tour schedule, which up to that point included 110 shows in 20 countries, and even the Stones are bound to wear down.

The concert began at promptly 6:45 p.m. and those who were still fighting the traffic when Morrison took the stage missed some truly inspired music.

Backed by an extraordinary group of players, including three backing vocalists and steel-guitar wiz Cindy Cashdollar, Morrison was in fine voice as he crooned through enticingly warm versions of the old hits “Cleaning Windows” and “Moondance.”

Whereas he’s operated on autopilot while performing many of his best-known works in past years, Morrison embraced his back catalog on this night and gave fans new, yet familiar enough, reasons to get excited about “Wild Night” and “Brown Eyed Girl.” The music was centered in the blues, but the players drew from a wide spectrum of musical shades, including 1940s-era pop and straight-ahead jazz. The result, such as on the traditional number “St. James Infirmary,” was often glorious to behold.

Following a short break, which seemingly all 42,000 fans used to visit the merchandise stands, the Rolling Stones came out rocking with a huge rendition of the classic “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

The band worked the same elaborate stage set, dominated by two multi-level towers full of fans, as it did in San Francisco last year. Thankfully, however, the players didn’t work the same set of songs.

For an act of the Stones’ stature _ of which, arguably, there is only one _ it’s impressive to see how much the group changes its setlist. The 19-song set featured 11 numbers that weren’t performed during the show I reviewed last November. The band also pulled out some relative rarities, including “She Was Hot” and “Connection.”

The Glimmer Twins (Jagger and Richards) didn’t shine very brightly on Monday. The always energetic Jagger seemed to be going through the motions, especially early in the show, and Richards limped his way through his leads, most noticeably (and unfortunately) on “Sympathy for the Devil.”

In contrast, Wood and Watts were rock solid on this night. Wood did his best to make up for Richards’ off-night and hit with sparkling leads on “Tumbling Dice” and numerous other songs. Watts did his jazz thing, staying in perfect time and remaining unflappable even when fireworks and other pyrotechnical displays were going off all around him.

Given that the tour is called A Bigger Bang, it’s no surprise that the show is heavy in big-production numbers and special effects.

The grandest spectacle came during “Under My Thumb” as the band members boarded a platform that moved along a track through the crowd, finally resting somewhere near where Oakland A’s shortstop Marco Scutaro would catch a fly ball. The change of location didn’t help matters much, unfortunately, as the Stones played lukewarm renditions of “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” and “Start Me Up.”

The band members performed “Honky Tonk Women” while the platform carried them back to the main stage and then they played a version of “Sympathy for the Devil” that didn’t gel in its usual way. The group finished up the set with solid takes on “Paint It Black” and “Brown Sugar” and then returned for an encore of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

There was indeed satisfaction to be found at this concert. But one had to get to the show in time to see Van Morrison to find it.

Setlist:
Back on Top
Stop Drinking
Cleaning Windows/Be Bop a Lula
Crazy Love (Kissoon sings one verse)
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
I Can't Stop Loving You
Moondance
St. James Infirmary
Help Me
Precious TIme
One Irish Rover
Bright Side of the Road
Wild Night
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

New Live CD From Van!

Live At Austin City Limits Music Festival

Brand-new limited edition Live album.

Available On Van's Website (see left)

Concert Review Seattle 04-Nov-06

WaMu Theater, Van Morrison are good fit
By GENE STOUT
P-I POP MUSIC CRITIC

It was a marvelous night for a moondance, even if
the full moon wasn't visible.

Van Morrison and his 10- member band of singers and
instrumentalists enraptured concertgoers Saturday
night with a sold-out show that spanned the
Belfast-born singer's entire career. Among the
favorites in the 19-long set at the new WaMu
Theater were "Moondance," "Brown Eyed Girl" and
"St. James Infirmary Blues."

Concertgoers quickly rose and danced and sang along
to Morrison's classic songs and well-chosen cover
tunes. It was a terrific show, among the best he
has offered in the Seattle area in recent memory.

But why so short? Morrison's band took the stage
promptly at 7:30 p.m., catching concertgoers
off-guard and leaving them with little time to
enjoy the abundant food and beverage service at the
venue. The show concluded abruptly at about 9 p.m.
without an encore. With tickets priced from $165 to
$225, the show's brevity was a bit of a rub.

Nevertheless, many concertgoers left the building
with satisfied grins.

Morrison's show was part of a festive inaugural
weekend for the new concert venue, a joint venture
between AEG Live and Paul Allen's First & Goal Inc.
at Qwest Field Event Center.

The weekend included a Friday night concert by
Grammy-winning soul singer Seal and Allen's band
(minus the billionaire Seahawks owner), as well as
an appearance by nearly 30 Seattle Seahawks, who
stood shoulder to shoulder on the mammoth stage.
Each show drew about 5,000.

The theater featured a small marquee, red carpets
and, for Friday's opening, four spotlights. The
spacious lobby included four bars, an array of
artifacts from Allen's Experience Music Project and
atmospheric lighting.

The WaMu Theater can be assembled and disassembled
in less than a day, transforming the hangarlike
exhibition hall into a functional concert venue
using comfortable folding chairs, spacious risers,
a portable stage, heavy acoustical curtains and
state-of-the-art speakers.

For Morrison, WaMu's sound system worked
beautifully. During Morrison's tender rendition of
Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You," the
singer's three background vocalists sang a cappella
in tones so clear and warm that concertgoers
cheered.

Before Morrison took the stage, his band warmed up
with a rousing "Boogie Woogie Country Girl."
Morrison arrived in his dark suit, fedora and
sunglasses for "Back on Top," "Beautiful Vision"
and Webb Pierce's "There Stands the Glass," from
Morrison's current, country-influenced album, "Pay
the Devil."

Often playing harmonica and saxophone, Morrison
blended folk, blues, country and rockabilly with
scat singing and Celtic influences.

Morrison took up his sax for "Moondance" and was
greeted with handclaps. During "Precious Time," he
took turns scatting with background vocalists.
"Folks, this is what you call dynamics," he
quipped.

During "Real Real Gone," a song that makes
references to Sam Cooke, Morrison and his
background vocalists earned a standing ovation when
they crooned, "You-o-o, send me."

The show ended with spirited, hand-clapping
versions of classics "Brown Eyed Girl" and
"Gloria." Morrison's crew began packing up as soon
as everyone left the stage. Morrison has been
running a similarly tight ship in other cities.

Classic Morrison changes little, and that's good
By Patrick MacDonald

Seattle Times music critic

There's a timeless quality to Van Morrison that was reflected in his masterly performance Saturday night at the new WaMu Theater in Qwest Field Event Center.

Of all the great, still-active rock stars from the '60s, Morrison is the most unchanged. He doesn't look old, like the Stones, he doesn't sound different, like Dylan, and he hasn't gone slick and showy, like McCartney.

He's still got that monochromatic but somehow richly expressive singing voice, in the understated style of the Southern bluesmen he's always admired. He maintains a fascination with blues, folk and jazz idioms, just like he did growing up in Ireland. He still exudes the same quiet passion and dignity that have always been his trademarks.

The most dramatic proof of his timelessness, however, is the fact that almost all the songs from his long career — starting with the Irish group Them more than 40 years ago — are of a piece. The newer ones fit perfectly with the classics. Even the covers he does mesh naturally with his originals.

Fresh from opening for the Rolling Stones the night before in Vancouver, B.C., and backed by a talented 10-piece band that featured violin, pedal steel and organ, and three background singers, Morrison, wearing a black suit and matching fedora, performed a no-frills, no-nonsense kind of show that is all too rare these days.

The brisk, 90-minute set left some of the capacity crowd of 7,000 — many of whom paid the top ticket price of $225 (the cheapest were $95) — disappointed. But that was one more thing that hasn't changed, because Morrison never performs for very long and seldom does encores.

Not surprisingly, the crowd reacted most enthusiastically to the hits, including a jazzy, folky "Moondance," a smooth, cool "Crazy Love" and energetic recreations of "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Wild Night," which had fans up and dancing.

A funky "Real Real Gone" was a highlight, as were covers of the blues classic "St. James Infirmary," with Morrison on sax; Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You"; and Paul Young's bluesy "Tear Your Playhouse Down." The closer was Them's "Gloria," with Morrison on harmonica.

Setlist:

Back on Top
Fame
Stop Drinking
Beautiful Vision
Cleaning Windows
There Stands the Glass
I'm Not Feeling It
I Can't Stop Loving You
Moondance
St. James Infirmary
Precious Time
Crazy Love
Playhouse
One Irish Rover
Real Real Gone
Wild Night
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

If You Loved Me

From February 1997 In Belfast. Thanks Rodders

Van & Stones Shows Postponed

A Bigger Bang Tour Dates Rescheduled
Van still seems to be on for the Oakland show on November 6 but the Vancouver show, now scheduled for November 25th, does NOT list him as Support Artist.

The Rolling Stones have been advised to take four days off from their "A Bigger Bang" world tour in order for singer Mick Jagger to properly recover from recent throat problems.

The Oakland show will move from November 5 to November 6. The Los Angeles show will move from November 18 to November 22. The Vancouver show will move from November 3 to November 25. The Honolulu show has been cancelled.

The Doors and Them
(Ray Manzarek)

HOW DID YOU LAND THE GIG AS THE HOUSE BAND AT THE WHISKY A GO GO? Manzarek: The week before our final night at the London Fog, Ronnie Harran, the booker from the Whisky a Go Go, had come down and fell in love with the band. She asked us after the set, "How would you guys like to be the house band at the Whisky a Go Go?" And we went, "F---ing A. Are you kidding? Of course, we'd love to."

She said, "You'll open the show, then the headliners, then you play another set, and then the headliners. So two sets a night." We said, "How much money?" And she said, "Union scale," which was like $135 per man, per week. It was like, "Wow." We were making like $40 or $50 at the London Fog.


We were going to be the house band at the Whisky a Go Go and Jim Morrison, Mr. Cool, says to Ronnie, "We got to think about this. Why don't you come back tomorrow?" And she looked at him with these big puppy-dog eyes.

After she left, we proceeded to pummel Morrison on the arms and shoulders. "What do you mean we have to think about it?" Jim said, "Of course we're going to take the gig, but you don't want to appear too anxious."

The next week we started, and the band we played with was none other than Them -- Van Morrison and Them. And we jammed during the last set of the night. So Jim Morrison and Van Morrison were singing "Gloria" together at the Whisky a Go Go. What a night.

New Van Dates In Las Vegas & Florida

Van Back In U.S.

30-Dec-06 Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay

02-Jan-07 Kissimmee, FL, Silver Spurs Arena

Van's New 2007 UK Dates

Van's UK Dates
06-Apr-2007 Van Morrison Manchester
Bridgewater Hall
07-Apr-2007 Van Morrison Manchester
Bridgewater Hall
13-Apr-2007 Van Morrison Oxford New Theatre
14-Apr-2007 Van Morrison Cardiff Millennium
Centre

Van To Perform At Oscars Party in February

Van To Perform At Pre-Academy Awards Party On February 22, 2007
Entertainment Legend To Perform

Multi-award winning singer/songwriter Van Morrison will be honored by the US-Ireland Alliance at its second annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring Irish Writing in Film" pre-Academy Awards party, Thursday, February 22, 2007 at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles, California.

Hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance, a non-profit organization created to foster ties between the US and Ireland, the star-studded event is designed to honor Irish writing in film. Trina Vargo, founder and president of the Alliance, noted that the event, which is co-sponsored by the Irish Film Board, was created to "bring together leaders in the Irish film community with their Hollywood counterparts at a fun, casual Irish party --a great precursor to the black tie and couture evenings ahead."

Two additional honorees will be announced at a later date. Last year's sold-out event honored Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and David Holmes and brought out a host of luminaries including Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Anjelica Huston and Disney Chairman Dick Cook.

A native of Belfast, Ireland, Van Morrison has one of the most enduring and consistently impressive careers in music history. His music is included in nearly fifty films including the soon-to-be released Scorsese film, The Departed, as well as Breakfast on Pluto, What A Girl Wants, The Royal Tenenbaums, Bridget Jones' Diary, One Fine Day, When a Man Loves a Woman, Prelude to a Kiss, Thelma & Louise, An Officer and a Gentleman, Proof of Life, and As Good as It Gets.

Morrison’s latest album, Pay The Devil, incorporates the deeply soulful sounds of the American South that have inspired him. For forty years, Morrison has drawn upon the greats of Rhythm & Blues to create his own distinctive and influential blend of soul and Celtic influences. On Pay The Devil, Morrison explores his inner cowboy more than ever before, asserting himself as a working musician who simply follows his own musical muse wherever it may lead him.

Van On PBS' Austin City Limits 18-Nov-06

Austin City Limits Presents: Van Morrison

Musical legend Van Morrison wraps his incomparable voice around the soul, blues, folk, jazz and country styles that have been the mainstay of his music for four decades.

Featuring songs from his latest album Pay the Devil and timeless Morrison classics, he delivers a spellbinding one hour performance in his first appearance on Austin City Limits.

Van Morrison Song List
Recorded 9/14/06:

Wild Night
Choppin’ Wood
There Stands the Glass
Playhouse
Not Feelin’ It
Cleaning Windows
St. James Infirmary
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Don’t Start Crying Now / Custard Pie
Brown-Eyed Girl
Gloria

Concert Review Liverpool 21-Oct-06

Van Morrison, Liverpool Philharmonic Oct 23 2006 By Mike Chapple, Daily Post
HE'S been written off as being past his best.
But dismiss Van Morrison at your peril.

He's not called The Man for nothing and on Saturday night the Phil was in raptures as he and his peerless nine-piece backing band staged a full 90-minute masterclass of unmatchable musical versatility.

Looking less like Uncle Bulgaria these days, he cut a sleeker figure than last remembered Wombling on stage, blowing blues harp as the band cruised into Back On Top, no pompous bluster but merely a statement of fact on this kind of form.

One of Morrison's greatest assets is his understanding of various musical styles and the consequent ability to meld them into transforming the shape of songs from his formidable back catalogue.

This ensures that with Van Live you'll never, ever, get a perfunctory rolling out of the greatest hits; he's always tweaking away and changing the standards which make him, and not Rafa Benitez, the supreme Tinkerman.

So, despite this being the Liverpool Irish Festival, in this incarnation we had not so much the Celtic Come Into Parlour Van but the Mint Julep On The Back Porch Man as he put his philanderings with Country and Western to good use with stunning effect.

Fiddle and pedal steel guitar transformed classics such as Moondance into something altogether different.

Another of Morrison's great assets is the ability to control the momentum so that at some stage in the performance there comes a key point which makes the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end, or brings tears welling into the eyes.

This rolling cloud of emotion began somewhere around the typically stylish adaptation of Ray Charles's I Can't Stop Loving You, through Moondance and One Irish Rover, building up to a final downpour during It's All In The Game.

It all ended far too soon with a mass singalong of Brown Eyed Girl and an almost grunge-like encore of Gloria.

It moved even Van, not renowned for being the happy-clappiest of individuals, to sign off with "We've enjoyed our two nights in Liverpool. We had a ball!"

And so did we.

Van The Healer

Van & Chrissy Hynde. Dublin 1993.
Going for a song
Going for a song
Ian Rankin on Snow in San Anselmo by Van Morrison
In 1989, I was living in Thatcher-era, red-braced London, earning a pittance as a hi-fi journalist. I’d had two not very successful novels published and was having trouble finding a publisher willing to take a chance on my third. The maisonette I shared with my hard-working wife seemed cramped. I was spending three hours a day commuting across the city. I was 29 and already starting to feel like a burnout.

One morning, as I clambered aboard the train at Victoria, I felt my heart begin to race. There was a whistling in my ears, and I found breathing difficult. I jumped off the train and stood trembling on the platform, waiting for the heart attack. It didn’t come, but I was worried enough to return home and beg an early appointment with my GP. He diagnosed panic attacks and told me to take some rest. I apologised to my wife and workmates, got on an Intercity train, changed at York and found myself in Scarborough. It was autumn, and the place was dead. I found a cheap hotel room and unpacked my bag, concentrating on my Walkman. A few days before, a large parcel of Van Morrison reissues had arrived at the office. I’d brought half a dozen with me. The first into the machine was Hard Nose the Highway. I headed out and began walking along the seashore, the wind howling, while Van Morrison soothed me with the opening track, Snow in San Anselmo, conjuring a world of harmony, casual friendship and everyday miracles.

I didn’t know where San Anselmo was, but it sounded exotic. Van Morrison sang of an all-night pancake house, so I guessed California. Snow was a rarity there, yet it was falling, as the waitress explained to the narrator. The image conjured was of Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks, sleepless souls finding comfort and a kind of communion. Van Morrison seemed to be saying the world was full of possibility. I began to feel better, less stressed, revivified. Maybe out-of-season Scarborough also played its part — there wasn’t much more to do than take day-long walks. I was also thinking that it didn’t really matter whether my third book ever found a publisher; I could always try again. Snow in San Anselmo has been with me ever since. It takes me back to the rocky beach, the low autumn sun and gusts of ozone. It calms me, makes me smile, tells me to take things at my own pace.

Ian Rankin’s latest novel, The Naming of the Dead, is published by Orion

Van Records New Duet With Tom Jones

Tom Jones revealed at a recent concert that he has recorded a duet with Van that will be released as a single. It is a remake of Van's "Cry For Home" which Van originally recorded back in 1983. Van and Tom have also worked together in the past and did a duet of "Sometimes We Cry" which came out in 1999.

The Lost Waltz

News from The Band website of a new DVD, The Lost Waltz, may be of interest to Van fans because it includes footage of Van & the late Richard Manuel doing "Tura-Lura-Lural" which was not include in the official movie.

Manuel turned the piano over to John Simon, and began ‘Tura Lura,’ a song about an Irish lullaby; just as Manuel finished the first verse, Van Morrison made his entrance - and he turned the show round. I had seen him not many minutes before prowling the balconies, dressed nondescriptly in a shirt and jeans, scowling; but there he was on stage, in an absurd maroon suit and a green top, singing to the rafters. They cut into ‘Caravan’- with John Simon waving The Band’s volume up and down, and the horns at their most effective - while Van burned holes in the floor. He was magic, and I thought, Why didn’t he join The Band years ago? More than any other singer, he fit in, his music and theirs made sense together. It was a triumph, and as the song ended Van began to kick his leg in sheer exuberance, and he kicked his way right offstage like a Rockette. The crowd had given him a fine welcome and they cheered wildly when he left.
-Greil Marcus

Concert Review: York 07-Oct-06

Review: Van Morrison, The Barbican Centre, York VAN Morrison has a career that has spanned not only decades but generations, and on Saturday night at the Barbican it was clear to see why.

Without hesitation, Van The Man broke straight into his set, demonstrating exactly how a man born the son of a shipyard worker in 1945 took the influences of music from the likes of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and made a genre all of his own, with tracks displaying major leanings towards R&B, soul and rock, many of which had a distinct taste of the South.

The performance was flawless, as Van and his band belted out hit after hit, including the classics In The Midnight, What Makes The Irish Heart Beat, Big Blue Diamonds and the amazing Back On Top.
continued...

Personally. I would have loved to have heard a track or two from Irish Heartbeats, especially Ta Mo Chleamhnas Deanta.

But Morrison can still get the audience whooping and dancing after four decades in the business, and Saturday night was no exception.

This was a highly-polished performance which is no less than you would expect from a man who has perfected his art in both America and Ireland.

The tracks that stood out were the timeless Moondance and no Van Morrison set would be complete without Brown Eyed Girl, a track which he closed on, and is as every bit as strong today as it was when he first recorded it in 1967 for his first solo album Blowin' Your Mind.

And that's exactly what he does, every time.

New Van Dates: Zaragoza, November 17 & 18th

Festival de Jazz 2006 Translated by google.
The Festival of Jazz 2006 will tell to east year with the presence of the
mythical musician Morrison, who will delight to the zaragozanos with his talent days 17 and 18 of November. The event will count, in addition, with important new features, like diverse complementary activities or the Jazz pa you, directed to inculcar to the children the liking by this type of music.

The festival will include nine concerts, that will take with the performanceof the pianista Herbie Hancock. In addition to Van Morrison, Aragoneseartists will act, like the group Left Margin or the guitarist MarianoConget. The pianista Chano Domínguez will act Thursday 9 of November. The entrances are worth of 15 to 55 euros and they will be possible to be acquired from Tuesday 17 of October in the tellers of Ibercaja, Fnac or in the ticket offices of the audience. There are 350 installments to a price of 100 euros.

Van's Cover of "Comfortably Numb" In Scorsese's "The Departed"

Movie Review: "The Departed" “The Departed” is entertaining and worth watching for the acting and suspense. But don’t expect any point to it or any easing off on profanity or violence right to the end.

One final note: in the soundtrack, and featured on the film’s trailers, is the seldom heard rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” performed by Van Morrison live at Roger Waters’ July 1900 “The Wall” concert in Berlin. The event drew half a million commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall at the same site seven months earlier. The film is almost worth the price of admission for that alone.

It is taken from this 1990 performance:

Van Sings "Comfortably Numb" in Berlin At Roger Water's "The Wall".

New UK Dates For Van

Country-blues legend Van Morrison has added yet more dates to his busy 2006 tour schedule

Van Morrison Blackpool Opera House 06 Oct 2006
Van Morrison York Barbican Centre 07 Oct 2006
Van Morrison Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 20 Oct 2006
Van Morrison Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 21 Oct 2006
Van Morrison Edinburgh Usher Hall 01 Dec 2006
Van Morrison Gateshead Sage Arena 02 Dec 2006
Van Morrison Malvern Forum Theatre 08 Dec 2006
Van Morrison Bristol Colston Hall 09 Dec 2006
Van Morrison Glasgow Clyde Auditorium 15 Dec 2006

Van On Mose Allison TV Special For BBC 4

Mose Allison: Ever Since I Stole the Blues BBC 2 Friday 29th September at 11.35pm

Mose Allison, white Jazz and Blues legend from the Mississippi Delta, inspired key figures in Rock'n'Roll. As Pete Townsend says in the film:
‘Without Mose I wouldn’t have written My Generation’. The film also features Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, Frank Black, Loudon Wainwright, Ben Sidran, Keb Mo’ and Georgie Fame.

The film also contains exclusive performances of Mose classics by Van Morrison and Loudon Wainwright along with The Who’s barnstorming take on Mose’s Young Man Blues.

"If you're interested in jazz, blues or rock - especially British rock -
then you really need to hear Mose Allison", claims director Paul Bernays.
His film is an affectionate portrait of the jazz-blues legend, taking in
performances and interviews with Mose and such high-profile admirers as Van
Morrison and Elvis Costello.

Concert Review of Ronnie Scott's 24-Sept-06

Lori & Mike Seltzer With Van Before the Ronnie Scott's Gig. It's Also The Seltzer's 30th Wedding Anniversary. Congrats!


Country blues and Celtic soul By Jack Massarik, Evening Standard 25.09.06
Jazz? Well, perhaps not specifically as we know it,
but there's a gritty emotional validity and solid
pulse about Van Morrison's music that always goes
down well at this jazz bastion. And unlike most
chart stars, he also plays acceptable harmonica,
guitar and alto sax.

Two dynamic shows by the Ulster-born
singer-songwriter, whose maverick blend of
countryblues was recently redefined as "Celtic
soul", kept the customers highly satisfied last
night.

Smart in his dark suit and snappy Panama straw hat,
his features no longer obscured by beard and dark
glasses, the former alcoholic and stage-fright
victim sang powerfully and worked hard. Between
numbers he hardly said a word and never cracked a
single smile (in Belfast you can get beaten up for
less) but he did chuckle at his own lyrics
occasionally and looked very nearly laid-back.

Flanked by six men in black and Sarah Jory on
pedal-steel guitar, Morrison revelled in their
warm, Texas-country sound. Fiddler Tom Fitzgibbon,
Hammond-organist Geraint Watkins and Jory were the
pick of the soloists and St James Infirmary also
featured rhythm-guitarist Crawford Bell on trumpet.

Opening with a 1999 hit, Back on Top, the compact
Morrison led them through Mixed Up in Fame,
Stranded on the Edge of World, Choppin' Wood, Tear
Your Playhouse Down, Gotta Stop Drinkin' that Wine,
Precious Time is Slippin' Away and other bluesy
vehicles for his clipped, punchy delivery.

Though not the most inventive of singers, the
62-year-old Van still sounds like a man and knows
how to swing his band. With maturity has also come
the confidence of enjoying a reputation that
passing fashions cannot diminish. By the time he
had got around to Brown-eyed Girl, noisy fans,
including visiting thesps Vince Vaughn and Kevin
Spacey, had been thoroughly converted. And they
didn't even hear Moondance.

Review from Jazzwise
Twenty years ago, ravaged and worn, not long before the end of his life, Chet Baker performed at the old-look Ronnie Scott’s, a little frayed at the edges but still a haunting performer.
With him on that night was Van Morrison and together they performed Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Send In The Clowns’. Chet is no longer with us but Van, in rude health at 61, and looking noticeably slimmer, was back at Ronnie’s last night with a few tricks up his sleeve. Whether the tricks were aces or not took a while to reveal. Opening, with ‘Back On Top’, cautiously and none too happy with the microphone. “If this is the best you can do with the vocals,” he told the sound man ominously, “then we’re going to have problems.” You could hear the whispers of “Here we go” from the crowd, who had stumped up £50 a ticket for the first house. But the microphone problem quickly ceased to be an issue for Van and ‘Talk Is Cheap’ that followed was better, but none too startling. By the third tune Van was settled and the momentum started to gather, with the funked up ‘Fame’, not one of the best tracks on his Blue Note album What’s Wrong With This Picture, but wonderfully cussed here with Morrison’s longstanding beef with the media given another airing as Van sang resignedly, “The press have gone and made another mess of it.”
While Van was in good voice, the band was perfunctory at best. Ned Edwards is a likeable fixture, but no great shakes as either a guitarist or vocalist and it was only Geraint Watkins, on organ, keys and piano who really cut a dash. The violinist Tony Fitzgibbon rose to the occasion but it was the inclusion of a steel guitar player Sarah Jory that really put the stamp on the band. Van has been touring his country album Pay The Devil this year so the inclusion of the steel was not a surprise although the band only played two tunes from the album, the very strongly delivered ‘Playhouse’ and affecting ‘There Stands The Glass’. Interestingly, where the set proved strongest was not in the hits (a tired old stab at ‘Moondance’ and a dull version of ‘Jackie Wilson Said’) but in the blues covers and an affectionate treatment of Mose Allison’s ‘Don’t Worry About A Thing’, actually recorded in Ronnie’s for the album How Long Has This Been Going On? Ronnie’s artistic director Leo Green, who worked with Van for eight years, told me afterwards, “Van’s a blues man, through and through” and on this showing he was at his best when he was at his most primitive and raw as on the dramatic ‘St James’ Infirmary’ and the crowd pleasing ‘Gloria’ that got the well heeled crowd roaring “G-L-O-R-I-A” back at him. It wasn’t quite vintage Van. There was too much ropey saxophone playing made up for by his sassy harmonica lines and the band also failed to add that extra authentic spark he needs. Yet the show acted as a reminder of the abundance of Van’s jazz and blues-rooted vocal gifts. A unique figure, coming to a jazz club he may have done “two bad things: one country, two western”, as he told the audience wryly, but only he can get away with such a mix of music with his miraculous voice and a back catalogue of songs he delivers with rare conviction.
Review: Stephen Graham

Van To Perform On PBS-TV: "Austin City Limits"

Austin City Limits Musical legend Van Morrison wraps his incomparable voice around the soul, blues, folk, jazz and country styles that have been the mainstay of his music for four decades. Featuring songs from his latest album Pay the Devil and timeless Morrison classics, he delivers a spellbinding one hour performance in his first appearance on Austin City Limits.

First broadcast wil be on Nov 18 2006 in some markets and Nov 24th in others - check your local listings for date and time.

Setlist:
1. Choppin' Wood
2. Fame
3. There Stands the Glass
4. Playhouse
5. Stranded
6. Pay the Devil
7. I'm not Feeling it Anymore
8. Cleaning Windows
9. St. James Infirmary
10. That's What Makes the Irish Heart Beat
11. Stop Drinking that Wine Sonny Boy
12. I Can't Stop Loving You
13. Wild Night
14. Cry Cry Baby/Be Bop a Lula
15. Custard Pie
16. Brown Eyed Girl
17. Gloria

Van Entertains At Ryder Cup Gala In Dublin

Van Morrison Entertains Star-Studded Gala Dinner Belfast-born musician surprises VIP guests on an evening of glitz and glamour at City-West

A VIP guest list of 1,400 attended The Ryder Cup Gala Dinner at Dublin’s City-West Hotel, where they were treated to a surprise performance from rock legend Van Morrison.

Among the assembled diners on Wednesday evening were the European and United States team members and their wives or partners, Arnold Palmer, eight-time Major champion and designer of the Ryder Cup course, Dr Michael Smurfit, owner of The K Club, former England cricketer Ian Botham and leading Irish politicians and business entrepreneurs.

First to arrive at City-West were the US Team, all of whom chose to wear a classic black dinner jacket and matching bow tie.

European Captain Ian Woosnam, accompanied by wife Glen, who was dressed by Paul Costello in a sparkling black number, arrived next and led his players past the crowds that had gathered outside in the wind and rain, all eager to be part of the Ryder Cup experience.

The European players wore white tuxedos and red bow ties for the occasion, while almost all their partners were dressed in black.

The Irish political side was represented by John O’Donoghue, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, and Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture and Food.

Both will have been delighted with the Irish-inspired menu that included aromatic rack of Wexford lamb with a wild mushroom cream, exclusively prepared by chef Dermot O’Shea.

Ain't That Loving You Baby

From Montreux 1995.

Austin Concert Review 15-Sep-06

Van Morrison (Friday)
By John T. Davis
It is one small measure of Van Morrison’s longevity that the last time I saw him was 27-odd years ago at the inevitably-referred-to “late-lamented” Armadillo World Headquarters. Back then, he stayed over and played a night for free, so enamored he was of the ‘Dillo’s shrimp enchiladas. Someone on hand recalled him swinging from the door lintel of the dressing room, lost in simple bliss. Since then he has put out a score of albums reflecting every prismatic nuance of blues, soul, Celtic gospel, rock and (most lately) country.

Now, three decades later, Van the Man was back in town, as natty as a Martin Scorcese gangster in a suit coat, tinted glasses and a pale fedora. (The illusion was not confined to the stage. A cadre of motorcycle cops and dark limos came sweeping through backstage. I thought for a crazy moment that Charles Attal and Charlie Jones had gone into the funeral business. But of course, it was Morrison and his entourage.)
“Was he always this laid-back?” asked a young fan, who was hoping to hear “Caravan.” Well - yes and no. What might have sounded “laid-back” registered to these ears as smoldering intensity; the precise focus of a master of the game who doesn’t need to squander his focus and energy to achieve a transcendent effect.

Beginning with a tongue-in-groove rendition of “Back On Top,” Morrison wound in and out of his current predilection, country music, as reflected in his latest album, “Pay the Devil.” The Jerry Lee Lewis-weeper “Big Blue Diamonds” shared stage time with a countrypolitan-perfect take on “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” But it is part of Morrison’s gift to segue from country to Muscle Shoals-style soul (“It’s All in the Game”) to swampy blues (he pulled out the sax for “St. James Infirmary”) to the Muhammad Ali rock ‘n’ roll combination of “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Wild Night” and “Gloria.”
There is, however, one moment that lingers. Far back in the crowd, a quarter-mile from the stage, a little kid stared in wonderment as all the grown-ups around him rose to their feet and began swaying and singing in unison. He probably didn’t know there was a guy onstage with the improbable name of Van Morrison singing a song called “Brown Eyed Girl.” It hardly mattered. The song still has the power to engender the same sense of wonder and delight in children today as it did in their parents. And, if everything works out just right, that youngster may tell his kids about sitting in a field on a late summer night listening to Van Morrison sing.

Phoenix Concert Review 13-Sept-06

Van Morrison makes first Valley visit in 28 years
Michael Senft
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 14, 2006 02:33 AM
Van Morrison Concert - Sept. 13, 2006

It was a marvelous night for a Moondance on Wednesday when Van Morrison made his first Valley appearance in 28 years at Cricket Pavilion. And the legendary Irish singer made up for the wait with a passionate, if short, set to his adoring Valley fans.

Taking the stage at 7:30 without an opening act, many expected Morrison to play an extended set, however he only sang for about 90 minutes.

But what a 90 minutes they were.
After his backup band played the rollicking Boogie Woogie Country Girl with guitarist Ned Edwards handling the vocals, Morrison emerged in a sharp suit and fedora, taking the mike for Back on Top. He proceeded to wail, scat and growl his way through 20 stellar tunes ranging from his days with the garage band Them through his recent country CD, Pay the Devil.

The crowd was most receptive to the classics like Moondance and Cleaning Windows, but his ten-piece band seemed muted on those tunes. While they gave passionate performances, the music was overpowered by Morrison's soulful shouting.

It didn't slow the performance, however.

As the band kicked into the Them classic Here Comes the Night, the show catapulted to a new level of passion. A fiery reading of the R&B chestnut Baby Please Don't Go was another climax.

It also marked Morrison starting to have some sort of technical problem onstage. He was gesturing at his mike and monitors to the roadies during Precious Time, and growing visibly upset as the problems didn't get fixed.

But his anger only seemed to fuel his performance, driving his emotional singing to a new level on the classic Wild Night, which finally got the audience to its feet. And when he followed it with Brown-Eyed Girl they were dancing in the aisles.

A passionate Gloria closed out the evening and Morrison left without an encore.

But truly nothing could have topped the finale he'd already delivered.

Setlist:
Boogie Woogie Country Girl
Back on Top
Pay the Devil
Stop Drinking
There Stands the Glass
Cleaning Windows
Days Like This
Wonderful Remark
Stranded
Moondance
Jackie Wilson Said
Bright Side of the Road
Playhouse
Here Comes the Night
Help Me
Baby Please Don't Go
Precious Time
Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Wild Night
Brown-Eyed Girl
Gloria

Van Morrison plays no-frills show at Cricket
By Chris Hansen Orf, Get Out
September 14, 2006
Rock stars are known for many things, but punctuality and a strict onstage demeanor are not among them. For instance, when it says "7:30 p.m." on a concert ticket, that usually means the show will start at 8 p.m. or so, after the crowd has all wandered through the gates and finished standing in the long beer lines.
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Entertainment
Wednesday night, before rock legend Van Morrison took the stage to play his first Valley concert in 28 years, Cricket Pavilion staffers walked the parking lot announcing through booming megaphones that the show would "begin at 7:30 SHARP!"

Signs at the box office reminded concert-goers of the same thing, with strategically placed flyers, adding that there would be no opening act.

And they weren't kidding.

While the crowd was still filtering in to reserved seating and the lawn area was about half full, Morrison's 10 piece band (which included Asleep At The Wheel's famed pedal steel player Cindy Cashdollar) played "Boogie Woogie Country Girl," and then the legend himself, dressed in a black suit, white fedora and sunglasses, took the stage at just after 7:30 p.m., sending the late arrivals scrambling for their seats.

The Belfast, Northern Ireland-born Morrison kicked off his set with the title cut to his latest album, "Pay the Devil," which is largely a disc of classic country covers and a few self-penned tunes, and kept things rolling with the Webb Pierce honky tonk classic "There Stands the Glass."

If most of the fans were there to hear Morrison's 1967 Top 10 hit "Brown Eyed Girl," they had to wait a while, as the singer slowly added older tunes such as "Cleaning Windows" and "Days Like This" before donning a saxophone for the jazzy classic "Moondance," which had the crowd singing, clapping and snapping their fingers as Morrison showed some impressive sax chops during the solo section.

The artist, whose stage presense when not singing, consists of standing in one spot and pointing to band members when it's their turn to solo, revved things up with the Them (Morrison's mid-'60s band) classic "Here Comes the Night," then closed the tight 90-minute set with his hits “Wild Night,” “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Gloria.”

While Morrison barely spoke to the crowd, save for a "thank you" after a few selections, he did audibly tell his guitarist to "play rhythm" on a song the guy was playing lead on, and brought a stage hand over to chide, "There's too much echo in the mics."

"It sounds like he's shaking the dust out of the closet," said Patrick Whalen, 49, of Scottsdale. "He's rough on his band -- he should loosen up and let it flow from the soul. He's a great musician, though -- he's written some of the best music ever."

It was not a grandiose stage production, however, that brought fans out, it was Morrison's timeless R&B-laced rock 'n' roll.

Tony Duran, 59, of Phoenix said Van Morrison was much better on Wednesday than the previous time he saw him perform.

"The last time I saw him, 28 years ago at the Celebrity Theatre, a drunken guest threw a beer can on stage and he walked off and didn't come back," Duran says. "This time there was no jive, he just played. It was like watching a jazz band."

Berkeley Concert Review 12-Sept-06

Van's 'Back on Top' in Berkeley By Jim Harrington

The Belfast Cowboy rode into Berkeley and presented a very memorable night of music Tuesday.

It wasn't quite as good as the show Van Morrison put on at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco back in March. But it was far better than the majority of Morrison gigs that I've seen in 14 years of reviewing live music in the Bay Area.

The 61-year-old native of Northern Ireland, as has been well documented, has certainly turned in his share of mediocre performances over the course of his legendary career. Yet it's been impossible to write him off as live performer since he's sporadically shown the ability to lift his game to a very high level — which is exactly what happened at the Greek Theatre.

Tuesday night's show had one thing going for it from the get-go: the start time.

Earlier this year, his Masonic gig started promptly at 6:45 p.m. On a Friday night. In the parking hell of San Francisco's Nob Hill. That meant that anyone who didn't live in the City by the Bay had a really difficult time getting to the show on time.

In contrast, his Greek gig started at the more reasonably time of 7:30 p.m. That made things easier, but still not great. Without the cushion provided by an opening act, Van the Man took the stage promptly at 7:30 p.m. (maybe 7:28 p.m.) and many folks were still trying to find their seats as late as the fourth song.

Those latecomers didn't miss all that much. It took Morrison a few songs to warm up, and he really didn't start rolling until a third of the way into his 90-minute set.

Backed by a group of fine players, including steel-guitar guru Cindy Cashdollar, the rock icon first hit the crowd with an average take on the title track on 1999's "Back on Top."

At this point, we were forced to take his word — he didn't initially do anything to show us that he was, indeed, "Back on Top." He followed with another lukewarm offering, the title track to this year's "Pay the Devil."

Things began to click for Van the Man a few songs later as he jumped and jived his way through "Fame," one of the more memorable cuts from 2003's jazz-influenced "What's Wrong With This Picture?" CD. His winning ways continued on the sweet "Irish Heartbeat."

Morrison was really feeling it by the time he hit, ironically, "I'm Not Feeling It Anymore" from 1991's superb

"Hymns to the Silence" disc. The band, which seemed to feed off its leader instead of the other way around, was also flying at full throttle by midway through the concert.

The vocalist then called out a special guest — and, no, it wasn't Carlos Santana, the usual guest at seemingly all Bay Area concerts. He brought out his daughter Shana Morrison for a touching family duet on "Sometimes We Cry," the tender ballad found on 1997's "Healing Game."

Making an abrupt left turn, Morrison plunged headfirst into the rowdy rambler "Playhouse," one of a handful original compositions from the cover-song heavy "Pay the Devil." The tune featured some of Cashdollar's most impressive slide work of the night.

The highlight of the show came when Morrison grabbed the alto sax for the traditional "Saint James Infirmary," a tune he recorded on the "What's Wrong With This Picture?" album. That gorgeous number is a regular highlight of recent Morrison shows, and it certainly wowed fans at the Masonic back in March.

Vocally, Morrison played it fairly straightforward, keeping the scatting and tomfoolery to a minimum, as he sang warm versions of the classic hits "Moondance" and "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)." In general, he did a better job with the hits on this night than he did at the Masonic. Conversely, the "Pay the Devil" tracks performed at the Greek didn't quite live up to the memories of March.

Morrison closed the show strongly, ending the main set with hyped-up versions of "Wild Night" and "Brown Eyed Girl" then returning for an encore of the immortal "Gloria."

It's hard to argue with those three selections, so I won't even try. Instead, I'll just hand it to Van the Man for living up to his nickname in Berkeley.

Write music critic Jim Harrington at jharrington@angnewspapers.com. For more concert coverage, visit http://www.insidebayarea.com/music.

Van To Get Pre-Oscars Honour

Oscar Wilde: Honouring Irish Writing in Film Van Morrison is to be honoured for his musical contribution to film at a star-studded bash ahead of next year’s Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, it was revealed today.

The Belfast-born star is to be one of three Irish people recognised at the second annual Oscar Wilde: Honouring Irish Writing in Film party in February. The other two have yet to be named.

Morrison’s music has featured in nearly 50 films including the upcoming Martin Scorcese crime thriller The Departed.

His songs have also appeared in Breakfast On Pluto, What a Girl Wants, The Royal Tenenbaums, Brigid Jones’ Diary, One Fine Day, When a Man Love a Woman, Thelma and Louise and As Good As It Gets.

Film directors Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan, along with music producer and DJ David Holmes, were honoured at last year’s inaugural celebration.

Big screen luminaries including Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard and Angelica Houston were among those who turned out for the party.

The US-Ireland Alliance, set up to foster links between both countries, co-hosts the event with the Irish Film Board before the annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Trina Vargo, founder and president of the alliance, said the event was also about bringing together leaders in Irish and Hollywood film at a fun, casual party.

She said it was a great precursor to the black tie and couture evenings during the Oscars.