Boston Herald March 8, 2006

Morrison ballads ‘Pay’ off for crowd
There was nostalgia in the air but none in the set list at the Opera House on Wednesday night.
Legendary Irish singer Van Morrison sang often of memory, regret and times gone by in a tight, encore-free, hour-and-40-minute set, but only three of the 19 tunes were from his pre-1999 repertoire.
The lack of well-known material didn’t dampen the spirits of the capacity crowd, which cheered loudly and often for the dapperly dressed Morrison and his taut backing band.
The 60-year-old vocalist focused intently on his recent all-country release, ‘‘Pay the Devil.” But regardless of label, he and his big band - expanding and contracting depending on the song and numbering up to 14 throughout the night - deftly worked the crossroads of country, blues, jazz and r & b in a show that erred on the mild side but never failed to entertain.
Notorious for his mercurial stage temperament, Morrison was in good spirits and even better voice.
Playing the role of pitiful romantic loser, he lent a surprising whimsy to ‘‘Things Have Gone to Pieces,” the archetypal country tale of woe. He got saucy on the loose ‘‘Don’t You Make Me High” and performed Hank Williams-associated classic ‘‘My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” with an ease that made it his own.
On those and others, Cindy Cashdollar added standout dobro and steel-guitar flourishes, and a trio of backing vocalists provided crisp harmonies.
The bluesy ‘‘Talk is Cheap” had both vocal and lyrical bite as Morrison decried tabloid culture, and ‘‘Celtic New Year” nodded to his heritage with a wistful tin whistle.
Elsewhere, Morrison’s elegant, jazzy phrasing, though mumbly in places, seemed effortless. Especially good was the after-hours sepia tone of ‘‘Magic Time,” which featured exceedingly gentle muted trumpet and sax solos, evoking an image of bittersweet memory pulling at the edges of the brain.
Morrison also showed off his harmonica and saxophone chops, weaving in and out of his bright three-piece horn section and soloing on a laid-back version of ‘‘Moondance,” complete with breezy flute filigrees and a starry backdrop that made the theater feel like a cozy nightclub.

Setlist:
Did Ye Get Healed > Yeh Yeh [instr.]
Stranded > Don't Look Back
My Bucket's Got A Hole In It
There Stands The Glass
Big Blue Diamonds
Real Real Gone > You Send Me
Magic Time
Talk Is Cheap
In The Midnight
Stop Drinking
Don't You Make Me High
Things Have Gone To Pieces
Moondance
It's All In The Game > You Know What They're Writing About >Make It Real One More Time
Precious Time
This Has Got To Stop
Till I Gain Control Again
Playhouse
Celtic New Year > I Go Crazy > The Healing Game