Review of March 3rd San Fran Show

Van's 'the Man' during sold-out show
By Jim Harrington, STAFF WRITER
IT WAS ONE of those magical nights were nearly everything a legendary musician does seems perfect.
That doesn't happen often, especially when the legendary performer happens to be the famously cantankerous Van Morrison. Van the Man is certainly capable of turning in a ho-hum performance. In fact, I've seen Morrison be as mediocre as a reality TV show on Fox.
But I've also seen him be great. And that's exactly what the Irish vocalist was on Friday night at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco.
He was so good that he almost made people forget about the show's incredibly unusual start time. But I'm here to remind us all, in hopes that it doesn't happen again. The show began promptly — and I mean promptly — at 6:45 p.m. That's basically unheard of — especially for a Friday night when the work commute is still going strong. Trying to get into San Francisco and finding a parking place anywhere near this venue atop Nob Hill during that time are Herculean tasks.
In my book, what that start time translates to is this: "Nuts to all the fans who don't live in San Francisco." I'm sure that there is a more consumer-friendly translation — but I couldn't find anyone who could provide me with one. Most fans assumed it was just Van being Van, which is probably a safe assumption.
Still, the house was packed to capacity when Morrison took the stage at, by my watch, 6:43 p.m. and delivered a thoroughly enjoyable 95-minute set.
Backed by a big band, complete with a three-piece horn section and two backing
Vocalists, the 60-year-old rock icon was in fine voice as he crooned warmly through the old-school R&B-tinged title track to 2005's "Magic Time." He then strapped on the guitar and clearly enjoyed taking a few potshots at celebrity culture in "Fame," which is one of the better tracks from 2003's jazz-centric "What's Wrong With This Picture?" CD.
He traded in his guitar for an alto sax on the traditional "Saint James Infirmary," which is another number from the "What's Wrong With This Picture?" album. It was one of the most impressive moments of the night as Morrison started out simply humming the lyric, moved to singing it and then exploded into a scat, where the syllables dropped from his mouth like a box of ping-pong balls spilled from the top of the stairs. The horn work, which possessed a certain after-hours Bourbon Street vibe, further sold the song.
It was then time for Morrison to peddle the new album, "Pay the Devil." The folks were definitely buying as Van and his band, which at this point included a steel guitarist and a fiddler, played outstanding renditions of songs from this country-themed album. (The album hits stores today.
The so-called Belfast Cowboy first stuck his spurs into a revved-up version of "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It," a tune best known by jazz-great Louis Armstrong, and then eased up on the reins for a forlorn take on the old Webb Pierce-favorite "There Stands the Glass." Then, impressively, he followed with a killer version of the title track, a Morrison country original that sounded just as good as those other two classic cuts.
Steel-guitarist Cindy Cashdollar — yup, that's her real name — played a big part in making these songs work. But it also had a lot to do with the fact that Morrison was obviously enjoying himself, to the point where he playfully stuttered the last line of "There Stands the Glass" to make it sound like he'd had a couple of belts.
As odd as it may sound, especially to those who only know Morrison for such rock hits as "Gloria" and "Domino," the country songs were the strongest offerings of the night. It got to the point where one hoped he wouldn't play his hits — especially if he was going to toss them out as casually as he did the immortal "Moondance," which was by far the most mediocre song of the night.
Van, however, mostly stuck to the songs that obviously interest him in 2006. It's fortunate that those tunes also were of interest to the crowd. Those two things don't always go hand-in-hand with this performer and his crowds.
But they certainly did on this night as he continued to move through devilishly good songs from "Pay the Devil." He dabbled in doo-wop for the sweet "Big Blue Diamonds," which was a hit for Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, and then poured his all into the hard-luck tale "Things Have Gone to Pieces," which was originally made famous by the great George Jones. He hammed it up on the flirty Big Joe Turner-favorite "Don't You Make Me High" and nearly brought the house down with the original "This Has Got to Stop."
Unfortunately, this — as in Morrison's concert — did have to stop. The whole thing wrapped up at about 8:20 p.m., which left plenty of time for patrons to go grab a bite or catch a flick.
How thoughtful. That Van, always thinking about his fans first.
Write music critic Jim Harrington at