Perth Concert Review 26-May-06

Van Morrison, Perth Concert Hall
JOHN PAUL BRESLIN
He may be well known as an eccentric and difficult character, but Van Morrison seems to have developed the "count-to-10" method of anger management.
Here as part of the Perth Festival, the reportedly temperamental artist merely switched instruments when his guitar of choice proved as tuneful as an X-Factor contestant. A vibrant artist on the R&B, jazz and blues scene for some 40 years – even if his saxophone only left its stand to appear during Stranded – Morrison knows exactly how to take care of his valuable vocal chords. Before a strenuous moment in the closing bars of I Can't Stop Lovin' You, the singer took a cold, and then a hot, drink before allowing his seasoned voice to ring out with youthful energy.
Van the man is the clear leader of his travelling troupe, giving short, sharp signals to his 10-strong band informing them exactly when their solos start and end, and even managing to let them know the required volume. The musicians met every request with an obedience that made the Von Trapps look like the Osbornes.
Showing no signs of being fed-up playing his best-known songs, the Belfast-born writer performed Bright Side of the Road and Brown-Eyed Girl as true to their original recordings as fans could have hoped. As he walked off during the closing bars of the latter, Van Morrison received a standing ovation, but did not return for an encore. Maybe 10 minutes wasn't long enough.

Setlist:
Back On Top
Magic Time
Days Like This
There Stands The Glass
Playhouse
Stranded
Dead Or Alive
Rough God Goes Riding
Cleaning Windows
Irish Heartbeat
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Precious Time
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Help Me
It’s All In The Game
Bright Side Of The Road
Celtic New Year
Jackie Wilson Said
Brown Eyed Girl

The Best Living Songwriters

The Best Living Songwriters
1. Bob Dylan - "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
2. Neil Young (Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, and w/ Crazy Horse) - " Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
3. Bruce Springsteen - "Blinded By The Light"
4. Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan - "Innocent When You Dream (78)"
5. Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings) - "Fine Line"
6. Leonard Cohen - "Suzanne
7. Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys) "Heroes and Villains"
8. Elvis Costello - "Alison (live)"
9. Joni Mitchell - "Big Yellow Taxi"
10. Prince (also under various aliases) - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
11. Randy Newman - "Sail Away"
12. The Rolling Stones (Jagger/Richards) - "Gimme Shelter"
13. Paul Simon - "I Do It For Your Love"
14. Stevie Wonder - "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)"
15. Willie Nelson - "Crazy"
16. David Bowie - "The Man Who Sold The World"
17. Holland-Dozier-Holland - -"Come See About Me" (Diana Ross & The Supremes)
18. U2 (Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullins Jr., Adam Clayton) - "With Or Without You"
19. Patty Griffin - "Flaming Red"
20. Van Morrison (Them) - "Sweet Thing"
21. Lou Reed (Velvet Underground) - "Walk On The Wild Side"
22. Lucinda Williams - "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road"
23. Elton John & Bernie Taupin - " My Father's Gun"
24. Jeff Tweedy (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo) - "Sunken Treasure"
25. Chuck Berry - "Thirty Days"

WFUV Top Essential Songs

WFUV
Essential Songs:
Listener Poll Results
We asked our listeners for their essential songs,
and you sent 'em! Tons of them. Thanks to everyone
who took the time to answer that question-it's a
tough one. Our DJs have listed theirs, and some of our
favorite musicians named theirs, & here are yours.

WFUV Top 90 Essential Songs
Bruce Springsteen - "Thunder Road"
Bob Dylan - "Like a Rolling Stone"
Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"
Van Morrison - "Into the Mystic"
Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"
The Beatles - "In My Life"
Bob Dylan - "Tangled Up in Blue"
The Beach Boys - "God Only Knows"
The Band - "The Weight"
Simon and Garfunkel - "America"
Van Morrison - "Moondance"
Richard Thompson - "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"
Derek & the Dominoes - "Layla"
Dire Straits - "Sultans of Swing"
Bruce Springsteen - "4th of July, Asbury Park
(Sandy)"
Joni Mitchell - "A Case Of You"
Louis Armstrong - "What a Wonderful World"
John Lennon - "Imagine"
The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No)
Satisfaction"
The Beatles - "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Joni Mitchell - "All I Want"
The Grateful Dead - "Eyes of the World"
Elvis Costello - "Alison"
Don McLean - "American Pie"
Bruce Springsteen - "Jungleland"
Bob Dylan - "Visions of Johanna"
The Grateful Dead - "Box Of Rain"
Janis Joplin - "Me & Bobby McGee"
Elvis Costello - "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace
Love and Understanding"
The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane"
The Beatles - "Hey Jude"
The Beatles - "A Day In The Life"
Simon & Garfunkel - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Neil Young - "Harvest Moon"
Joni Mitchell - "River"
Dar Williams - "When I Was a Boy"
Bob Dylan - "Positively 4th Street"
Van Morrison - "Tupelo Honey"
The Grateful Dead - "Uncle John's Band"
The Beatles - "Here Comes The Sun"
Steve Goodman - "The Dutchman"
Robert Earl Kean - "Feels So Good Feelin' Good
Again"
Kirsty MacColl - "In These Shoes?"
John Prine - "Angel from Montgomery"
James Taylor - "Sweet Baby James"
Jackson Browne - "For a Dancer"
U2 - "One"
The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again"
The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy for the Devil"
The Kinks - "Waterloo Sunset"
The Beatles - "Here, There, and Everywhere"
The Beatles - "Blackbird"
Paul Simon - "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"
Otis Redding - "Try A Little Tenderness"
Miles Davis - "So What?"
Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower"
Indigo Girls - "Closer to Fine"
Crosby, Stills & Nash - "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"
Bob Dylan - "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Allman Brothers - "Melissa"
Allman Brothers - "Blue Skies"
Joni Mitchell - "Carey"
Van Morrison - "Brown Eyed Girl"
Traffic - "Low Spark of High Heel Boys"
The Talking Heads - "This Must Be The Place (Naive
Melody)"
The Grateful Dead - "Sugar Magnolia"
The Beatles - "Norwegian Wood"
The Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations"
The Band - "It Makes No Difference"
Paul McCartney - "Maybe I'm Amazed"
Neil Young - "After the Goldrush"
Michelle Shocked - "Come a Long Way"
Marvin Gaye - "What's Goin' On?"
Lucy Kaplansky - "Ten Year Night"
Lucinda Williams - "Sweet Old World"
Johnny Cash - "Folsom Prison Blues"
James Taylor - "Fire and Rain"
Frank Sinatra - "New York, New York"
Etta James - "At Last"
Bob Marley - "No Woman No Cry"
Bob Dylan - "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
Bob Dylan - "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"
Aretha Franklin - "Respect"
Ryan Adams - "New York, New York"
Ray Charles - "Georgia"
R.E.M. - Losing My Religion"
Wilco - "Jesus, Etc."
The Clash - "London Calling"
Stevie Wonder - "As"
Patti Smith - "Gloria"

'One Night In Nashville' Update

The CMT show (Friday May 5th) will contain 4 songs.

A DVD of 'One Night In Nashville' will be released with 5 songs on June 27th as a bonus to the "Pay The Devil" cd.

http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk

'One Night In Nashville'
When Van played at the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
on March 7th, 2006, he allowed a film crew in to
document his perfomances of his newly released
country album 'Pay The Devil'.
4 songs; 'Playhouse', 'There Stands The Glass',
'This Has Got To Stop' and 'Till I Gain Control
Again' together with an exclusive interview that
Van did with CMT's Chet Flippo have been made in to
a half hour special to be aired on CMT on 5th May
2006.
You can view the video of 'Playhouse' by going to
the EXCLUSIVES area. You can also see it on VH1
where it is presently on rotation.
These 4 songs plus a 5th; 'Big Blue Diamonds', will
be available as a DVD given way with the Pay The
Devil CD this summer.

http://www.vh1.com/vspot/index.jhtml?vid=84009