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