Concert Review Kissimmee 02-Jan-07

Morrison Earns His Money

Like a $400 Rolling Stones ticket, an investment of $177 to see Van Morrison is a decision that's hard to rationally justify.

Exactly what does a notoriously mercurial 61-year-old icon need to do on stage to warrant such a price?

On Tuesday at the Silver Spurs Arena, Morrison delivered a solid, at times transcendent, 90 minutes laden with signature hits.

If you're calculating, as one old buddy of mine was, that breaks down to about $2 a minute for the high-end $177 floor seats. Of course, there were some bargain $77 spots available in the bowl, which was only partially filled.

One of the selling points of a Morrison concert is that the guy doesn't come around too often. I was at his 1996 show at Carr Performing Arts Centre, an R&B revue fueled by a horn section that included James Brown sideman Pee Wee Ellis.

This time, Morrison's 10-piece backing band was subtler, flavoring material with a twangy edge in keeping with his most recent album of country standards, Pay the Devil. With the musicians gathered closely around him, the show took on the feel of a living-room jam session.

At these prices, one might expect that Morrison would have been chattier with the crowd, but aside from introducing the players, he only spoke to the band. He would turn and call out the tune, signal the soloists by pointing to them and occasionally offer some blunt editorial comments such as "Too fast!" or "Not yet!" or something similar.

Dressed in his ever-present fedora, dark suit and specs, Morrison played alto saxophone at several points, including the opening "Domino," a crowd-pleaser that foreshadowed other favorites to come. He also handled some guitar and harmonica.After all these years, his voice is still a beguiling combination of rough edges and sweetness and a hospitable sound mix allowed it to shine.

The roughness was showcased on a blistering revisitation of Them's "Baby, Please Don't Go" and a more obligatory-sounding encore of "Gloria." On the sweet side, Morrison offered a gorgeous "I Can't Stop Loving You" and a wistful "Celtic New Year," the latter off 2005's Magic Time.

Fiddler Tony Fitzgibbon and steel player Sarah Jory were the band's most formidable assets. The fiddle transformed "Bright Side of the Road" into a lilting country ditty and the steel was an evocative element in Pay the Devil's "There Stands the Glass."

"Days Like This," which sounds better in its original R&B style, showed that not all of the arrangements worked.

Was it worth the money? "I am very disappointed," one man announced to the sound crew. So there's one vote.

Others might realize that a Morrison concert is like the return of a comet, a rare event that's to be appreciated for the sake of its existence alone. When the star shines this brightly, it's just a bonus.

Setlist:
Domino
Big Blue Diamond
Bright Side of the Road
Playhouse
Cleaning Windows
Days Like This
Moondance
There Stands the Glass
Wavelength
Back on Top
Baby Please Don't Go
Stop Drinking That Wine
Jackie Wilson Said
Cry Cry Baby/Custard Pie
Celtic New Year
Precious Time
I Can't Stop Loving You
Brand New Cadillac
Wild Night
Brown-Eyed Girl
Gloria