27-April-07 New Orleans

From The Times-Picayune
Van Morrison is a noted curmudgeon. But a relatively warm and fuzzy Van showed up this year. Instead of hiding out in his backstage trailer, he reportedly sat on the steps outside, posing for pictures. On the Acura Stage, as his fiddle- and pedal steel guitar-laden band laced "Moondance" with a Western swing, he looked interested, not like he was working an assembly line. And he welcomed Dr. John to sit in.




At the nearby Acura Stage, Irish singer Van Morrison easily bridged the
distance between soul music and Nashville, especially in that classic
country weeper, “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” A cooing trio of backup singers
and dreamy steel guitar plus Morrison’s own sax solos ensured the special
mood.







Astral Days
Between the soft-shell crab and cochon du lait po-boys, rosemint ice tea, popcorn shrimp, and beignets today we heard jamming’ string-band music from Jeff and Vida and caught snippets of Zachary Richard, Trombone Shorty, Soulive, and Percy Sledge. We ended the day by shoving our way to near the front of the Acura stage (where they’ve finally outlawed those obnoxious frat/sorority style easy-chair encampments, to watch Van Morrison prove he’s still got it with a country-ish (dobro and fiddle included) band offering five-party backing harmonies. Dr. John came out to sit in on a Fats Domino tune but it looked like they had woken him up from a nap or a nod, because he tootled on the piano just a little bit and interspersed a little response to Van’s call in his inimitable “Y’at” drawl. Van opened with Moondance and took his time with “Cleaning Windows” and country classics like “There Stands the Glass” before my arthritic knee threatened to kill me if I didn’t hobble off the green and find some place to rest.



Van-L Lister checks in:
Van was awesome - A mind blowing Healing has Begun - people were weeping with joy - Dr. John sat in for Hello Josephine w/ Fats Domino's sax player - Can't stop loving you was very emotional - Van really into it - most active I've seen - playing harp, sax, guitar and keyboards - band very tight, great interplay - nice set list with many highlights - last song Help Me, Van blowing harp and walking off - 90 minutes which was the allotted time - one of Jazz Fest highlights - truly great performance, crowd 20000+ at the Acura stage at least - dancing, waving hands, tremendous response - could not be better.
-Thank to Duke for review