30-April-07 Boston Concert Review

For fans, Van Morrison's magic is worth the wait
(Boston Globe)

No one in the sold-out Opera House Monday night seemed to expect a greatest-hits show from Van Morrison. There were no boors howling for "Gloria" or "Brown Eyed Girl" from the cheap seats at every quiet moment, behavior that regularly annoys at shows by Morrison contemporaries like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Good thing, because he didn't play them. And the rapturous reception of his typically diverse set list seemed to buoy Morrison to the point where he showered a little of the old magic
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Hard-faced and sleepy-lidded behind his glasses, wearing a suit and fedora, Morrison looks more like late-period Robert Mitchum now than the dreamy
Belfast Cowboy of 1967. His show is a sort of country/R&B supper club revue, in which he sings and plays guitar, sax, and harmonica in front of a
polished 10-piece band that includes steel guitar, fiddle, and organ. They're fine, but the magic is all in Morrison's unique, growly voice.

Things began at 7:30 sharp with a dreary middle-of-the-road intro from the band alone. They didn't really pick up until the sixth number of the
set, a chipper "Magic Time," on which Morrison and the band seemed to finally feel each other.

Audience favorite "Cleaning Windows" found a little of the old Zen, and "Back on Top" gave fans lines to cheer. There were versions of "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" and "I Can't Stop Loving
You," plus a Sonny Boy Williamson blues and a duet with his daughter, singer-songwriter Shana Morrison. Her proud dad's voice overshadows her
less-distinctive instrument, though how could it not?

Morrison's best singing may have been on the boozy weeper "There Stands the Glass," a Webb Pierce hit he covered on his 2006 country album, "Pay the
Devil." He seemed to notice that the audience responded, and drew out the "it's my . . ." tagline for a long moment, complete with a drum roll before
finishing: ". . . first one today!"

"Moondance" may be mandatory, but Morrison sang less on it than any number all night, preferring to play sax. His two swaying backup singers took the
entire "I want to make love to you tonight" verse. Not awful, but not exactly transcendent either.

The show ended just after 9 with "And the Healing Has Begun." Morrison played guitar on this song, but he also sang with the rolling and tumbling
semi-improvised phrases that are his version of speaking in tongues, when the music is "ringing in your soul, and the heart, and the soul, and the
swing, and the healing has begun. . ."

That was what we all came for.
-Joel Brown

Van's short shrift

May 6, 2007

Joel Brown was generous in his review of Van Morrison ("For fans, Van Morrison's magic is worth the wait," Living/Arts, May 2 ). If only Morrison was a bit more generous in the length of his concert. He wasn't onstage for the first two numbers and was off and on the stage for the final song. I figure he was singing for maybe one hour and 15 minutes, not what I expect for a pricey night out. Brown may have called the crowd "rapturous," but I saw some jaws drop when the lights went up.
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I did get a laugh after reading the review, because on the same page was a nice juxtaposition in the Names column. Morrison was seen eating dinner after the concert with a couple of friends for two hours . If only he could have managed to spend a couple of hours earlier with a full house of his fans. Hope you were full, Van. I left with an empty stomach.

-THOMAS FENNELL Medfield

Despite obscure tunes, it’s a marvelous night for Van fans
(Boston Herald)

None of Van Morrison’s peers have his autonomy.
From Bob Dylan and Paul Simon to James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett, fans have come to expect hits when they shell out $50-plus for an icon’s show
(Lord save us from the resulting riot if Buffett were to skip “Fins,” “Volcano” or “Margaritaville”). The performers may callously rearrange fan favorites, as Dylan often does, but they all deliver them.
But Morrison didn’t need to pad his set with greatest hits to satiate a sold-out Opera House on Monday. And he boldly flaunted that fact with a
show full of obscure tunes.


The night started anemically with a Van-less band running through “Train Kept A-Rollin.’ ” Any wedding reception would have been thrilled, but for those waiting for The Man, it was anticlimactic, not to mention a poor cover choice as hometown boys Aerosmith do it far better. The disappointment continued with the appearance of Van’s daughter
Shana Morrison to sing a version of her dad’s “Naked in the Jungle” fit for cake cutting and toast making. When Morrison finally showed up, the crowd greeted him with an instant standing ovation.
Morrison’s transformation to tasteful blues-jazzman has long been complete. His uniform remains a fedora, tinted glasses and sophisticated
suit - and he didn’t look back for this show. As he ran through album cut after album cut from his post-’70s catalog, including “Talk Is Cheap,”
“Magic Time” and “Have I Told You Lately,” he sounded more like idol Mose Allison than the man who recorded 1974’s “It’s Too Late to Stop Now,”
maybe the best live album since James Brown’s “Live at the Apollo.”
Morrison played to his strengths and his pre-rock tastes. While he was vocally buttoned-down - the lion’s roars were few and far between -
Morrison’s instrumental talents now almost match his vocal and compositional skills. All night long he blew tasteful sax and harp solos and even added one of the set’s best guitar solos to “The Healing Game.”
What was missing from the show were his biggest radio staples. Only “Moondance,” which fit perfectly, came from the storied first eight albums
that make up his classic 1968-1974 period.
But Van’s devotees didn’t seem to care. Lesser hits “Cleaning Windows” and “Bright Side of the Road” and cult number “Foreign Window” got ovations
usually reserved for warhorses such as “Gloria” and “Domino.”
But such is Morrison’s appeal. He does what he wants, how he wants, and you like it.

-Jed Gottlieb

After his show at the Opera House,Van Morrison huddled for two hours at Henrietta's Table with pal Peter Wolf and Phoenix Media exec David Bieber.

Setlist:

Train Kept a Rollin' (Ned Opener)
Naked in the Jungle - Shana with band
Talk is Cheap
Stranded
HITYL
Magic Time
Don't Worry About A Thing
Bright Side of the Road
Foreign Window
Cleaning Windows
There Stands the Glass
Playhouse
Back on Top
Sometimes We Cry - with Shana
Moondance
I Can't Stop Loving You
Precious Time
Help Me
And The Healing Has Begun
(Thanks Shannon)