Montreal Gets Ready For Van

The Gazette: Van is not always a slave to fan faves, as his last PdA show proved:

Van Morrison last played the Montreal International Jazz Festival on July 5, 1986 - 13 years after his previous appearance at Plateau Hall in Lafontaine Park.

For some, the show at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier of Place des Arts did not go down well. After an opening set by Mose Allison, Morrison virtually
ignored his hits from the '60s and '70s, preferring to stick to the kind of leisurely, pastoral meditations that dominated his just-released No
Guru, No Method, No Teacher. The audience disappointment was palpable and Morrison reacted in kind.

John Griffin reviewed the show for the Gazette. Acknowledging Morrison's artistic need to get past the early hits, he described some of the tension in the room. "(Morrison) played only Moondance from his early days, and that early on in the show, prompting one in the crowd to shout later, 'How
dare you keep us in suspense?' " Griffin wrote. "That fan had missed the point, but Morrison's meandering set and overt hostility - his first
encore was a caustic reading of Sondheim's Send in the Clowns - did nothing to sooth crushed expectations."

Jazz festival artistic director Andre Menard, who was also at the show, said he remembered no sense of disappointment. "It was fantastic. Some people felt let down by the fact that he did not do many hits, but great artists like him could always play new stuff and I really don't mind," Menard said.

"I think these questions have been resolved by Bob Dylan over the years," he said. "Artists of their stature don't have to play their hits in identical versions as if they were a jukebox."

Menard said the jazz festival organizers tried to bring the mercurial Morrison back year after year. "We talked to his agent in November (last year) and put in an offer," Menard said. "They said, 'No. It won't be happening.' They called back in March and said, 'He might do it. Can you make the money a bit better?' We offered the money quoted and then they
said, 'No. It's not happening.' " The deal came out of left field after the indoor concerts were announced and the pamphlet printed up. "They said
'It's OK, the offer that you made. Van played New Orleans and he feels like he has to play jazz festivals. He wants to play Montreal,' " Menard said.

Luckily, July 3 was one of the three free Big Event nights, featuring Seun Kuti, which left most indoor venues unused. Morrison was booked, once again, into Salle Wilfrid Pelletier. "It was a bit laborious, but I don't mind. He's here," Menard said.

But even if Morrison hadn't been available that night, Menard said he would have found a way to fit him in somewhere. "I would have booked him on
Monday morning if I had to," he said, laughing. "We really wanted him."

Menard offered no speculation on what kind of show Morrison would do this time around. "Coming to the jazz festival, he might feel like he has to do the jazzier stuff," he said. "We really don't know what he's going to do. I would not predict anything on Van Morrison's choices."

Those who don't mind taking the risk of spoiling their surprise & would like to see a few recent set lists can go to http://vanmorrisonnews.blogspot.com
-BERNARD PERUSSE