05-July-07 Toronto Concert Review

Toronto Sun:
Music legend delivers powerful performance for his legions of fans at the Hummingbird Centre

While he's been known to be erratic at times, the near-capacity crowd at the Hummingbird Centre last night saw the best of Van Morrison.

The singer, who will turn 62 next month, delivered a strong 19-song, 100-minute set that melded country, blues, jazz and a whole lot of soul emanating from his powerful, booming pipes.

Backed by a 10-piece band, who started the show with Train Kept A Rollin', Van Morrison sauntered onstage playing harmonica to Talk Is Cheap. The creepy, Delta blues-inspired tune got things off on the right foot as the crowd immediately got into the tune.

From there, Van Morrison donned a saxophone for the swinging, jazzy All Work And No Play. The musician also showed some of his conducting skills by gently giving cues and directions to his guitarists, drummer and piano player.

"Thank you!" he said prior to the slow, country-oriented Magic Time that came complete with pedal steel accentuating the tune. But while the singer doled out some brief sax solos, it was his timeless voice which all paid a rather handsome price to hear.

With a catalogue that is as rich and varied as his, and given the fact that a Van Morrison set isn't exactly a greatest hits-by-numbers affair, there were certain standouts absent on this night, including Domino, Brown Eyed Girl and Moondance. Yet he was more than able to carry the show on the backs of songs like the warm, island flavored Raincheck and Cleaning Windows, the latter featuring a snippet of Gene Vincent's Be Bop A Lula.

Perhaps one of the odder moments of the evening was a reworked version of Have I Told You Lately that seemed to lean more towards a lounge version than the Celtic-tinged ballad it was originally known for.


Van Morrison made up for this slight shortcoming though with powerful, hair-raising Georgia On My Mind which earned a standing ovation.

Another highlight was Bright Side Of The Road which featured some banjo and fiddle. It was also a good example of how Van Morrison is rather generous with his band. While not going with a setlist and basically calling out songs the way a football quarterback would call out plays, he definitely gives his musicians solos to show their wares.

Known to say very little throughout a show, Van Morrison announced that Blue And Green was from his new compilation The Best Of Van Morrison Volume 3. The tune had him scatting, taking the song down before building it back up and ending on a sax solo which tested his wind. "I didn't know I'd have to do 30 years of pilates for that," he quipped afterwards.

The homestretch featured more material that wouldn't be recognized by casual fans but definitely delivered the goods, including the New Orleans dirge-ish Saint James Infirmary that featured Van Morrison playing sax while one of his band played trumpet.

Other jewels nearing the end of the night included Playhouse, Precious Time and the rowdy Gloria. To a standing ovation, Van Morrison left the same way he came in with harmonica in hand to cap off a great night.

Sun Rating: 4 out of 5
-JASON MACNEIL

Setlist:

Train Kept a Rollin' (Ned)
Talk Is Cheap
All Work and No Play
Magic Time
Enlightenment
Cleaning Windows
Raincheck>River of Time
Stranded
Have I Told You Lately
Georgia
Bright Side of the Road
Blue and Green
Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
St James Infirmary
Playhouse
Precious Time
Help Me
And The Healing Has Begun
Gloria