27-Feb-09 Wamu, New York Concert Review

Here is Anthony's review:
I know Van Morrison has a mixed reputation for his concerts. He has deserved it, but over the past three years he has been fairly consistent, always delivering an evening of great singing with a top notch in-the-groove band.

Last night, Friday Feb 27th, at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in NYC, was one of the best Van Morrison concerts I have ever seen. He played for a little over 2 hours, and his voice is, amazingly, better than ever. And the WaMu Theater (which was originally the old Felt Forum) is a pretty decent venue. Large, but the sightlines are all good and all on one level, no balconies. Even though we were in the last eight rows, we felt a part of the night, not lost in the bleachers.

For those who do not know, these shows have been touting two distinct sections: a complete run through of the Astral Weeks album, with as many of the original musicians as possible, and a second set of “Van Rarities,” whatever that meant.

He started exactly at 8pm.

Solid Ground - He began this song sitting at the piano, but got up half way through. Throughout the evening he sang, played sax, harmonica and two different guitars.
Glad Tidings
TB Sheets
Who Drove the Red Sports Car?
And It Stoned Me
So Quiet In Here
St. James Infirmary - He began on sax for the first couple of minutes, then switched to vocals, for one of the chillingest versions of this old classic I have ever heard him do. This is one song he always takes to new heights.
Caravan
Comfortable Numb - This was a great version of the Pink Floyd song. He introduced it by saying he didn’t write it, but they asked him to sing it for a movie, so he did.
Mystic Eyes/Gloria - Mystic Eyes is a harmonica rave-up from back in the days of Them, which segued into Gloria, which the Boomer crowd happily sang & spelled along with.
Summertime in England/A Town Called Paradise - This is an odd mashup of pieces from both these two songs, and most of this performance was given over to the call-and-response with the sax player. For those not familiar with it, Van will sing a short phrase and the sax player has to repeat it exactly a second later, almost like a human echo. It’s a lot of fun musically, and Van was doing his best to try and trip up the sax player. He was laughing at one point, until finally the sax player was allowed to rip into a solo.

INTERMISSION

Astral Weeks
Beside You
Sweet Thing
Cyprus Avenue - At the start of this song, Van had one guitar, started calling to the technicians offstage to turn it up ‘cause he couldn’t hear himself. A techie ran out with another guitar, which wasn’t tuned to Van’s liking, so he put the guitar down and sang solo. In the past, this is the kind of thing that would have pissed him of and ruined the evening, but he rolled with it, it didn’t seem to faze him, and he sang as well as ever.
The Way Young Lovers Do
Madame George
Ballerina
Slim Slow Slider
Through all of the above Astral Weeks songs, the band was sort of clattering & shamboling along, almost sounding like it could breakdown at any point, yet it kept rattling on, and I mean this in the best possible way.

ENCORE
Listen To The Lion

It was a large band. Two back up singers, a three-piece string section plus an incredible violinist (his solos were some of the highlights of the sets), a percussionist, a drummer, stand-up acoustic bass player, an organ & piano player who also filled in on trumpet (it might have been Georgie Fame), the sax/flute player, an acoustic guitar player who sat in a chair throughout the show (Jay Berliner), and two additional guitar players. The band was all configured in close proximity to Van, and the bass player and Jay Berliner were actually facing Van instead of the audience. For that matter, all the musicians were watching Van, so they could catch any of his hand signals.

During the Astral Weeks section, the back up singers and the two additional guitarists were not on stage, but they came back out for the encore.

Van’s singing... was great. It is stronger than ever, and he played with it all night, singing through the harmonica, growling, throat-singing... and some of the Astral Weeks songs, particularly Beside You, are pretty taxing vocally, but he kept rolling along. And he was in a good, playful mood, enjoying himself. Some of the Astral Weeks songs came off better than others, but none of the night’s performances were weak.

The one odd note: at every concert I have ever seen, Van makes a point of introducing each member of the band, usually towards the end of an extended song and to my surprise, he did not do that last night.

And finally, I have tickets for this upcoming Tuesday when he does two nights at The Beacon Theater. I will report back then.
-Anthony P.













NJ Star Ledger:

NEW YORK -- It's about the last thing you would expect Van Morrison to do.

In November, he played his classic 1968 album "Astral Weeks" in its entirety at two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. He did the same thing Friday and Saturday at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, and will do so again tomorrow and Wednesday at another Manhattan venue, The Beacon Theatre. Another two "Astral Weeks" shows are planned for April, at London's Royal Albert Hall.

This is unlike Morrison because throughout his long career he has been an unpredictable figure, restlessly trying out new musical styles, and refusing to crank out his old hits in concert. Onstage, he comes off more like a jazz artist, willing to go wherever the music leads him, than a typical pop star or classic-rocker. One wouldn't expect him to put any kind of limit on a show.

This new chapter in his career -- which has already been documented by a CD, "Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl," with a DVD to follow -- makes a certain amount of sense, though, if you consider the nature of "Astral Weeks." One of the reasons it had such an impact, in '68, was that it seemed limitless. Traditional song structure went out the window; instead, these songs ebbed and flowed, with long, meditative passages coming between the emotional peaks. Morrison and his band seemed to be discovering the songs, and all their nuances, as they played them.

"Astral Weeks" did not make the Top 40 or yield any hit singles. But it helped expand the boundaries of what a rock album could be, and its influence was felt by future generations of jazz-rockers, prog-rockers and jam bands.

Morrison played the album's songs in order Friday night, and didn't drastically overhaul them. But by subtly altering tempos, and adding riffs and solos, he gave the impression of discovering them once again.

He was most animated on "Ballerina," while "The Way Young Lovers Do," with its loose, swinging beat, was the most rhythmically compelling number, and there were some explosive moments in "Sweet Thing" and "Madame George."

Ten musicians, including a three-piece string section, backed Morrison for this part of the show, gamely following where Morrison led: they frequently altered their playing in response to Morrison's hand gestures and head nods. This is not the way you expect a classic album to be played. But this classic album is "Astral Weeks."

The "Astral Weeks" songs constituted the show's second set. The band was even larger -- 15 pieces -- for lone encore "Listen to the Lion" and the opening set, which offered an unpredictable survey of Morrison's past.


He went back even further than "Astral Weeks" for "Who Drove the Red Sports Car?" and the dark "T.B. Sheets," as well as a garage-rock medley of "Mystic Eyes" and "Gloria." There were three concise gems from his pop-friendly "Moondance" album ("Glad Tidings," "Caravan," "And It Stoned Me"); more contemplative songs like "Northern Muse (Solid Ground)" and "So Quiet In Here"; and covers ranging from the standard "St. James Infirmary" (with Morrison taking a sax solo) to a majestic version of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb."

Late in the set, he performed a routine with saxophonist/flutist Richie Buckley; Morrison would sing a phrase, then Buckley would echo it, almost immediately, with his voice or his saxophone. The effect was dizzying. Morrison has often done this kind of thing before, but something about the way it went on Friday cracked him up.

There was also some unintentional comic relief, moments later, as Morrison tried to make a dramatic exit, singing as he walked offstage. Only his microphone cord wouldn't reach, and after struggling with it briefly, he gave up, muttered "The cord's not long enough," put down his mic, and walked off.

A word of warning to those planning to attend the Beacon concerts: Get there on time! Morrison started this show, which had no opening act, at exactly its advertised time: 8 p.m. Rock headliners hardly ever do that. As a result, many people were still shuffling to their seats as the show's first few songs were played.
- Jay Lustig



Setlist:
Set One:
Northern Muse( Solid Ground)
Glad Tiding
T.B. Sheets
Who Drove the Red Sports Car
And It Stoned Me
So Quiet In Here
St. James Infirmary
Caravan
Comfortably Numb
Mystic Eyes/Gloria.
Common One

Set Two:
Astral Weeks
Beside You
Sweet Thing
The Way Young Lovers Do
Cyprus Avenue
Madame George
Ballerina.
Slim Slow Slider.
Listen to the Lion (Encore)

Big Hand For The Band(s)!
Tony Fitzgibbon
Bobby Ruggiero
Sarah Jory
Jay Berliner
Paul Moran
Liam Bradley
Richie Buckley
Bianca Thornton
David Hayes
John Platania
Terry Adams
Nancy Ellis
Rick Schlosser
Pauline Lozano