07-Aug-09 Washington, DC Concert Review


The Baltimore Sun's Midnight Sun Blog has a review of the show.

Here is Mark's review:

Van Morrison performed Astral Weeks last night for a very appreciative Washington DC crowd at DAR Constitution Hall. My wife and I arrived at DAR around 7:30pm and we immediately snagged a $35 Astral Weeks tour T-shirt (seems to be a leftover from the Hollywood Bowl and NYC concert runs). We got to our seats (Row G Orch) which were really second row just to the left of the grand piano. Our view of the entire Astral Weeks orchestra was somewhat obstructed but we could see Van the entire show. Couldn't see the drummer or the violinist very well due to the piano blocking the view. We did a great close up view (about 15 ft. away) of Van at the piano during the opening tune, Northern Muse (Solid Ground). That was a treat!

We sat next to several folks from North and South Carolina who had made the car trip up to Washington DC. Very nice Van Fans! We also chatted with the security guy who was at the foot of the stage. He spoke of last night's (Thurs) concert and how he only recognized the two "60s songs" at the end of the show! (BEG and Gorilla). So, I was certainly expecting that we would get at least Mystic Eyes/Gorilla as the encore. As you will read later on encores were not in Friday's "Astral plans".

At 8:10pm the house lights went dark and band members took the stage quickly followed by our hero, Van The Man. Van took his seat at the grand piano and began the beautiful slow arrangement of Northern Muse (Solid Ground). I really enjoyed this version and it was fresh to our ears. The show was off to a great beginning!

Next up was Fair Play. My wife and I have dreamed for decades of hearing anything off of Veedon Fleece and we finally were given the opportunity last night. The sound was lush and so romantic. Van's vocal chords opened up fully during Fair Play and you could not help but surrender to the beauty of it all. I was in a trance already. Lots of fans stood at the end of Fair Play and applauded. Van was "2 for 2" and batting 1.000 coming out of the box.

Fair Play was followed up by a mediocre reading of The Mystery. Van never "let himself go" and did not probe the mysteries of this song. It was a very straightforward rendition and he was too fidgety and distracted by something going on with the sound. He asked for his microphone levels to be turned up several times with hand gestures and few of his little barking commands. Oh well, two for three at the point.

Foreign Window was next! NGNMNT is a fave of ours and my wife and I smiled at each other upon hearing the opening notes.....this one was done perfectly! Van gave it his all and seemed to be enjoying the sounds coming from the band. Van really concentrated on the vocal beauty of the song. Some very nice improv passages towards the end of Foreign Window.

Back to Veedon Fleece and a rousing rendition of Streets of Arklow (with a snippet of You Don't Pull No Punches tacked on the end for good measure). Van and the band absolutely nailed this one. The flute, the violin, the piano, the guitar were all featured. Lush lush lush and again you just had to surrender to the beauty of this masterpiece. We were in heaven. About half the audience stood to clap at the end.

Next up was a breathtakingly beautiful rendition of In The Garden (back to NGNMNT). I was lucky enought to have seen Van on the NGNMNT tour at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia July 1986, and this 2009 version was even better than the 1986 version. There are really no words to describe the connection that Van made with the audience last night during In The Garden. It was absolutely unreal. The entire crowd was in a trance during the whispered ending. Again, a majority of the crowd stood at the end to show their appreciation for this masterpiece. Van was batting 5 for 6 on the pre Astral warm up songs.

Now on to Astral Weeks:

By now everyone has at least heard the live version of AW at the Hollywood Bowl. I will try and convey what was different about last night's version.

Astral Weeks was cut a bit short. Van never got into this one last night. He seemed to rush the ending and never got into the improv section of it. Nobody transcended with Van because Van never tried to take the title track to a special place. Oh well, things got better in a hurry.

Beside You was allowed a bit more breathing room and Van got into the AW groove a bit more. His toe was at least in the water on Beside You. The band really came together as well and things started clicking towards the end of Beside You. Very well done.

Slim Slow Slider was even better than the Hollywood Bowl version - a complete connection between Van, his band, and the DAR audience. I recalled how much I enjoyed the version from the Supper Club 1996 shows, but this 2009 version was even better. (I hope that a tape of the show appears so that I can hear this one again.) My wife and I agreed that this was one of the best versions of Slim we had ever heard! Outstanding!

Next up was the surprise (and piece de resistance) of the evening..........Sweet Thing and Burning Ground. My wife and I had tears flowing at the end (tears of joy). Everyone at DAR rose to their feet at the end of Burning Ground - fans were cheering and whistling and everyone had a look of amazement and wonder on their faces. There is nothing quite like this one-two combination of Sweet Thing and Burning Ground. I witnessed the same thing in June 2004 at the Theater at MSG. Van acted out the carrying of the sack during the noonday sun! Van, the band and the crowd completely connected and we were all in a trance! My soul was on the roof of DAR Constitution Hall and I have never felt a religious experience quite like it. The dynamics of Burning Ground are pure genius. The crowd respected Van during the quiet parts and there were no yahoos yelling the rebel yell. You could have heard a pin drop. Stunning stunning stunning. Nuff said.

Next up was Cyprus Avenue. It was well done but how could anything possibly follow what we witnessed during Burning Ground. I was still thinking of Burning Ground during Cyprus Avenue! I couldn't concentrate. I wanted to hear Sweet Thing/Burning Ground over and over and live through that experience again.

Next up was a very bouncy version of The WayYoung Lovers Do. Great stuff and the band really nails it. Nice solos from everyone.

Ballerina was beautiful. This was another highlight and Van had the audience laughing during the "it's getting very very very very very late" part about the light being on the left side of your head (cheek slap and all). Van's vocal dynamics during this one were spot on.

And finally we got Madame George. A bit short and Van was clearly eyeing the exit stage left signs and was anxious to wrap things up. Nothing special about Madame George last night.

Then the troubles started. Van was not happy with the band's performance or the sound during Hyndford Street. Van was moving his microphone stand around and fussing with his sheet music and lyrics on the stand. He was clearly agitated and annoyed about something. He barked out some orders to a few bandmembers and fumbled over a few of the words during the Hyndford Street reading. He walked off to the left of the stage and never returned. The audience was left at the altar, cheering and hoping for more. The stage hands began breaking down the equipment and the stunned audience accepted the reality that there would be no encore. A very strange ending to a beautiful evening of music.

Shannon has posted her thoughts on her blog.

Setlist:

Northern Muse (Solid Ground)

Fair Play

The Mystery

Foreign Window

Streets Of Arklow/You Don't Pull No Punches (snippet)

In The Garden

Astral Weeks

Beside You

Slim Slow Slider

Sweet Thing/Burning Ground

Cyprus Avenue

The Way Young Lovers Do

Ballerina

Madame George

On Hyndford Street

Big Hand For The Band!
Tony Fitzgibbon
Richie Buckley
Michael Graham
Terry Adams
Bobby Ruggiero
David Hayes
Jay Berliner
Paul Moran
Rick Schlosser

[Image via Brian Reed/Washington Post]