07-May-10 Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Atlanta, USA Concert Review
Here's Mary's review:
It was the first concert of the year at the Verizon Amphitheatre and the locals were ready to party. Since Van wouldn't have the bars open during his show a lot of people were loading up beforehand some were even carrying whole cases of beer into the show! I feared the worse.As soon as we took our seats well before start time we knew we were in for trouble. There were groups of people all around us who were talking loudly, most already drunk, some on their cells, and others already standing up dancing! Just my luck the guy with a case of beer was in front of me.
People were still dragging in well into the 4th song and most were going to the bathroom all during the concert. I kept looking at the lines and it never slowed from start till finish. An usher got onto a guy sitting behind me in the middle of the show for taking pictures and another had to get onto the people on Donnie's left for using their cell phones for pix.
A couple on our right who were around our age had come from AL and it was their first Van show. They were so excited to finally see Van but left in the middle of the show disgusted because of the bad crowd around us. I told her to zone it out and watch the monitor since we couldn't see over the heads of those standing but I guess she thought they paid for better than that. I did too.
I knew from the start that due the crowd and venue we would get a festival type show and we did. Yes, the set list was great and held a lot of promise and after Van got the crowd pleasers over with early I hoped he would get on into some of the gems. But it was not to be. The music was incredible as usual and Tony and Jay really stood out to me. Van was in good voice but didn't put any heart into the songs. I actually think he let everyone in the band take a solo on each song. They certainly carried the show! There was no workshop or stretching out of any song and if there was I missed it due the uproar around us.
I've said before that a bad or average Van show is still better than most anything else and I guess that's still true for me because of the quality of the music. But it's getting pretty old wading thru the mediocre shows hoping for one where he actually shows up.
After the outdoor Festival in Toronto in '05 we swore off those types of shows. Now we're done with seeing Van at large Amphitheatres! I just don't think these types of venue suit him or showcase his style of music. Maybe we're just getting old but I don't think so.
I sure hope the next time Van plays the states, and we can make it, that it will be in a nice theater. I want the shivers up and down my spine...at least once in awhile.
-Mary B.
Setlist
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Brown Eyed Girl
Moondance
Fair Play
The Mystery
Talk is Cheap
Keep it Simple
School of Hard Knocks
Have I Told You Lately
In the Garden
Playhouse
Georgia
Help Me
That's Entrainment
Slim Slow
Ballerina
Healing Has Begun
Big Hand For The Band!
Jay Berliner-electric guitar
David Hayes-double bass
Bobby Ruggiero-drums
Tony Fitzgibbon-violin, viola
Richie Buckley-flute, saxophone
Paul Moran-grand piano, trumpet & organ
13 comments:
You nailed it on the head for the show here in Alpharetta, GA. too!!
I'm sorry to say that, in my opinion, the ATL concert was a complete disappointment. I am a long=time Van the Man fan with great appreciation for his artistry and pure talent. However, from the total disregard to the presence of an audience; the absence of intonation (what were some of the words he sung?); to his failure to acknowledge his band, left me dumbfounded! I left the venue feeling as if this icon wish he had been any place else besides performing for his fans. Many others sitting around me expressed the same sentiments. Perhaps it was simply a bad night for Van the Man-I hope he does better in future performances......
Van performed well, as always. I thought In The Garden was transcendent and it was one of the biggest applause moments, which is especially noteworthy since most of the audience probably doesn't know the song. Van doesn't need to talk to the audience - and I think it is the nature of the audiences at kind of venue that causes problems. It's telling that he got Brown Eyed Girl and Moondance out of the way at the beginning of the show, because people who got there late and missed two of the only songs they probably know don't deserve any better. Everyone who ordered tickets online got an email saying the show begins promptly at 8. Most of them weren't there to bask in Van's artistry, they were there to drink beer with their dates. Idiots.
I can do without being able to buy a beer after the concert started at 8:00pm. It's okay that Van Morrison didn't talk to the audience. The music was great, the venue was nice. However, I paid $90bucks for my ticket. He played exactly 90 minutes and hauled butt off the stage. Maybe he could have at least given me one oncore song!
i've seen van in concert 10 times, the latest being the show at the verizon amphitheatre. i have never seen a concert with a crowd that showed such disrespect. the show was great, van was aloof, the band was really good, the crowd sucked.
The Atlanta concert was really a disappointment. I dont care if he talks to the audience and 90 minutes is and no alcohol was fine OK but I couldnt understand most of the lyrics. He seemed to not only be rude towards the audience but to his band members also. Three times I saw him make rude motions to his band members to lower the volume of their playing. I'll never pay to see him again.
per atl verizon show:
here are 5 reasons to never waste your money and time on van:
1.he started an 8pm show at 7:55!!!!
why on earth would you do this?
i've attended about a thousand concerts in rock n roll life time and i cannot name one that started early.
2. stopped beer sales when the show started.
dont want fans drinking during your show? go play any of the many theathers throughout n. america that do not allow drinking in them, not a drinking venue that YOU don't allow it! and then play jazz fest on the same tour to the rowdiest drinkin crowd in music!
3. he spoke once that i am aware of and that was to say "goodbye" at exactly 8:35! 90 mintues to the T. you think your $250 ticket was important to him?
3.5 - this one i am not exactly sure if it was deliborate, but it seemed rather odd. just after the sun went down (i dont recall the song) the light guy drew a white spot light onto the crowd to the right side of the stage...and just left it on the crowd til the song ended. it was like looking into a flash light. light conveniently went down with the end of the song.
great way to get the fnas to shut and get on your side. treat the fans like children.
4. no encore!!!!!!!!!!
you play a 90 minute show that you start early and you dont play an encore? to boot you have been playing encores on this same tour. what van, were you upset that too many people were talking throughout your show......refer to items 1 thru 3!
5. $80 a ticket ($200 to $300 for the good seats) for the back section of an outdoor ampitheater/shed for a show that ANYONE in the music business would tell you is designed for an indoor theather setting.
van you are one gready fella. don't choke on the money and
DONT COME BACK TO ATLANTA! EVER.
While I do think the ticket price was high ($100/ticket - with TM fees for a seat just outside of tables), I still enjoyed the show. I understand that the 90 minute, punctual show is the norm so I am not going to complain as this is what you get.
Was his voice muddled a bit? - you bet - is he 25 years old? - nope....again - what did you expect? Was his guitar playing precise? - not anymore - but the band sure made up for that.
Audience interaction? I am sure he feels his music does the talking so I will take him at his word and agree. His playing Georgia was a nice nod to the local audience and very well done.
The audience itself was classic, 40 and 50 something - North Suburban Atlanta. It's funny because I hear people up here comment condescendingly about how they have gone to movies in Atlanta and how rude the people are for talking out loud in the theather. I watched these people LOAD up with 6 to 10 beers EACH as the 8pm sales cutoff approached, then proceed to talk loudly the entire concert as they got hammered. My wife and I had to help one lady to her feet as she was sprawled on the ground in front of our car as we tried to exit the parking lot after the show.
My husband and I went to hear Van Morrison sing and we went to hear his band play. We payed for the concert tickets so we could enjoy his music live. We did not go to drink beer, dance, make friends and hear Van Morrison talk about himself. The crowd was exceptionally rude- that I can acknowledge however the music was exceptional.Van's voice sounded great and the band rocked. We had a fantastic night. Yall need to stop your whining.
I thought Van's voice was fine--he sounded as good as I've ever heard him. Terrific, intimate band. It would have been great except for the drunks around us. I've never been to a concert with so many people talking all the way through.
I think the alcohol ban backfired--so many people loaded up before 8:00 that they were looped before the first song. Then they brought their buckets of beer with them and continued to party.
I'm certain the people sitting behind us didn't shut up for five full minutes during the entire show. It's hard to zone out and get into the music when people are laughing and talking and yahooing in your ear.
Most disappointing; I can only hope that if he comes back to Atlanta it will be to a venue like the Fox Theater where crowds usually respect the audience.
I would have liked for the show to have been longer, but if I'd been able to enjoy the music it would have been plenty for me.
And the show started exactly at 8:00 - not early. I turned to my friend at about two minutes before 8 and said, "Those people do realize that if he says he's starting at 8, he's starting at 8, right?" At precisely 8, the announcer announced him and he began playing. The best part of the concert were the first ten minutes before the partiers arrived--we could actually hear the music even with people climbing over us to get to their seats.
This was my first Van show. I think the previous reviewers hit it on the head... wished it was longer, some folks around us were hammered before the show started and proceeded to talk, dance, fall in their seats, etc. I also had hoped for a few more classics but the band was great, Van's voice was fine as ever. I had heard from someone working the show afterwards that he was upset before he took the stage because of Atlanta traffic. He apparently thought he was going to be late so he was fuming... it is after all Atlanta and it was Friday rush hour. Will I ever pay $125 per seat to see him again? It depends.....
are these the only comments?....all negative...no positive ones?......i really dont know where to begin, but here goes....
Who did you go to see? Van Morrison....He is the fing boss of that joint....when gets ready to play, he has all the control....nobody else... if he wants to fart in the microphone, he can....
i dont understand the alcohol issue, though....because is/wasnt he a blissful alcoholic?...he shouldnt shut the booze off for me however...i enjoy a cocktail with my music...
either way, i would be happy to see him no matter what he sang....i just look at it like this is the state of his life at this time in his life...not knowing what your gonna get is half the fun in living....
send him closer to oklahoma....ill roll the dice everytime ...
Bro
Get over yourself. The dudes social skills are absent. His predictability is non existent. His playing to the crowd does not exist.Eccentric? Of course. Irreplaceable? We are finally getting somewhere. No one creates the FEEL like "The Man", the human sax solo, all we've got since James Brown left us. GET OVER YOURSELF AND ENJOY!!!!!!!
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