Van Morrison performed a sold out show Thursday at Jubilee Auditorium. Attendance 2,500.
Let's get one thing out of the way before the gripes commence, because there's no way to steer clear of that on this one.
Van Morrison's Thursday night gig at the Jubilee Auditorium was, for the most part, a fine affair, with flashes of greatness, even, in certain inspired instances.
And that's a good thing, because this show needed to be pretty damned special just to chase away the black cloud that preceded it.
That's because the events leading up to the concert amounted to a snafu of ridiculous proportions that frustrated and inconvenienced many fans.
First of all, it was originally Levon Helm of The Band fame that was booked to headline at the Jube on this evening, a gig that a lot of folks were excited about.
Then the promoter snagged Van the Man for an outdoor show at Fort Calgary and Helm was shifted over to that venue as Morrison's opening act, along with Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy.
Alas, in this summer of struggling tours ticket sales were poor, not coming close to meeting Fort Calgary's capacity of around 15,000, and Morrison was moved to the Jube (that show a sellout).
That was a bummer for Helm and Cuddy fans as those guys dropped off the bill.
Add to that the maddening Ticketmaster dance (newly assigned tickets had to be picked up for the Jube gig at the last minute) – and it's easy to see why many fans were seeing red.
Luckily, Morrison redeemed the event to a certain extent by putting on an intimate hour-and-a-half show to remember.
Despite his status as one of the great singer-songwriters of his day, the 64-year-old soul-man and folk rocker from Belfast has a hit and miss reputation as a live act.
He's notorious for being an aloof and sullen performer who often rushes through his performances, refusing to play his hits.
Those accusations were certainly leveled at him when he last came to Calgary, playing the Saddledome three years ago. Myself, I thought that show was quite a bit better than people gave it credit for. But it's true that, given Morrison's quirks, watching him play in a big, impersonal arena is not ideal. A smaller venue like the Jube, on the other hand, bridged the gap nicely.
That's because he and his six-piece band of smokin' hot pros played a show that one could imagine being a dream gig in some weathered, inner city jazz club.
Hitting the stage on his piano for the soothing soul of Northern Muse (Solid Ground), followed up by a lighter, jazzier version of one of his most beloved hits, Brown Eyed Girl, Morrison, dressed in a dark suit and sunglasses, was in fine form. His gruff voice was strong and packed with soul as he and his band served up a night of Celtic-infused blues, R&B and romantic jazz.
As he moved from piano, to saxophone, to guitar and harmonica, Morrison's set included select hits (though, perhaps not enough of them) like Moondance and Into The Mystic, now smoother and more bee-bop jazzy than ever.
He also brought out his considerable blues chops on newer tunes like Keep It Simple and Talk Is Cheap. His tender side came to the forefront on the spiritual ballad In The Garden with its lovely Celtic lilt.
We even got a taste of Morrison's rock 'n' roll side with a well-belted, rousing version of Gloria, which dates back to his first band, Them, in the mid-60s.
One thing that really stood out about the show was that Morrison actually seemed to be enjoying himself onstage, which is not something that is often said of the brooding artist.
It was seen in a couple of subtle but noteworthy moments when the singer dipped into great, lesser known tracks like Philosopher's Stone and Rough God Goes Riding, each of them soulful highlights of the night.
At one point Morrison playfully bopped the head of his microphone for effect and later, as he scatted along to the grooves, he stopped himself mid-scat and told the audience: “Gotta get that right.” He even let a little smile escape with that quip.
It may seem like a minor gesture, but to Van Morrison fans it's actually pretty significant and folks at the Jube who caught it were pretty warmed by it. Their cranky folk-rock hero seemed to be having a bit of fun with them.
Yeah, the road to the Van Morrison show was an annoyingly bumpy one, to be sure. But at least when we got there, the gig felt like a rare treat.
-Heath McCoy
Calagary Sun
The word legend has been associated with Van Morrison for a long time now.
And for the most part, it’s a fair description of the man who is quite possibly the most soulful-sounding white man of all time.
But even a legend needs to connect with the little people once in a while. There wasn’t a whole lot of connecting going on when Morrison performed in front of a near sold-out Jubilee Auditorium crowd Thursday night.
Wearing a black fedora and a pair of shades, the Irish singer walked on stage to cheers. And without barely a glance towards the audience, he sat down at a grand piano and began the show with a gorgeous, mellow version of Northern Muse (Solid Ground).
I’m not going to be the person who complains Morrison didn’t come running down the aisle whooping and high-fiving fans.
And let’s face it, a ‘What’s up Calgreeeee?!’ would have just sounded weird and wrong coming from Morrison.
But a few acknowledgements would have helped close the chasm between Morrison and his dedicated fans. To be fair, he did say a quick ‘thanks’ about 35 minutes in after a very well-received rendition of Philosopher’s Stone, but he spent more time facing his band than the crowd.
The 64-year-old performer chose to keep to himself and concentrate on delivering a professional and polished 90-minute set.
There was never a feeling the lack of audience interaction had anything to do with antagonism on Morrison’s part. He’s never been particularly comfortable being in the public eye, and getting the cold shoulder from him came to no surprise to longtime fans.
Still, there was little disconnect between the star and crowd, which seemed to grow as the concert progressed despite such an excellent set list.
The packed-out Jubilee crowd came to hear Morrison belt out such hits as Moondance, Gloria and the golden oldies staple, Brown Eyed Girl — which he obliged — but he made sure his crack band got ample time in the spotlight as well.
Guitarist Jay Berliner, who played on Morrison’s classic Astral Weeks album, was perhaps the best-known musician in the Irish singer’s six-piece band. His fluid playing was highlighted during solos and he complemented the rest of the band’s intricate and solid musicianship, which in turn lifted Morrison’s performance.
The quality of Morrison and his band’s performance was formidable throughout so there were no real highlights, although Keep It Simple and Moondance were particularly well done.
The people’s favourite, Brown Eyed Girl, came very early in the set and it was obvious Morrison was just going through the motions during that ditty. Yet he still managed to freshen it up with a slightly different arrangement.
Morrison may have played it cool, but he wasn’t entirely infallible. He messed up lyrics during You Know What They’re Writing About and laughed it off. It was probably the most charming moment of the show.
The use of cellphones, cameras and other recording devices are generally frowned upon during concerts, but a note — signed by Morrison and posted at the entrances — made it clear even fan photos would not be tolerated and that failure to adhere to that rule would result in ejection and confiscation. Or at least an annoyed glare from Van the Man.
While musical vibe was mellow, the restrictions and the fact a few people were given stern warnings from the Jubilee ushers for dancing, or getting too vocal about their excitement (one guy was even chucked out for being too exuberant) made things oddly tense.
Nevertheless, Morrison’s music spoke for itself and he did not disappoint with his song choices.
-Lisa Wilton
Here's Sean's review
4 hours after the concert ended I'm finding it extremely difficult to put into words what went on this evening. If I said that Van sung Jack O Diamonds/Didn't He Ramble before telling us that his job was "turning THIS lead into gold" during Philosophers Stone that wouldn't do it justice. If I told you how Van sung about "Opening Up My Heart Again" during a spine tingling version of It's All in the Game that built and built until it just overflowed that would be but the tip of the iceberg on this night. Ralph sounded so much like Toni Marcus dos on the original recording of Game that it was absolutely surreal. Rough God Goes Riding came complete with Clint Eastwood impressions and a tip of the cap or hat as it were. Celtic Excavation/Into the Mystic continues to evolve show by show into a wondrous creation before our eyes. And The Healing Has Begun ended with Van facing Ralph and cajoling him into playing sweet subtle sounds on the fiddle while Van commented "that's right...that's all right"...as he slowly took the music down to nothing while this wonderful audience held their collective breath and let the Van work his magic. Lots of smiles for Jay and David tonight from Van and a palpable collective joy running through the Van and the band. In The Garden climaxed with Van asking us to "take my hand, take my hand, take my hand and pray to our holy guardian angel...take my hand...can you feel it?" The "it" is what Van is trying to attain on that particular evening. What exactly is "it?" "It" is the Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, the Mystery, it's undefinable, it's elusive and ever changing. He reached that place tonight. That's why he still does this, I thought. Each successive song was better than the previous one. It's a feat of rare genius to be able to stretch out songs that seem to contain multitudes and at the same time have the entire concert pass by in what felt like no time at all. Time stood still tonight. I was told this evening that this band hasn't peaked yet. Van isn't ready to move on the way many of us thought or hoped he would. As always things are continuing to evolve. I wouldn't trade tonight for any of the shows I've seen since Nov 7 and 8, 2008. And I've been fortunate enough to have seen them all but for a few. The train may have veered off course a little bit but the train continues onward. Onward to Vancouver Saturday evening. All aboard...
Big Hand for The Band
Jay Berliner-electric guitar
David Hayes-double bass
Bobby Ruggiero-drums
Ralph Allin-violin, viola
Richie Buckley-flute, saxophone
Paul Moran-grand piano, trumpet & organ
No comments:
Post a Comment