05-Oct-10 Greek Theatre, Los Angeles Concert Review

Here's Mark's Review:

Tuesday night's show started in low gear despite all the old hits (e.g., "Baby Please Don't Go," "Here Comes the Night," "Brown-Eyed Girl) because the weather was cold and wet, and people kept wandering in to find their seats during the first half hour.  Van found his groove with "Fair Play" (the fourth song) and concluded it with half a minute of brilliant scat singing and humming that reminded me of "Cul De Sac."

"Mediocrity at Bay" was jaunty, almost humorously angry, and more forceful in concert than on the studio album.

"Moondance" was another surprise -- lively, fresh, and intricately arranged with Van playing plenty of saxophone like he did all night.  Maybe this version was so good because it was performed "beneath the cover of October skies" like the song says.  It gave the band a chance to stretch out and impress. The new violinist (Becky Ramsey) and guitarist (Andy Jones) fit in comfortably with the band, and Van called on both of them to solo often.  However, it's going to take awhile before their chops are in the same league as other grand Van veterans like David Hayes (on both stand-up and electric bass tonight), Jay Berliner (on banjo several times as well as guitar), and Richie Buckley (still wailing on sax like a man possessed). 

Tuesday's version of "It's All in the Game" was a tour-de-force jazz singing workshop, one of the best versions I've ever heard.  Van kept his shades on all evening but he came across completely vulnerable in the song tonight, like a man helplessly in the throes of love, heartbreak, or both.  Van all but ascended on this version and earned a rousing ovation for it.

"Ballerina" became another vocal improvisation workshop with Van creating altered states by twisting and distending syllables into different time signatures.  Then the band clicked into place and put the pedal to the metal as Van sang "Here comes the man and he says the show must go on!" 

"Help Me" featured a gruff and gutteral vocal from Van, as he alternated between sax, harp, and vocals.  He put lots of body English on it tonight too, swaying back and forth at the "VM" mike stand.  

In short, Van seemed in high gear for about half of this show, and improvised and rearranged enough to make a lot of the old songs (e.g., "Moondance," "Fair Play," "Help Me") sound fresh again.  The band impressed me more as individual virtuosos rather than as one tight cooking unit, but I'm sure they'll gel more cohesively as the month goes on.  I'm tempted to attend Saturday's show in Santa Barbara so I can see how this band evolves, and whether Van brings out more nuggets from his 45-year-old songbook and finds fresh ways to interpret them.  

Cheers,

-Mark

Setlist

Baby Please Don't Go

Here Comes The Night

Brown Eyed Girl

Fair Play

Keep Mediocrity At Bay

Keep It Simple

Bright Side of The Road

The Mystery

Playhouse

Rough God Goes Riding

Moondance

Real Real Gone

It's All in The Game

Celtic Excavation->Into the Mystic

Ballerina

Help Me

Gloria

Big Hand for The Band!

David Hayes

Paul Moran

Jay Berliner

Andy Jones

Richie Buckley

Bobby Ruggiero

Becky Ramsey