28-October-2014
Royal Albert Hall
 London, England

Van Morrison at Royal Albert Hall,London-28th October, 2014

Van Morrison returned to the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday night to do his third Bluesfest headline concert in just under two and a half years to another capacity audience. Opening as usual with Celtic Swing, Van then followed with a very jazzy Lost John, If You Only Knew and Talk is Cheap before introducing as his guest the one and only Georgie Fame.I thought he would do his party piece Vanlose Stairway duet with Van but alas it was not to be and instead we got New Symphony Sid which is a poor substitute. This had been a pretty mundane start to the show and I was fearing the worst but happily there was much better to come starting with a stirring cover of John Lee Hooker's Think Twice Before You Ago. Sometimes We Cry was powerfully delivered aided in no small measure by Dana Masters on shared vocals.A thunderous Baby Please Don't Go was combined with Parchman Farm and Don't Stop Crying Now to really up the tempo.Rough God Goes Riding was a real highlight, not only because it was a particularly good version, but also because it featured Van doing impressions of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cary Grant and Clint Eastwood .The Joe Pesci one was particularly good and Van delivered it with such gusto that it left me wondering if he may have aspirations of achieving an Oscar nomination sometime in the future to go with all his music awards. A jazzy Back on Top followed but I have to say that I don't think this arrangement matches the original one. The magnificent Queen of the Slipstream followed and was quite breath taking. The audience cheered wildly after this one and were clearly pretty ecstatic. Whenever God Shines His Light followed and again featured Dana Masters prominently on vocals. I Can't Stop Loving You was followed by a really good version of Real Real Gone which finished with You Send Me featuring the brass section and Dana on vocals to great effect. Next up was All In The Game which Van told us had been recorded by hundreds of artists but not like this. How right he is as this is one cover version by Van that I never tire of hearing as he has really made the song his own and no other version even comes close to matching his.We again got an extended 12 minute version with Van really getting into it and bringing us to the burning ground but no mention of safety nets this time though. Van departed the stage at this point but not to the ecstatic response one might normally expect. Judging by the looks of astonishment on people's faces it was because they couldn't believe the concert could possibly be coming to an end at 8.50 pm which is perfectly understandable as most people going to a concert don't expect to be going home around 9.00 pm and most of the other Bluesfest concerts had scheduled finishing times of 11.00pm. Mercifully Van returned twice to deliver Boogie Chillen, Help Me/Lonely Avenue and the always welcome Ballerina but it was all over far too quickly which resulted in quite a lot of adverse comment afterwards.

One very surprising fact which emerged from this concert is that, when account is taken of the full songs and segments of songs done on the night, half of them were not written by Van but were covers of other peoples work. In the context of the recent publication of Lit Up Inside featuring Van's lyrics it is somewhat ironic that he would choose to spend half the concert doing cover versions of other people's work to the exclusion of so many brilliant songs from his own repertoire which never get an airing(Madame George, When The Healing Has Begun,The Healing Game, Streets of Arklow, Troubadors and St. Dominics's Preview being just a few examples) and which are vastly superior to most of the songs by others that he regularly includes.

In summary, this concert had moments of high quality with Van clearly in great form and the band excellent as usual but the chosen set list largely dictates the real quality of a Van Morrison concert and this one was quite lacking given that the vast majority of the most brilliant songs Van has written were not played which is a real pity as their inclusion would undoubtedly elevate his concerts to heights that few artists could even come close to matching.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Celtic Swing
Lost John
Talk is Cheap
If You Only Knew
The New Symphony Sid (w/Georgie Fame)
Think Twice Before You Go
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don’t Go
Rough God Goes Riding
Back On Top
Queen of the Slipstream
Enlightenment
Whenever God Shines His Light
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Real Real Gone
All in the Game
Boogie Chillen’
Help Me
Ballerina

Big Hand for The Band!
Chris White (Saxophone)
Alistair White (Trombone)
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

26-October-2014
Europa Hotel
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

via Pablo G.

Setlist
Celtic Swing
New Symphony Sid
Baby Please Don't Go
Rough God Goes Riding
Queen of the Slipstream
Sometimes We Cry
Think Twice Before You Go
Days Like This
Whenever God Shines His Light
I Can Tell (You Don't Love Me)
If You Only Knew
That's Life
Philosopher's Stone
It's All In The Game
Glad Tidings
Boogie Chillun
In the Garden
On Hyndford Street

Big Hand for The Band!
Chris White (Saxophone)
Alistair White (Trombone)
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

25-October-2014
Europa Hotel
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

MLK in IRE Blog

There is something innately special about the thought of seeing a favorite artist or band play their hometown. Dylan in Minnesota. Bruce in Jersey. Wilco in Chicago. To see these guys perform where it all began, before all the hype and celebrity nearly guarantees a unique and powerful performance unlike any other.

Van Morrison, having long been revered amongst the extended Kane and Fitzpatrick family, would easily fit in this camp. I have fond memories of listening to “Wild Night” on repeat while drinking Tahitian Treat by the case load and battling my brothers in NHL ’95 over and over again at my dad’s house nearly 20 years ago. He has since stayed on my short list of favorites through the years; with a more recent highlight being able to witness, along with 100,000+ of our closest friends, Morrison deliver a blistering set to close out the 2010 New Orleans Jazz Fest.

So last week when I discovered Van was playing an intimate show in his hometown of Belfast, it was a no brainer: I was hopping a bus and heading north. What made this gig even more compelling was the venue of choice, the historic Europa Hotel. Known as the most bombed hotel in the world after suffering nearly 30 attacks during The Troubles, it has persevered through the years and is now a main tourist destination and top hotel for Belfast City. President and First Lady Clinton stayed here in 1995 and 1998 while working on the peace process in Northern Ireland. NOTE: I unsuccessfully tried to book into the Clinton Suite for my stay on Saturday night, although the fine folks at the front desk did put me just down the hall on the 10th floor.

After a five-hour journey with connecting busses from Galway to Dublin and Dublin to Belfast, I arrived at the Europa Hotel Saturday evening just in time for the pre show ballroom dinner. Yes, when you book a ticket to see Van Morrison in a 300-person room in the most famous hotel in his hometown, you get a full course meal and all you can drink wine before the show. Who says Van is a total curmudgeon?

At my table were a great group from Belfast who had all seen similar shows from Van at least four or five times previously. They were pleasantly surprised to hear my story of why an American living in the West of Ireland decided to travel north for the night to see the show (when it was established that no one at the table was familiar with Pearl Jam or Wilco I decided to hold off on describing any of my other previous rock n roll pilgrimages) and remarked how they were fascinated by the amount of people they have met who travel from all over the world for a chance to see the legend play his hometown.

Moments after the final plate was cleared the band took the stage, launching into the instrumental “Celtic Swing,” with Van leading the way with his signature sax.

What struck me most about Morrison last night was his effortless skill as a bandleader. Directing his seven-piece group with both a casual persona as well as a striking professionalism of someone who has been at the top of his game for over five decades. He truly appeared to be enjoying himself on stage too, remarking halfway through his set, “Hey I’ve finally got a pulse tonight!”

Whether it was because it was a hometown show or just a lucky Saturday night, the crowd was treated to two hours of amazing music from one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known. With a songbook as rich as his to pull from, there was no sign of the massive chart topping hits that are played at karaoke bars every night the world over, and I don’t think the crowd would’ve had it any other way. If you told me some 20 years ago that one day I’d witness Van The Man perform in such an intimate and historic venue right in his own backyard, the word “surreal” would immediately come to mind. Last night confirmed it, a night I will not soon forget.

Until next time.

-MLK

Setlist
Celtic Swing
You Make Me Feel So Free
Lost John
Someone Like You
Magic Time
Talk is Cheap
Think Twice Before You Gp
Blues Medley
Baby Please Don't Go
Enlightenment
I Cant Stop Loving You
Whenever God Shines His Light
Back on Top
Days Like This
Rough God Goes Riding
Georgia
Glad Tidings
Boogie Chillun
In the Garden
Help me

Big Hand for The Band!
Chris White (Saxophone)
Alistair White (Trombone)
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)