27-September-2015
Heineken Music Hall
 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Photo via Heineken Music Hall

De Telegraaf
The decor Van Morrison Sunday had taken to the Heineken Music Hall, or rather the total lack of it, says everything. The Northern Irishman (70) is a musician, not a circus artist. Acted upon
An evening with Van Morrison called the concert Sunday evening and the large concert hall was packed for the occasion put chairs. An easier way to enforce attention is not natural, but the veteran had at least also for the show. The initial one minute 20.00 and the final applause was still before ten at least, um, brave.
For nothing else in its decor than a dark curtain Van began his saxophone. Almost modest, if one of them among his concentrated, yet versatile band, he first heard in Close enough for jazz that he still has his distinctive voice. With the classic Moondance - in 1970 - then he subtly reminded us that we had to deal with someone with very respectable record.
So on sax, guitar or harmonica. From his voice at times used as an instrument. On learning of course no shortage. Just as diversity. A jazzy start followed sweetness á la Days like this, which again was continuation of solid blues as jakkerende Baby please do not go.
For the neutral observer will be a little austere, perhaps even boring have done. Certainly the lover of all these different sides of Van came largely into their own. Without distraction and without even a breather between songs showcased The man where he has been almost half a century is praised for. And the best news is that after Sunday we physically for years seem to enjoy it.
-Bart Wijlaars

Setlist (Thanks Wim D.)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Moondance
I Believe To My Soul
Days Like This
Precious Time
Carrying A Torch
Think Twice Before You Go
Talk Is Cheap
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now
Enlightenment
Wild Night
In The Afternoon
Magic Time
Whenever God Shines Hos Light
Brown Eyed Girl
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
And The Healing Has Begun
Help Me
Gloria

20-September-2015
Sony Center
For The Performing Arts
 Toronto, Canada

Dan Murray sends in his thoughts on night two in Toronto

Magic Time in Toronto
During two powerful shows at Toronto's Sony Centre for the Performing Arts over the weekend, Sir George Ivan Morrison demonstrated his continued vitality as supreme soul-sender and improvisational marvel.

I have been whining for a good year now that I thought Van had cut back considerably in the past year on his classic improvisational skills, musical dynamics and pure, unvarnished passion.

There were times of brilliance, but I thought things were becoming much too routine. I chalked it up to age, and death, and the ghosts, as poet John Berryman put it.

But the Cyprus Avenue birthday gigs showed major signs of the Van performance style I have known and will always love. The afternoon show finale of Ballerina, And the Healing and Garden were terrific songs delivered with drive and beauty.

The finale of Hyndford Street in the evening set summed up the day in gorgeous, dramatic style.

And then on to Toronto three weeks later, where a combination of a lovely venue, a great audience, pristine sound, a performer completely committed to the cause, and a finely tuned band added up to two wonderful evenings of music.

The sound of surprise as the music unfolded, the passion, the drama were all back in full force, and a relaxed Van sang with as much authority as I have ever heard.

The sets lists featured a diverse mix of Van tunes in the first half, nicely paced. The second half of the show brimmed each night with Morrison in full vocal flight, the lights of the cars on the overpass, shining like diamonds in the night, driving all night long, until the sun comes up.

Burn baby Burn, you're gonna make me high.

Morrison used all of his classic imagery, nature-based and mystical. I believe there was even a reference to his young children, as he repeated over and over "Daddy, take me down, please, to the burning ground. Daddy, take me across the river, across the water. Daddy, please."

The shows opened with the traditional songs to warm up the pipes, merely pleasant.

Then he mixed things up in the middle of the gigs, doing songs ranging from the greasy, grinding blues of Talk is Cheap and Keep Mediocrity at Bay and I Believe to My Soul, to a propulsive, sweeping version of Motherless Child, guitars strummed hard, and a wonderful, woozy In the Midnight.

The All in the Game both nights was epic, so much new revealed, despite the fact that he has sung it so often. The way he formed the words into exquisite shapes: "Make it real one more time....one more, one... one.... one... one."
"And you take my hand, and you walk with me, and sometimes it feels, like eternity."

Can it be said any better? And how much more pleasurable to hear it sung by a voice that is truly blessed. Van's enunciation at these gigs was the best I have ever heard.

The Ballerina was exquisite in its beauty and clarity.

The shows ended with Gloria, which the audience loved, and the great band absolutely pulverized it as Van got into his limo and took flight again.
-Dan Murray

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Moondance
Days Like This
Precious Time
Talk Is Cheap
Keep Mediocrity at Bay
Carrying A Torch
Enlightenment
Magic Time
Whenever God Shines His Light
In the Midnight
In the Afternoon/Raincheck
Think Twice Before You Go
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Ballerina
And The Healing Has Begun
It's All In The Game
Gloria

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

19-September-2015
Sony Center
For The Performing Arts
 Toronto, Canada

Toronto Sun (Source)
Van still The Man at 70? You betcha.
Van Morrison, now in his first year as a septuagenarian, lived up to his longtime nickname Van The Man Saturday night during the first of two back-to-back shows at the Sony Centre.

The veteran Belfast belter seems to have defied time and still possesses a big, beautiful, soulful voice even if his physicality - he doesn’t move much or speak between songs - barely hints at the power within.
It’s only when he’s singing - soul, blues, gospel, rock, pop and jazz - that Morrison’s spirit really comes alive with rich, expressive vocals that seem to come directly from his heart.

Dressed in a suit, tie, fedora, and sunglasses with dim lighting making it hard to actually see him, the singer-songwriter began in a low-key, jazzy way playing saxophone (he later played guitar and harmonica) on the instrumental Celtic Swing followed by Close Enough For Jazz.

But then Morrison, accompanied by a tight five piece band, quickly picked up the pace with hits like Moondance and Days Like This, the latter which got fans clapping for the first time.

Finally seeming to relax, he followed up with a plenty of vocal improvisation and a potent mix of blues, rock and gospel selections big on jams.

Highlights included a cover of Baby Please Don’t Go (previously covered by his pre-solo ‘60s band Them), and his own I Believe To My Soul, Talk is Cheap, Whenever God Shines His Light, Wild Night and the very sexy Don’t You Make Me High, and finally The Burning Ground which saw him shuffle off stage while still singing.

Thankfully, he returned for the crowd-pleasing encore number Gloria, also by Them, with plenty of solos offered up by his musicians and the audience finally on its feet and clapping and singing along.

Sadly, there was no Brown Eyed Girl but it was a small quibble given the quality of music for an hour and 40 minutes delivered by a legend still going strong.
-Jane Stevenson

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Moondance
Days Like This
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
I Believe To My Soul
Talk is Cheap
Whenever God Shines His Light
Wild Night
In the Afternoon /Burn Baby Burn/Raincheck
Cleaning Windows
Motherless Child
And The Healing Has Begun
Precious Time
Magic Time
All in the Game/Time is Running Out/Burning Ground
Gloria

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

18-September-2015
Landsdowne Park
 Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa Sun (Source)

It was a marvelous night for a Moondance on the Great Lawn of Lansdowne Park Friday, with the legendary Van Morrison packing the park to capacity for CityFolk's marquee show.

It took a personal letter to Morrison, penned by festival director Mark Monahan, to convince the ever-elusive Belfast Cowboy to hop the pond for the exclusive date -- it's been a full five years since he set foot in Canada, last appearing in Ottawa at Monahan's Bluesfest in 2007.

And as with another legend of similar stature, Bob Dylan, who shared the Bluesfest bill that year, concertgoers know you're either in line for "Good Van" or "Bad Van" -- when he's on, it's a near-spiritual experience, when he's off, it can fall a little flat.

But on Friday, he wasn't just Good Van. He was vintage Van the Man.

The elder statesman of soul, now 70, needed no introduction as he and his crack five-piece band strode on stage -- a full ten minutes ahead of their scheduled start -- and with no fanfare at all, launched into the smooth-sailing jazz instrumental Celtic Swing, with Morrison looking dapper dressed in all-black, capped by fedora and shades, blowing soft sax lines on his alto while fans were still staking out their spot on the crowded lawn.

Even the camera operators were late on the draw, the video screens still projecting a stationary shot of the side of the stage while the main attraction was stepping up to take his first of many jazz-infused sax solos.

There was little time, or need for fanfare, however, as Morrison quickly counted off the cheeky Close Enough For Jazz, then eased into his signature tune, Moondance, while the estimated 15,000 fans took up the occasion to find a partner and sway along to the gently syncopated bounce.

He barely allowed a breath between songs for his bandmates, and wasted no time to take in the rapturous applause, quickly counting in each song on the heels of the last, with the gospel-tinged Days Like This and Higher Ground, followed quickly by the down and dirty r&b of the classic Them hit Baby Please Don't Go, the horn-driven Real, Real Gone and the funky bass jam of Wild Night.

Yes, it was just that easy for the venerable Morrison, whose trademark vocals seem to have defied Father Time, capturing every bit of the power and the grace of his prime.

The stage volume was kept noticeably quiet at the outset, but gained in decibels by the time the band really hit their stride on Cleaning Windows -- the band had already reeled off a dozen tunes by that point and it was barely 9 p.m.

The inspiring Jackie Wilson Said brought the entire crowd to their feet, as even the fans dotting the hillside at the far end of the park could be seen kicking up the turf to the driving horn lines, and even his most casual fan was singing along to every word of Brown-Eyed Girl, Domino and the rousing encore Gloria.

On Friday, he spoke only to his band, and did so only to quickly count in the next song, or spontaneously call out the key signature. His bandmates followed along with every cue, sometimes as subtle as a quick raised hand or catching a barked audible cue, and displayed supreme musical mastery throughout it all.
-AEDAN HELMER

Setlist (Thanks Ken D.)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough for Jazz
Moondance
Days Like This
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Enlightenment
Real Real Gone
Wild Night
Can't Stop Loving You
Precious Time
Cleaning Windows
Jackie Wilson Said
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck
Brown Eyed Girl
Domino
In The Garden
Think Twice Before You Go
Help Me
Gloria

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

31-August-2015
Cyprus Avenue
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Photo via Pablo G.

Here are Brendan's thoughts on both shows
(1st Show)
As the clock ticked ever closer to the start time of 3.00pm one surprising observation given the overwhelming demand for tickets was that there were several rows of empty seats at the rear of the seating area and they remained unfilled throughout the concert. Just as Van Morrison and his band hit the stage the skies opened and rain cascaded down to dampen the spirits somewhat.When Van opened with the fairly routine numbers Celtic Swing and Close Enough For Jazz followed by Moondance I felt somewhat deflated as I was expecting something a lot different on this special day.Two duets followed with PJ Proby on Whatever Happened To PJ Proby and Chris Farlowe on Born To Sing and while they were enjoyable enough they were a long way below my expectations from the day. However, Van then announced a dedication to Brian Keenan before unleashing an imperious version of Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child with Van emphasing the word 'freedom' over and over to great effect and Paul Moran playing exceptional organ throughout. This was incredible and I found myself exclaiming that this was the sort of music I had come to hear! When a wonderful Mystic From The East followed, things were much brighter on the avenue and even the rain had cleared as the sun shone down on us all.The opening notes of Brown Eyed Girl provided a quick reality check however and when regular and somewhat overplayed setlist numbers such as Days Like This,Baby Please Don't Go and Enlightenment followed in quick succession the concert had reverted back to being a somewhat mediocre one.By the time Van had finished the Guitar Slim song Things I Used To Do, I had more or less resigned myself to the concert being a missed opportunity and quite a let down given the occasion. But then it happened! Van strapped on his guitar and without warning transported us through a magical music tour featuring three of the greatest songs he has written in his long and distinguished career.And The Healing Has Begun was stunning and seemed to go on for ever before being followed by a wonderful Ballerina which included a Cyprus Avenue reference by Van. After departing the stage we didn't have to wait long for Van's return,not for Gloria,but to the wonderful piano strains of In The Garden. Van was unstoppable by now and he brought things right down low before urging us all to sing it as he moved into the No Guru No Method No Teacher chant to the extraordinary sight of the entire audience jumping to their feet in unison to sing the words back to Van. This was very special and as Van departed the stage the band played on for a few more minutes to rapturous applause. What a finale we had witnessed and one sensed it had changed the whole mood entirely. The set time was 1h 27m.

Setlist
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Moondance
Whatever Happened to PJ Proby w/PJ Proby
Born to Sing w/Chris Farlowe
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Mystic of the East
Brown Eyed Girl
Days Like a This
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm
Cry Cry Baby
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Enlightenment
Things I Used To Do
Healing Has Begun
Ballerina
In The Garden

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

Photo via Pablo G.

(2nd Show)
As we walked down the avenue again for the second show there was much speculation as to what would be played this time. It seemed inconceivable and indeed illogical that Cyprus Avenue and indeed Madame George(with its Cyprus Avenue references) would not be played but with Van Morrison there had to be an element of doubt. As it transpired, he again played neither much to the disappointment of many including myself thereby emphasising that the only predictable thing about Van is his unpredictability!

After the show opened as ever with Celtic Swing we then got a really good version of Kingdom Hall to liven up proceedings considerably. When Van introduced Carrying A Torch as their latest hit and joked about the BBC Radio 2 playlist it was clear he was in more relaxed mode. Aided in no small part by Dana Masters on vocals, the song delivered yet again to great acclaim. After reprising his earlier duet with PJ Proby, Van brought the Belfast influences to bear with a stirring Cleaning Windows. Days like This and Precious Time were nothing out of the ordinary but the same cannot be said of Mystic From The East and Sometimes I Feel like A Motherless Child which were both played again and once more were quite wonderful. Sometimes We Cry was sung with great energy by both Van and Dana before being followed by Van's favourite medley of Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm(which Van again made a point of crediting to Mose Alison) and Don't Start Crying Now. Van picked out someone in the front row before the replicated gun shots during Parchman Farm telling him he was a 'sitting duck'. Whenever God Shines His Light gave one last chance to the dancers amongst us to let loose before we embarked on the homeward journey with Van firmly in the zone. It started with an extended and quite magnificent It's All In The Game with Van giving it the full treatment taking us to the burning ground then on to the factory before picking up the sack and mopping his brow from the mid day sun. At one stage Van brought everything down so low you could have heard a pin drop as the audience fell virtually totally silent which is a feat in itself given the audience behaviour at outdoor concerts in particular these days. Finally, we had Van emitting various sounds and pleading over and over 'Daddy please take me to the burning ground' before slowly leaving the stage after just one hour. Mercifully Van's somewhat premature exit was simply for effect and he returned for four more numbers starting with a duet with Chris Farlowe on Stand By Me which saw Chris change the lyrics slightly to 'as long as Van Morrison Stands By Me'. And The Healing Has Begun was unsurprisingly rapturously received once again before an extended Help Me followed which saw Van and the band go into overdrive on what was a great version. When Van departed once more it appeared it might all be over but he returned one more time to deliver On Hyndford Street to an ecstatic response particularly from many of those who had travelled from abroad who were hearing it live for the first time and were virtually gasping for breath afterwards. Van made a number of humorous references during this rendition including to the the inclusion of a line which he said he couldn't believe he had put in. After using the phrase 'lit up inside' Van said he was plugging the book and that there were some on sale. We all laughed merrily of course! Finally, Van kept repeating the phrases "the only time is now" and "in the eternal presence" over and over before thanking the band and heading off in to the night. Another person who would have been well worthy of mention at that point was the one and only Maurice Kinkead whose vision and great endeavour played such a huge part in making the event happen. The set time was 1h 30m.

Setlist
Celtic Swing
Kingdom Hall
Carrying a Torch
Whatever Happened to PJ Proby w/PJ Proby
Cleaning Windows
Days Like This
Precious Time
Mystic of the East
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Cry Cry Baby
Whenever God Shines His Light
It's All in the Game
Stand By Me w/Chris Farlowe
Healing Has Begun
Help Me
On Hyndford Street

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

My overall perspective on the event was that it was the dedicated and indeed fortunate fans who managed to attend both shows who really got to enjoy the full Cyprus Avenue experience as they were afforded the opportunity to marry the really significant and outstanding moments of real excellence from each show into an abiding memory truly befitting the occasion.
-Brendan Hynes

Chrissie Hynde