20-November-2015
3 Arena
Dublin, Ireland
3 Arena
Dublin, Ireland
Brendan Hynes sent in this review
This was Van's first full concert show back in Dublin since the particularly triumphant one back in early 2012. Despite being seated in the front row it was my misfortune to encounter probably the most ignorant and noisy group of people (who were visitors from abroad) I have ever had to endure at a seated concert in the row behind who talked and laughed loudly throughout the entire concert (apart from the first two songs which they missed as they were still stocking up their drinks at the bar). Repeated requests to desist were met with derisory responses and they informed me that "Man,this is a rock concert" as an explanation. They reserved the maximum level of talking and laughing for the quietest numbers particularly And the Healing Has Begun, All In The Game and In The Garden. Wonderful!
The concert itself started pretty tamely with Van racing through Celtic Swing, Close Enough For Jazz, Magic Time, Days Like This and Keep It Simple in quick succession none of which reached any great heights in my opinion. A really strong version of Playhouse brought both the band and audience to life and featured a brilliant trumpet solo from Paul Moran. Sometimes We Cry featured a strong duet with Dana Masters with Van also playing some tambourine. The Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie medley went down a treat and was notable for Van's change of wording during Parchman Farm to Communion Wine which he attributed to someone changing his script. Before embarking on In The Afternoon Van asked the audience if they were alright and if the people up the back could hear. While Van brought us down the ancient highway and onto the overpass that's as far as we got and the song ended quite abruptly before it really went anywhere. Talk Is Cheap was pretty ordinary fare but Not Feeling It Anymore was anything but with Van swaying over and back at the microphone and his feet shuffling as he sang.The audience loved this one and roared their approval. Things I Used To Do did very little for me but was followed by a strong Why Must I Always Explain with Van on electric guitar. The guitar stayed on for a welcome rendition of And The Healing Has Begun which didn't go on for as long as I would have liked but was great while it lasted. Whenever God Shines His Light was well delivered and received prompting a few dancers to emerge from the crowd. All In The Game got as far as No Plan B but not much further so we were not transported to the Burning Ground on this occasion as Van quite quickly departed the stage. Van returned for a lively Help Me before asking for a "big hand for the band" and exiting once more. As the annoying 90 minute mark had not yet been reached Van did return once more for a welcome and well received In The Garden which saw Van invoke the help of the 'holy guardian angels' before the 'no guru no method no teacher' chant after which he departed into the night leaving the band to excel with splendid solos culminating in Dana doing some great vocal work which drew a storm of approval from the audience. The reaction at the end was so strong that it prompted keyboard player Paul Moran to take an audience photo for posterity. Set time was 1h 37m.
-Brendan Hynes
Set List
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Magic Time
Days Like This
Keep It Simple
Playhouse
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Afternoon
Talk Is Cheap
Not Feeling It Anymore
Things I Uses To Do
Why Must I Always Explain
And The Healing Has Begun
Whenever God Shines His Light
All In The Game
Help Me
In The Garden
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Labels:
Dublin,
review,
Setlist,
Van Morrison
4 comments:
Thanks so much for your review Brendan.
Thanks Brendan. We were at the show and seated further back but like you encountered some rude visitors to Dublin, shocking behaviour. I think the huge amount of movement in the arena during the show threw Van! People have no consideration. Saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The man is a genius and the band were excellent :)
I posted a critical comment here about the gig a few days ago, but it was not accepted by the moderators - which was disappointing.
I thought Van was off form at this concert. A lot of people had paid a lot of money to be there and I think we all expected something extra. Push it to 2 hours, 20 songs and a few of the big transcendental numbers to really lift the gig to something deserving of the great venue and the large audience (and the artist).
Alas - no. Van phoned it in. He raced through the first half of the set and the big numbers at the end (All in the Game, Healing, Garden) never reached the heights they should. He had his eye on the clock for a lot of the gig and for someone who has been to nearly 15 concerts I have to now draw a line. Won't be back until I see things are changing.
One high point - I'm Not Feeling it Anymore.
I agree with Brendan on his review of the show.on a few of the songs which were heading into "the zone " he pulled the plug on them,his choice, but for the fans ,disappointing.he obviously hadn't the clout to close the bar during his performance but he has done it in the past in other venues.there was so much movement going on off-stage that it was becoming very distracting."into the music" morphed into the pint.the show was slick but didn't reach those high points which have been so familiar in the last number of years.
Post a Comment