30-October-2016
Bluesfest - O2
 London, England

Brendan Hynes review of gig
Van Morrison made what has become by now his annual appearance at this festival but as this large venue was only filled to about half capacity, saturation point appears to have been reached. Van had a hard act to follow in Jeff Beck who turned in a guitar virtuoso performance in opening the show but Van proved well up to the task. Too Late from the new album opened Van's set in lively fashion followed by an up tempo version of Have I Told You Lately which in my view detracts from the song's quality. A nice delivery of Magic Time was followed by a lively version of Wavelength. Van then announced his new single off the album as Every Time I See A River and this sounded great live and even better than on the album featuring a lovely guitar solo from Dave Keary and nice backing vocals from Dana Masters.Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now raised the tempo and was followed by Here Comes The Night.Cleaning Windows was enjoyable but continues to suffer from the absence of a brass section which is such an integral part of the song in its original incarnation.

When Van announced a blues medley featuring Chris Farlowe and Jeff Beck few could have imagined what was to follow as we were taken through Stormy Monday/Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket/Lonely Avenue with Van and Chris trading vocals interspersed with searing guitar solos from Jeff.Van went into John Lee Hooker style mode during Lonely Avenue with terrific vocals answered magnificently by Jeff on guitar. This was incredible! Chris stayed onstage to trade vocals with Van on Sometimes We Cry and as usual improved Van's humour no end.Moondance was merged with Way Beyond The Hill from the new album to good effect before we reached another major highlight with In The Afternoon which again got the full treatment from Van and included a superb trumpet solo from Paul Moran and nice backing vocals from Dana.Help Me signalled that the end was nigh but Van returned for two encores in Ballerina which featured lovely acoustic guitar from Dave Keary and then Gloria which saw the band cut loose once Van had departed with Dana on vocals and Paul Moore on bass being particularly impressive.

All in all this was a fine and fitting show to conclude Bluesfest 2016.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Wavelength
Every Time I See A River
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Cleaning Windows
Stormy Monday/Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket/Lonely Avenue (w/Chris Farlowe & Jeff Beck)
Sometimes We Cry (w/Chris Farlowe)
Moondance/Look Beyond The Hill
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Ballerina
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

Set Time 1H 29M

09-October-2016
Forest Hills Stadium
 New York, USA

Dan Murray's take on gig
Look Beyond the Hills

Located near a lovely residential area in Queens, Forest Hills Stadium is a pretty big venue, but tightly configured and with excellent sound throughout.

I had been worried about the weather for days, and it turns out that Matthew was still stinging the area with his tail, whipping up strong winds and some showers. The showers abated by mid-afternoon as the storm moved further out to sea, but the winds stayed brisk during the entire show. It was a chilly, chilly evening, but that set the atmosphere for a pretty hot gig with Van and the band seemingly unbothered by the weather. Morrison was in excellent voice throughout the show, opening with Too Late and finishing with In the Garden and Gloria. The set list was expertly pegged to the crowd.

Of course, at a venue this size, there is going to be a very diverse group: The idiots who talk and don't listen, those who listen sporadically, and those intent on following every note, some dancing and smiling and having a grand time. I was surrounded by each type.

Ghostly, softly illuminated clouds sailed over the venue as skies partially cleared for the gig, a big half-moon cookie of a moon shining down. Jetliners banked gently near the stadium on their airport approaches, their lights twinkling. It was a great atmosphere.

Van and the band knew they had to cut through the cold in the air, and they did a great job helped out by the superb sound system. The music was sharp and spot on.

Van continues to revel in performing at the moment, his body language full of energy and his head tilting back and emoting with power.

Every song was well-performed, with In the Afternoon getting the workshop treatment. With Bobby Ruggiero back on drums for the US gigs, Van returned the Parchman Farm spouse-shooting drumshots into the set, and that Old Black Magic duet returned with a lovefest by dad for daughter Shana, who opened the show with a nice, longer-than-usual set. Tore Down a la Rimbaud was joyous and inspiring.
Van featured 4 songs from his gorgeous new album, but not Out in the Cold Again. That would have been too appropriate.

In the Afternoon continues to be a welcome beauty, Van exploring new avenues on the ancient highway until sittin' pretty on the mountaintop above the deep blue sea, with vistas stretching out over miles and miles of golden sand. Always great to get Garden and the Holy Guardian Angel. Van sang this one and Gloria clear out into the wings and through the side curtains.

Van fan Brian Heffler suggested I contrast this show with the Culloden gigs I was fortunate to attend 3 weeks ago. Some of the differences are obvious, Forest Hills is 40 times bigger than the Culloden. It has bench seating, primarily, instead of tables in an elegant ballroom. It is open air with much more people movement and distraction.

But Van and the band surmounted all of those things on Sunday night. The music at the Culloden and the music at Forest Hills featured the same commitment and pleasure-inducing features, although obviously the Culloden was much more intimate and conducive to a little more stretching out on the workshops. All the shows were highly successful.

Van and the crew now swing out to the West Coast for 5 more gigs, in very different venues. I have a feeling they are going to be memorable.
-Dan Murray

Setlist (Thanks John Z.)
Too Late
Wild Night
Magic Time
Someone Like You
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Cleaning Windows
Sometimes We Cry
Old Black Magic w/Shana Morrison
Precious Time
Going Down To Bangor
In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck/Sittin' Pretty
Whenever God Shines his Light
Why Must I always Explain
Brown Eyed Girl
Keep Me Singing
Let It Rhyme
In The Garden
Gloria

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