18-December-2016
Waterfront Hall
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

via Pablo Torres G.

Brendan was at gig and sends his thoughts
Van Morrison’s final concert of 2016 was reserved for his hometown of Belfast and as early Christmas presents go they don’t really come much better than this. Having started in lively fashion with Too Late and Going Down To Bangor from the new album, Van continued in up tempo mode with the fast version of Have I Told You Lately which featured a nice saxophone solo from Van. Every Time I See A River was the first of many highlights and was followed by a quite majestic double header of Foreign Window and Tore Down A La Rimbaud(which featured a really nice organ solo from Paul Moran).Beautiful Vision was really impressive once more and featured new female backing singer Sumudu to considerable effect. Baby Please Don’t Go /Don’t Start Crying Now/Custard Pie got the hall rocking and were followed by a quick fire Here Comes The Night. Wild Night went down a treat and featured good guitar and organ solos from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively before a particularly strong version of Sometimes We Cry which included lovely vocals from Sumudu to complement Van’s. Precious Time appealed primarily to the clap-a-long attendees before Van slowed things down considerably for In The Midnight during which Van’s vocals were particularly strong. Wonderful Remark was a quite powerful and most welcome inclusion in the set and was dedicated by Van to Brian Keenan and John McCarthy who had shared a common love of Van’s music when held as hostages together back in the 1990s.Whenever God Shines His Light featured a nice bass solo from Paul Moore and saw Van on tambourine briefly. In The Afternoon got the full treatment from Van as he took us down the ancient highway before stretching out for miles and miles and finally sitting pretty. Enlightenment raised the tempo once more and was followed by Carrying A Torch featuring Van and Sumudu to great effect on shared vocals. Brown Eyed Girl was immediately followed by an imperious In The Garden which thankfully on this occasion was a long version befitting the song’s excellence which ended with Van departing the stage still singing the No Guru No Method No Teacher mantra as the audience jumped to their feet in acclamation. Van briefly returned for Gloria which as usual was primarily an extended band workout once Van had departed and one which the audience fully appreciated judging by the reaction at the end.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Too Late
Going Down To Bangor
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Every Time I See A River
Foreign Window
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Beautiful Vision
Baby Please Don’t Go/Don’t Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes The Night
Wild Night
Sometimes We Cry
Precious Time
In The Midnight
Wonderful Remark
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon
Enlightenment
Carrying A Torch
Brown Eyed Girl
In The Garden
Gloria

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

Set Time 1h 45m