16-February-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan's review of third and final night at Nells
The third and final night of Van's stint at Nell's was not prefaced by a statement from him that this would be a total blues set but he commenced once more with Goldfish Bowl which tonight featured a great extended guitar solo from Dave Keary. This was followed by the jazzy Symphony Sid and the lively Keep Mediocrity At Bay before Van slowed things down for Beautiful Vision featuring Sumudu on some shared vocals. Playhouse raised the tempo once more before Sometimes We Cry afforded Dana the opportunity to excel on vocals during a really good version. Bo Diddley's I Can Tell got another airing tonight and, if anything, was even better than the previous night. The Baby Please Don't Go etc. medley got a further outing before In The Midnight brought some order to proceedings once more. When Think Twice Before You Go was followed by Precious Time we had most definitely entered the 'hits' territory that Van had told us we wouldn't be entering on the first night. Corrective surgery was clearly urgently required and a momentary lull afforded dedicated Van fan Pamela Kendix (who was seated right in front of Van in the front row) the opportunity to request Why Must I Always Explain. Van responded by saying "Give Me A Rest" before adding that they needed to slow things down and picking up his electric guitar. And so it came to pass that Van delivered a top class version which included both backing singers finishing Van's lines and an excellent extended guitar solo by Van at the end. I Can't Stop Loving You featured both backing singers once more before another fine rendition of In The Afternoon which included nice guitar and trumpet solos. When All In The Game made a welcome return to the set list it was evident that Van was now firmly 'in the zone' and so it proved as he once more confirmed that he still has no Plan B and no safety net. Having thanked the band Van departed before returning for an incredible 15 minute version of Help Me which included a brilliant extended harmonica solo from Van which had the audience roaring and the band members smiling at one another in admiration. When Van had departed, the band members did their party pieces which included an excellent understated trumpet solo by Paul Moran ,fine bass from Paul Moore and great vocals from Dana and Sumudu.

This show was the best of the three in my view with the final 40 minutes or so in particular reminding us why we keep coming back for more.
-Brendan Hynes

via Matthew Jeffrey

Set List
Goldfish Bowl
Symphony Sid
Keep Mediocrity At Bay
Beautiful Vision
Playhouse
Sometimes We Cry
I Can Tell
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Midnight
Think Twice Before You Go
Precious Time
Why Must I Always Explain
I Can't Stop Loving You
In The Afternoon
All In The Game
Help Me

Set Time 1h 29m

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

15-February-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan's take on night two at Nells
As on the first night, Van announced at the outset that it would be a blues set given the name of the venue and he commenced the show once again with Goldfish Bowl which featured a great trumpet solo from Paul Moran. Playhouse moved things along at a brisk pace followed swiftly by Talk Is Cheap with Van first making a reference to "fake news". Fame was very strong once again and was followed by two covers in Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (which saw Van chuckling merrily for the first couple of verses) and I Believe To My Soul. The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword from the new album then got a further airing followed by the most welcome inclusion of Beautiful Vision which featured Sumudu extensively on shared vocals and fine steel guitar from Dave Keary. Going Down to Bangor put us all in holiday mode and was followed by a great cover of Bo Diddley's I Can Tell which saw fine guitar and organ solos from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. I Can't Stop Loving You featured both Sumudu and Dana Masters on vocals and they featured individually to great effect on Sometimes We Cry(Dana) and Whenever God Shines His Light (Sumudu).Van reprised his Maritime blues medley of Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie to bring us all back with him to share his 1964 memories. In The Afternoon followed to great acclaim and once more was the highlight of the night featuring lovely guitar and trumpet solos and lovely backing vocals from Dana and Sumudu who repeated the phrase "it's my life, it's your life baby" over and over to complement Van's extended and quite superb vocal workout. It was quite magical. Help Me and Gloria brought proceedings to a most lively conclusion once more.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Goldfish Bowl
Playhouse
Talk Is Cheap
Fame
Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket
I Believe To My Soul
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
Beautiful Vision
Going Down To Bangor
I Can Tell
I Can't Stop Loving You
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Gloria

Set Time 1h 30m

via Matthew Jeffrey

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

14-February-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan Hynes checks in with review of night one at Nells
Right from the outset Van laid down a marker as he stated that the only reason they were playing Nells was because it is a jazz and blues club so they would be playing a mainly blues set. His announcement that there would be no 'hits' was quite enthusiastically received by a sizeable number of attendees which seemed to surprise Van who retorted "that's good?". Before opening with Goldfish Bowl, Van likened the song's theme to the new term "alternate facts" before delivering quite a good version which was followed by a really strong Fame. Look Beyond The Hill and The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword from the new album followed in quick succession but in my view these are two of the weakest tracks and I was hoping for a first live performance of In Tiberon but it was not to be tonight. It may have been Valentines Day but Van was in no mood for sentiment as a request for Someone Like You was summarily dismissed with a rebuke that if one wanted to hear such songs then the large concerts were the place to hear them (this was quite a departure from previous shows at Nells where Van has often invited requests and been quite happy to play some of his more creative and lesser played material with no insistence that it be strictly blues or jazz material!) I Believe To My Soul which followed featured a great trumpet solo from Paul Moran while Dave Keary excelled on guitar during Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket which ran into Stormy Monday and Lonely Avenue. Going Down To Bangor raised the tempo considerably and gave Van the opportunity to reminisce about his bucket and spade while singing "tra la la tra la lee"! Rock Me Baby/Early In The Morning fairly rocked but at this stage we had probably reached 'blues overload' so a really powerful version of Sometimes We Cry(which saw Dana Masters get a deserved ovation for her vocal contribution) was quite a welcome diversion. We were quickly brought back to blues territory with Talk Is Cheap with Van once more making reference to alternate facts. Van then announced a blues medley from his time playing The Maritime in Belfast back in 1964 and featured Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie(which saw Van became quite amused and to wonder whether lyrics which may have been acceptable in 1964 still are). A second deviation from the blues trail followed and brought us instead down the ancient highway with a quite magnificent In The Afternoon which went on for an age and was far and away the highpoint of the night and fully deserving of the extended ovation it received. The opening bars of Help Me indicated that the end was nigh and so it proved as Van asked for "a big hand for the band" before departing only to return one more time for Gloria which inevitably featured the band much more than it did Van as he beat a hasty retreat and left them to it as they kept playing for quite some time to stretch out the set time.

via Matthew Jeffrey

Van was in good form throughout and in fine voice in what was a committed performance albeit somewhat restricted by the overwhelming adherence to the 'blues only' theme which resulted in exactly half of the songs performed being cover versions of other artists' work.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Goldfish Bowl
Fame
Look Beyond the Hill
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
I Believe To My Soul
Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket/Stormy Monday/Lonely Avenue
Going Down To Bangor
Rock Me Baby/Early In The Morning
Sometimes We Cry
Talk Is Cheap
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Gloria

Set Time-1h 28m

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