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)