15-June-2017
Hampton Court
East Molesey, England
Hampton Court
East Molesey, England
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| via Matthew Jeffrey |
Van Morrison returned once more to the scene of a number of inspirational concerts by him over the years but sadly tonight's show was not one of them. After the first half dozen songs it was clear that Van was coasting and that we were going to be treated(?) to a typical open air festival set consisting almost entirely of the radio friendly 'so called hits'and so it proved. The set list says it all really and it was the most disappointing Van show I have attended since the equally disappointing Blenheim Palace show two years ago with Van just churning out a mainly up tempo set with the minimum of effort. Apart from In the Afternoon which was the clear highlight and Carrying A Torch there were no real magical moments as Van was happy to just belt out the hits. The show was so predictable that I was able to write down the last three songs on the set list consisting of Help Me, Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria before they were even performed. If I had been asked before the concert to draw up a set list of the Van songs I least wanted to hear, well most of them were played tonight.
An interesting new initiative introduced by Hampton Court festival organisers this year was the provision of an area to one side of the stage where the already noisy and talkative audience were encouraged and facilitated to abandon their seats and dance and talk even more loudly than before for maximum annoyance for the real music lovers in the rest of the audience.These 'fans' were particularly enterprising during In The Afternoon to such an extent that they succeeded in almost totally drowning out the vocals of Van and his two backing singers during the quietest segments. Thank you very much!!
It is to be hoped that when Van returns to playing indoor concerts after the summer festivals he will delve a lot more deeply into his extensive body of work.The current set list which has varied very little for quite a long time is utterly predictable,almost totally devoid of Van's really inspirational work and quite frankly has long since reached saturation point.
-Brendan Hynes
Set List
Too Late
Moondance
Magic Time
Have I Told You Lately(fast version)
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don 't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie/Here Comes The Night
Precious Time
Days Like This
Enlightenment
I Can't Stop Loving You
All Work and No Play
Wild Night
Carrying A Torch
In The Afternoon
Jackie Wilson Said
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria
Set Time 1h 39m
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
