12-November-2017
Hammersmith Apollo
London, England
Hammersmith Apollo
London, England
Brendan sent in his thoughts on gig:
Van Morrison commenced the third date of his UK tour with a jazzy song called Wait a Minute Baby followed by Moondance which finished with an excerpt from Look Beyond The Hill. Warm Love was a welcome inclusion in the set once more but for some reason the female backing vocals were less audible than usual which took somewhat from the song’s delivery. The ever lively I Can Tell was followed by Van’s comment that it was the obligatory song from the new album before introducing A Foggy Day as being from the next one. He then announced Valley of Tears as a tribute to the late Fats Domino after which he kept the tempo up with the fast version of Have I Told You Lately before slowing things down for a really good version of Magic Time. It was obvious not for the first time that Van particularly enjoys playing this song and he seemed really engrossed in it.  |
The concert had really lost its way at this stage but as Van and the band contemplated which song to play next there was a particularly vociferous and most welcome audience request for And The Healing Has Begun which Van immediately acceded to with a comment that no one could say they don’t do the old stuff. What followed was a breathtaking extended rendition as Van took us down the back streets once more while the entire band contributed handsomely in the song’s delivery with brilliant playing and individual solos before Van exited the stage still singing. When one hears such magnificence in concert it makes it extremely difficult to understand why Van so often leaves such brilliant material out of his concert sets and, as happened tonight, instead plays cover versions of songs many of which are mediocre at best and few of which can come anywhere near approaching the quality of his own inspired songwriting of which there are innumerable examples. Almost half the set tonight consisted of cover versions and it is doubtful that very many in the audience given the choice would have a preference for such material over Van’s own work. The concert finished once more with an extended Gloria featuring all the band members but with Dana Masters on vocals and Mez Clough on drums getting particular recognition.
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist
Wait A Minute Baby
Moondance/Look Beyond The Hill
Warm Love
I Can Tell
A Foggy Day
Valley of Tears (Fats Domino tribute)
Have I Told You Lately (swing version)
Magic Time
Baby Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes The Night
Sometimes We Cry
Bright Side of the Road
Days Like This
Wild Night
Automobile Blues
It’s All in the Game
Broken Record
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck
The Party’s Over
And the Healing Has Begun
Gloria
Set Time 1h 43m
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
3 comments:
Couldn't disagree more. I thought the covers were the highlight; especially Foggy Day and The Party's over and thought the concert lost its way with the long list of 'hits' Van has absolutely played to death. And The Healing..was great though. Thanks to the guy for the request and for Van for acquiescing. Even Dave Keary managed a smile!
Sorry Brendan, just cant agree. Over the years Van has performed and recorded both his own and works from his favourite influencers. Indeed his recent albums contain mostly "covers". Van is now moving in a direction with a distinctly jazzy feel to it which clearly fits with his vocal and performance abilities at this stage in his life. His backing artists reflect this also, and gone are the days of the large band. His more recent tighter set up suits his current style. In recent years we have seen this change evolve from the Astral Weeks anniversary performance at the Albert Hall down to his four piece with himself at the initial concerts at Nells. I must say the addition of an additional vocalist and in particular a percussionist have added to the depth of the performances but the retirement of the brass and string elements sets the tone for his current style. I think myself his set is well balanced and although I too would like to see him play more favourites he is still putting out great music with three new albums all with new material coming out within a year that deserve to be heard by the paying public. As can be seen by the price, demand and resale values for tickets for his concerts there are no shortage of admirers and judging by the audience last night they are not all over 60's like ourselves. I enjoyed last night as much as any of his concerts that I have attended in the last ten years. We should be glad that Van is still innovative and not just turning up to regurgitate the past like so many others. Keep it up Van
Having caught Van four times this year, personally I'd like to see songs like Sometimes We Cry, In The Afternoon, It's All In The Game, right Side Of The Road, Days Like This, Wild NIght Whenever God..(I know this wasn't played at London) dropped from the set. They've been played to far too much, and in the case of Wild Night, Van just doesn't have the vocal chops for it anymore. After a promising start, this run of songs, after the ubiquitous, Baby Please Don't Go left me bored. On the other hand I really liked Foggy Day (appropriate for London)and The Party's Over. It was also fun to hear Heathrow Shuffle turn up as the intro for Broken Record. And The Healing.. stretched out just enough to save the gig for me, and was great to hear, but I'd rather new songs took the place of those 'classics' above. I mean Transformation is an excellent song.
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