Tuesday, November 14, 2017

13-November-2017
Symphony Hall 
Birmingham, England

Here's Brendan's review of gig:
Van Morrison began the show once more with a jaunty number called Wait A Minute Baby before moving briskly through Moondance which again included an excerpt from Look Beyond The Hill. Warm Love was very strong once more and was followed by Too Much Trouble.Magic Time featured a fine trumpet solo from Paul Moran before the Baby Please Don't Go medley and Here Comes The Night provided some 1960s nostalgia. Little Village made another welcome appearance and featured a nice trumpet solo from Paul Moran and Teena Lyle on xylophone. Days Like This was followed by the immediately recognisable intro to Did Ye Get Healed which featured Van on saxophone and Paul Moran yet again with a great trumpet solo. This was really good. Sometimes We Cry and Carrying A Torch were powerfully delivered by Van aided in no small part by Dana Masters on shared and backing vocals. The welcome Enlightenment was next up followed by Whenever God Shines His Light which featured several band solos. I Can't Stop Loving You featured Dave Keary on steel guitar and Dana once more on vocals.As Van debated which song to play next with the band, dedicated Van fan Chris seated in the front row shouted for Northern Muse to which Van readily agreed and he moved to sit at the piano. This was quite beautiful and when Van remained at the piano I was expecting another special moment which duly followed with a sublime Vanlose Stairway which saw Van fully in the zone hopping up and down from his seat at the piano before concluding with the phrase "Kilroy Was Here" over and over as Dana's lovely vocal ran simultaneously in the background. These two songs are the type of material I always hope to hear at a Van concert and they were quite simply magnificent. When Van returned to centre stage he embarked on a rip roaring Got My Mojo Working with the band at full throttle and Van doing a quite amusing mumbling/stuttering sound each time he came to say Mojo. Broken Record from the forthcoming album got another outing before the closing Brown Eyed Girl at which point Van departed before returning for Gloria. The band as usual showcased their talents and, in the absence of the early departed Dana, Paul Moore took the opportunity to do an extended funky bass solo which was rapturously received before Teena Lyle on percussion and Mez Clough on drums had another shoot out between them before the latter's extended drum solo brought proceedings to a close.

This was a top performance from Van who was fully engaged throughout and raided his vast musical vault to unearth some real gems for the highly appreciative audience.
-Brendan Hynes

Set Time 1h 41m

Setlist
Wait A Minute Baby
Moondance/Look Beyond The Hill
Warm Love
Too Much Trouble
Magic Time
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes The Night
Litttle Village
Days Like This
Did Ye Get Healed
Sometimes We Cry
Carrying A Torch
Enlightenment
Whenever God Shines His Light
I Can't Stop Loving You
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Vanlose Stairway
I Got My Mojo Working
Broken Record
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

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)

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