20-November-2017
St. Davids Hall 
Cardiff, Wales

Brendan sends in this review:
The sixth show on Van Morrison's UK tour commenced once more with Wait A Minute Baby, Moondance/Look Beyond The Hill and Warm Love before another fine rendition of Magic Time. The slow arrangement of Back On Top was an indication that Van was going to shake things up again tonight and so it proved.The Baby Please Don't Go etc.medley featured I'm Movin' On on this occasion and was followed by Bo Diddley's I Can Tell featuring Van playing maracas and a lovely guitar solo by Dave Keary. When Van made his way to the piano magic ensued with another great Vanlose Stairway which included great organ by Paul Moran.This was unsurprisingly ecstatically received but before the excitement had abated Van launched straight into Someone Like You on which Dana Masters excelled on vocals along with Van of course.This was poetry in motion and the sheer beauty of its delivery ensured there were probably very few dry eyes in the hall. Marvellous! Before we got too carried away Van announced a song from his new album to be released on December 1st which turned put to be Bye Bye Blackbird.While Van put his heart and soul into it and sang it well there was only so much he could do with the raw material at his disposal. Next Van announced a new arrangement of Have I Told You Lately but it was the fast one he has been playing quite a while. Teena Lyle was very exuberant during this rendition and literally jumped in the air at one point such was her excitement (maybe it will become her party piece).Broken Record from the Versatile album got another airing and again featured several good band solos.Van clearly really enjoys singing this and he sang the repetitive punch line towards the end over and over with great gusto.Whenever God was a high tempo rendition with Paul Moore doing a really good bass solo.Jackie Wilson Said increased the tempo before Van slowed things right down for an excellent In The Afternoon. Van strapped on his guitar for Automobile Blues which saw Paul Moran excell once more on organ following which Van left on his guitar for a really good Why Must I Always Explain, although Van's trademark guitar contribution at the end was shorter than I would have liked.Help me indicated that we were in the finishing straight and sure enough Van departed before returning to perform Brown Eyed Girl.When Van departed once more it seemed that was the end but we then had the welcome sight of Van signaling to the band to cut it short as he returned for a second encore of Gloria.Van has recently started to encourage some crowd participation when performing this and tonight was no exception.The usual band showcase followed Van's departure with Dave Keary's extended guitar solo winning out tonight. Teena Lyle and Mez Clough on percussion and drums respectively had another rather amusing joust with Teena armed with a whistle tonight in an apparent attempt to gain a competitive edge.

This was another impressive performance by Van and his musicians which went down a treat with the audience who were virtually all on their feet towards the end.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Wait A Minute Baby
Moondance/Look Beyond The Hill
Warm Love
Magic Time
Back On Top
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/ Don't Start Crying Now/I'm Movin' On
I Can Tell
Vanlose Stairway
Someone Like You
Bye Bye Blackbird
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Broken Record
Whenever God Shines His Light
Jackie Wilson Said
In The Afternoon
Automobile Blues
Why Must I Always Explain
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 40m

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)