24-November-2017
Princess Theatre 
Torquay, England

Brendan checks in from Torquay
From the outset, and despite being seated in the front row, this concert was blighted for me by the modern malaise of the concert attendees who feel entitled to talk and laugh loudly whenever they choose throughout the entire concert.It started almost immediately with two men seated right behind me who blissfully ignored my many requests to be quiet and after about twenty minutes two women arrived with drinks in hand into the front row and proceeded to continue their bar discussion almost directly in front of Van and they also most vociferously refused to accede to requests to show some consideration and be quiet during the songs. Afterwards one of the male members of the noisy brigade triumphantly stated that he had flown in from the USA for the show ( which strikes me as a long way to come for a chat and a few laughs) while one of the females told me that I should stay at home with my headphones on if I expect to listen to music without people talking as that is what going to concerts involves! Sadly that is the actual reality facing real music lovers attending concerts these days.

Obviously it is impossible to enjoy a concert under such circumstances but for the record Van started once more with Wait A Minute Baby, Moondance (without Look Beyond The Hill tonight) and Warm Love which unfortunately for me featured tuneless vocals from the two male offenders seated behind me and left me hoping that Van would choose really obscure material tonight which they might not be familiar with. Back On Top and Magic Time were followed by Days Like This which Van didn't appear to be expecting nor did some band members as the start was somewhat chaotic. The Baby Please Don't Go medley was followed by I Can Tell after which we had the now regular sight of Van moving behind the piano for another fine rendition of Vanlose Stairway followed once more by another beautiful performance of Someone Like You.These two songs were far and away the highlights of the concert for me.

Van then said he was going to do a tribute for Jon Hendricks (jazz singer) who passed away in the last couple of days and did Sack of Woe. Symphony Sid was notable for Dana Masters vocals to supplement Van's and was followed by the dreaded Bye Bye Blackbird.Somehow I doubt that very many attendees of Van concerts are hoping to hear this song instead of Van's own quality material and even his best vocal efforts can't do much with the song. The fast version of Have I Told You Lately was succeeded by Van introducing Broken Record off the forthcoming album before Bright Side of The Road saw Van give his Louis Armstrong impression a good airing. Automobile Blues featured a great organ solo by Paul Moran before the lights went down low for In The Afternoon. This was a dramatically shortened version and made way for Brown Eyed Girl yet again to finish the show. When the intro to In The Garden saw Van return for an encore it lifted my spirits but as with In The Afternoon it was a rushed short version.These two songs may make the set list look more impressive but when performed in such a manner they might as well not be included at all as Van wasn't putting his best efforts into them by any means. After another exit Van returned once more for Gloria to finish the show.

After the real highs of more recent shows (particularly the superb Liverpool show) this show was disappointing for me by comparison.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Wait A Minute Baby
Moondance
Warm Love
Back On Top
Magic Time
Days Like This
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start' Crying Now/Custard Pie
I Can Tell
Vanlose Stairway
Someone Like You
Sack of Woe
Symphony Sid
Bye Bye Blackbird
Have I Told You Lately
Broken Record
Bright Side of the Road
Automobile Blues
In The Afternoon
Brown Eyed Girl
In The Garden
Gloria

Set Time 1h 39m

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)