07-May-2018
Millennium Forum
Derry, Northern Ireland

Brendan check's in with night 2 from Derry
The first five songs performed tonight were identical to those at the concert the night before and as Van then strapped on his electric guitar he suddenly became quite chatty and announced that as the audience might have guessed by now this was the blues and jazz set before he ran through a brief summary of the songs already performed. Automobile Blues which followed was well delivered and featured fine guitar and organ solos by Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. How Far From God followed and was really good once more while Sometimes We Cry was very strong with the additional feature of a brief vocal exchange between Van and an audience member who shouted down from the balcony which culminated with Van explaining to him that the song was about Johnny Ray. Have I Told You Lately (fast version) and the Baby Please Don't Go medley raised the tempo before another fine rendition of I Believe To My Soul. Did Ye Get Healed was terrific once again while Saint James Infirmary was well delivered and received. When introducing The Party's Over,Van said it is off the Versatile album and asked if the audience had heard of it and that it is in the jazz charts before going on to say that they used to do comedy but this is serious!In The Afternoon was really good once more while it lasted but is was a somewhat shortened version apparently to make way for the rather surprising inclusion of Brown Eyed Girl given Van's earlier comment about the type of set being performed tonight. This was the final song of the main set but Van did return for an encore of Gloria which included a rather comical moment when Van was ready to depart but realised his mobile microphone wasn't on stage after looking everywhere for it while Dana Masters peered anxiously over the top of her own microphone stand as if she was hoping that it would somehow magically appear and the crisis would pass. Mercifully the missing microphone was swiftfully delivered on stage and it's brief absence didn't hinder Van's rather premature departure after a mere 79 minutes on stage. Even the band's extended solos didn't stretch the set time beyond a rather meagre 85 minutes. Precious time was clearly ticking away!

This show and the previous few jazz shows by Van have seen him pay homage to a number of the jazz and blues artists who influenced him initially and set him on his musical path. He has journeyed on that path with great distinction over the following years to such an extent that the vast majority of the rather limited number of his own compositions included in recent jazz sets have shone like a beacon when performed alongside the old standards and in my view represent the achievement of even higher levels of musical excellence by Van to those reached by the revered artists to whom he clearly feels indebted musically.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Hold It Right There
The Way Young Lovers Do
Let's Get Lost
Magic Time
Symphony Sid
Brand New Automobile
How Far From God
Sometimes We Cry
Have I Told You Lately
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Believe To My Soul
Did Ye Get Healed
Saint James Infirmary
The Party's Over
In The Afternoon
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 25m

03-May-2018
Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Cheltenham, England

Brendan Hynes was at the gig
Van Morrison certainly indulged his jazz influences tonight with somewhat of a jazz overload as three of the songs played feature on the new You're Driving Me Crazy album and no less than five on the previous album Versatile. The show opened as usual with Hold It Right There featuring Paul Moran on trumpet extensively. Paul also featured prominently on the following The Way Young Lovers Do as he alternated feverishly between piano and trumpet as he has evidently not yet perfected the art of playing both instruments simultaneously. Let's Get Lost was the first of the Versatile songs performed and was followed by a real Van favourite in Magic Time. Symphony Sid featured Dana Masters on vocals and was followed by the instrumental Affirmation which to me sounded much better live than on record and while it is quite basic it has that unmistakable Van instrumental sound at it's core.How Far From God livened proceedings considerably before we were treated to the wonderful Wild Honey. Moondance was notable for the audience ovation for Teena Lyle after a fine vibraphone solo which proved that she is not just big in Las Vegas. I Believe To My Soul was very strong and featured Dave Keary prominently on guitar while Saint James Infirmary featured Paul Moran extensively on organ throughout (except when he was playing trumpet when obviously the organ playing stopped). Did Ye Get Healed was a welcome inclusion and was really good with great organ and guitar solos while Dana sang "it's getting better and better" over and over as Van brought the song towards it's conclusion.After I Get A Kick Out of You represented yet another Versatile track it was time once more to fasten our seatbelts as Van took us on a journey down the ancient highway In The Afternoon and then high on a hill looking down on the ancient highway.The female backing vocals were great during this song and crystal clear.Broken Record brought us rapidly back down to earth while The Party's Over was a pretty uninspired song choice to follow. When Help Me followed one knew the end was nigh and I fully expected to hear the usual " big hand for the band" from Van but instead he concluded the song and went straight into a most welcome Ballerina which went down a storm.As Van departed the stage he hung in the wings for quite a while still singing before finally Paul Moran's booming voice announced "Sir Van Morrison" over and over while Van made his departure and he did not return. The band went into overdrive at this stage with Dana on vocals and Paul Moore with an extended bass solo dead heating for first place based on the audience reaction.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Hold It Right There (Wait A Minute Baby)
The Way Young Lovers Do
Let's Get Lost
Magic Time
Symphony Sid
Affirmation
How Far From God
Wild Honey
Moondance
I Believe To My Soul
Saint James Infirmary
Did Ye Get Healed
I Get A Kick Out Of You
In The Afternoon
Broken Record
The Party's Over
Help Me
Ballerina

Set Time 1h 38m