12-September-2018
Forest Hills Stadium
New York, USA
Forest Hills Stadium
New York, USA
New York's Michael Fishman on Van in Queens, NY
Van figuratively blew the roof off the open air Forest Hills Stadium Tuesday night. With a band that included Jay Berliner and David Hayes, Van opened with The Way Young Lovers Do, the first of four songs he would perform in a nod to the 50th Anniversary of Astral Weeks .A tight Sweet Thing followed with lots of focused singing and improvisation from Van, followed by Mose Allison’s Benediction, a wistful Magic Time, a swinging Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, One Irish Rover, whose measured rhythm nicely captured the mood of the original recording, a taste of the blues with Baby Please Don’t Go -- Here Comes The Night that had a few people near me dancing, followed by Wonderful Remark, which remarkably kept one of the people dancing, a nice surprise in Enlightenment, which while not particularly special was striking to hear in the open (and misty wet with rain) air in the packed little stadium. Then came Beside You, striking on an altogether different level, impressive in Van’s commitment: gesturing, telling a story, painting a picture, hearkening back to 1968 yet infused with the past five decades of Van’s wide-ranging musical explorations. Jazzy, soulful, bluesy, folky, aching. The performance was aided mightily by the classical guitar of Jay Berliner, who masterfully recreated his work from the original album.What better to follow this momentary bit of transcendence than a rousing Wild Night that proved a surprisingly smooth transition and had the by-now beyond appreciative audience singing “Ooooooooooowheee” to Van, no doubt taking many back to their first spins of Tupelo Honey. Moondance followed with Van on sax taking the music into serious jazz, So What/My Funny Valentine territory. There’s a particular magic to Van’s original recording that could never be recreated but it’s a testament to the strength of the melody that the main theme can be improvised upon so easily and segue so smoothly into the slow swing of So What. Broken Record followed with the audience laughing in delight. By now, certainly, it was apparent that Van’s voice is in fine shape and his timing impeccable; no shouting, on top of the beat but not rushed, deep, round, aged like a fine wine and, as ever, pushing and pulling the words along, stretching out vowels, alternating fast and slow line readings. Van then strapped on the guitar and what could have been Vanlose Stairway proved to be Why Must I Always Explain. A fine version but I can't deny I was hoping for a Vanlose Stairway.
And then, and then...In The Afternoon. An absolute powerhouse, Van delving deep, opening the door to the workshop, showing us how the works gets done, picking up the sack, Flip Flop and Fly, the Ancient Highway, the factories, “We’ll be walking and talking on miles of golden sand,” stage darkened towards end of hushing song then a spotlight on Van “Take my hand and SQUEEEEZE!” Wow. But as usual with Van, no time to float on that particular heaven because Symphony Sid followed immediately. Well, anyone’s who’s seen Van knows he’s not one to bask in applause. It’s a job, you know, and he has to get on with the show. So, bing bang bing bang...hard to not tap your feet or bob your head to this jazzy chestnut. Then finally Brown-Eyed Girl for all the Brown-Eyed Girl fans waiting patiently. This perhaps over-played chart-topper was surprisingly followed by a grand Ballerina, another wow, harkening back to the evening’s Beside You. Van the troubadour again gesturing, performing the song, bringing the images to life, the alternately gentle and insistent lines sung with deep passion, yet the approach and voice naturally changed from the years, Van’s humor coming through, “Here come the fuzz!” and a voice that still growls like a lion but it’s an older lion, five decades worth of blues, jazz, soul and folk returning, the voice still rich, still eternal, but more rooted in sold ground than clouds on high, a tale of youth filtered through the prism of time. Not only is Van’s voice still as strong as ever but his unique searching continues; he still takes single words and stretches them out, twisting and turning the vowels, holding a note until all meaning starts to disappear, moving into pure sound. As far as that Voice is concerned, even just the passion that Van earlier injected into a single and very singular “Yo!” in Have I Told You Lately That I Love You was worth the price of admission and sitting in the rain. Well, we were in the garden, after all, and the garden is often wet with rain. It’s where we go to get clean.
-Mike Fishman
Setlist
The Way Young Lovers Do
Sweet Thing
Benediction
Magic Time
Have I Told You Lately (Vegas version)
One Irish Rover
Baby Please Don't Go
Here Comes The Night
Wonderful Remark
Enlightenment
Beside you
Wild Night
Moondance
Broken Record
Why Must I Always Explain
In the afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck/Burning Ground
Symphony sid
Brown Eyed Girl
Ballerina
Gloria
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jay Berliner (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
