30-January-2019
The Colosseum Caesars Palace
Las Vegas, USA

Brendan Hynes was in Vegas for gig
This was the third night of Van's 2019 Las Vegas residency (and first night of mine) and as Van and his band hit the stage exactly on time I was very pleased to see that Astral Week's guitarist Jay Berliner was augmenting the line up as his inclusion usually guarantees the delivery of some real classic Van material. As has become the norm for USA shows David Hayes(with somewhat shorter silver locks) was on bass instead of Paul Moore.

The show commenced in jazzy fashion with I Get A Kick Out Of You and Symphony Sid with the latter featuring a fine accoustic guitar solo by Jay Berliner.The Baby Please Don't Go medley featured Dave Keary prominently on guitar and was quickly followed by a lively Think Twice Before You Go and then Days Like This.Vocalist Dana Masters got a huge ovation for her contribution on Have I Told You Lately and was also very prominent on Sometimes We Cry which followed.This was a great version with crystal clear vocals from both Van and Dana. Wild Night was very well received and was followed by a really good version of Whenever God Shines His Light with Dana very prominent once more. Dana received even more acclaim following her contribution on Real Real Gone. Magic Time featured great solos by Jay on guitar and Paul Moran on trumpet and was followed by the jazzy Moondance and Broken Record (still stuck in the groove with 29 title references in the conclusion). Crazy Love was a pretty disappointing version and the tempo was much too fast but Cleaning Windows was much more impressive. When Van strapped on his electric guitar I anticipated some magic would follow and so it proved with Why Must I Always Explain followed immediately by a standout Vanlose Stairway with Van once more on electric guitar and Dana excelling on backing vocals. The Party's Over was followed by All In The Game which was a somewhat shortened version so it did not get the workshop treatment and instead made way for Jackie Wilson Said. The somewhat ironically titled Ain't Gonna Moan No More was the sole set inclusion from the new album and featured an amusing moment when Van shouted 'Satchmo' in Paul Moran's direction which was the cue for him to jump up suddenly from the keyboards and race over to deliver a fine trumpet solo.Did Ye Get Healed featured an incredible Jay guitar solo and brought the main set to a close.Van did return for an encore of Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria with the extended band jam session in the latter including yet another unbelievable guitar contribution from Jay, terrific vocals by Dana and percussionist Teena Lyle proving that her Las Vegas following is still intact.

Van was in fine voice throughout what was a strong performance.It was somewhat surprising though given the presence of Jay Berliner that no Astral Weeks songs were featured tonight but hopefully the Friday and Saturday night shows will deliver on that count.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
I Get A Kick Out Of You
Symphony Sid
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
Think Twice Before You Go
Days Like This
Have I Told You Lately(fast version)
Sometimes We Cry
Wild Night
Whenever God Shines His Light
Real Real Gone
Magic Time
Moondance
Broken Record
Crazy Love
Cleaning Windows/Shakin' All Over/ Be Bob A Lula
Why Must I Always Explain
Vanlose Stairway
The Party's Over
All In The Game
Jackie Wilson Said
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Did Ye Get Healed
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 49m (Van on stage 1h 37m)