Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The Music of Van Morrison
Carnegie Hall
21-March-2019


Mike Fishman checks in with his review of The Music of Van Morrison gig at Carnegie Hall in NYC:
With a venue as historic and acoustically sound as Carnegie Hall and an eclectic line-up of performers covering an array of musical styles, the Michael Dorf-presented Van Morrison tribute on March 21 promised an evening full of solid music. And indeed the night was “filled with space” and several welcome surprises. The surprises started early for me when I took my seat only to find sitting in the row behind me none other than the esteemed John Gilligan. Thus in good company, I settled in for the two hour show which proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable set of twenty Van songs covered by twenty artists. While some performances outshined others, all came from a place of deep appreciation for particular aspects of Van’s wide-ranging body of work.

The evening started strongly with Brian Fallon performing a rollicking “High Summer,” suggesting that the setlist would draw from some unexpected quarters of Van’s vast oeuvre. This was followed by an early highlight, the Blind Boys of Alabama wonderful reading of “By His Grace,” the song extended nicely at the end. Shawn Colvin’s “Tupelo Honey” was sweet but earthbound, even with the excellent house band’s strong-groove support. The arrangement melded the sweet as you-know-what album version with the loose extended takes Van used to do in concert in the late 70’s but Colvin’s cover just failed to soar. Marc Cohn’s take on “Into the Mystic” started strongly but had me pining for the original.

Amy Helm and NYC high school singer Jayri Alvarez offered a duet on “If I Ever Needed Someone.” Alvarez gave an impressive performance, alternately tentative and soaring. Lee Fields followed with a powerful “And It Stoned Me,” the horns and Fields’ soulful phrasing emphasizing the soul of Van’s classic country soul song. Too bad Al Green wasn’t invited to the party; imagine what he could do with “Angeliou”! A somewhat flat “Wild Night” followed from Robert Earl Keen (sorry to say that but no one can sing “Ooo-oo-oo-oo-whee” like Van circa 1971).

A major high point of the evening followed with Josh Ritter absolutely inhabiting “Linden Arden Stole the Highlights,” nearly making time stand still. The Resistance Revival Chorus followed with a rousing, pitch-perfect “Days Like This.” A dapper Richard Marx gave his all for an energetic “Domino” that nevertheless lacked the freshness of the original, followed by a sweet and earnest “Purple Heather” from Anderson East.

Valerie June’s singular take on “Sweet Thing” was a stand-out, her high pitch eliciting a few nervous laughs in the crowd at the start but her performance growing mesmerizing with surprisingly deep growls as she stalked the stage. Stunning and unique. William Elliott Whitmore gave a spirited take on "Real Real Gone," just him and his guitar and some terrific vocal wailing and even a few roars; it would have been something to have him tear into “Listen to the Lion.” Low Cut Connie worked the stage and the piano with flair for a solid “Here Comes The Night.”

Bettye LaVette’s intense and heartfelt vocalizing on “Have I Told You Lately” found her at first not quite in sync with the band which threatened to overwhelm her carefully timed delivery but they eventually clicked and the end result was a bluesy, powerful version of the song. John Paul White gave a remarkable version of the unexpected “You’re My Woman,” bringing out both the tenderness and intensity of the original. David Johansen gave us a “My Lonely Sad Eyes” that was passionate but lacking Van’s bark and slur. The Secret Sisters performed a fine “Precious Time” that was its usual odd combo of downbeat lyrics and upbeat tempo. Wouldn't it be fascinating if Van did a slow version of this song, as he did with "Tore Down a la Rimbaud"?



Coming to the close of the show. Glen Hansard performed a ferocious “Astral Weeks” accompanied only by his acoustic guitar which he tore at furiously, complete with audience sing-a-long, not something that comes along every day. At the end of his intense performance, he made a quip about originally mis-hearing the line “I got a home on high” as “I got a hormone high” which got a laugh and no doubt considerable recognition from the audience. (Well, the original album did not include a lyric sheet and there is after all the 14-year-old girl sung about on “Cyprus Avenue”…) Todd Rundgren followed, enthusiastic and in fine voice, with “Brown Eyed Girl.” While there was surely more he could have done with the radio hit, he sang it rather straightforward, encouraging a sing-a-long, which didn't make for a particularly distinctive performance. One wonders what Rundgren might have done with, say, “Madame George.”

As expected, Patti Smith closed the evening with her version of “Gloria,” which she introduced humorously and graciously. “I know he doesn't like this version but I'm thanking him anyway. Thank you, Van!" Smith brought the proceedings to an electrifying close with her punk meets Dylan take on the classic garage band tune, showing how much can be done with a basic riff and a poetic sensibility. Overall, it was a satisfying tribute to a singular artist whose stature will surely only continue to grow.
-Mike Fishman

Set List:
Brian Fallon, “High Summer”
Blind Boys of Alabama, “By His Grace”
Shawn Colvin, “Tupelo Honey”
Marc Cohn and Shawn Colvin, “Into the Mystic”
Amy Helm and Little Kids Rock, ”If I Ever Needed Someone”
Lee Fields & the Expressions, “And It Stoned Me”
Robert Earl Keen, “Wild Night”
Josh Ritter, “Linden Arden Stole the Highlights”
Resistance Revival Chorus, “Days Like This”
Richard Marx, “Domino”
Anderson East, “Purple Heather”
Valerie June, “Sweet Thing”
William Elliott Whitmore, “Real Real Gone”
Low Cut Connie, “Here Comes The Night”
Bettye LaVette, “Have I Told You Lately”
John Paul White, “You’re My Woman”
David Johansen, “My Lonely Sad Eyes”
Secret Sisters, “Precious Time”
Todd Rundgren, “Brown Eyed Girl”
Glen Hansard, “Astral Weeks”
Patti Smith, “Gloria”

Monday, March 18, 2019

17-March-2019
Subterania
London, England


Brendan checks in with 3rd & final night of Subterania run
Van Morrison and Joey De Francesco, Subterania, London, 17th March 2019
The third and final show of this run opened in lively fashion with Love The Life I Live followed by Things I Used To Do which featured a great organ solo by Joey. Miss Otis Regrets was even better than at Friday's show and Van was really immersed in it while Mr.Versatily (aka Joey) delivered a great trumpet solo. Moondance was notable for a great piano solo by Joey and was followed by the night's show stopper which was a medley of Teardrops, Your Friends, which Van credited to Bobby Bland who previously recorded it, and Take Your Hand out of My Pocket which Van credited to Sonny Boy Williamson. This medley not only included great piano and organ by Joey but also a saxaphone solo by him which Van answered on harmonica to great acclaim.It is hard to envisage the blues being sung and played better than this by anyone!

The fast version of Have I Told You Lately was followed by Roll With The Punches with Van on electric guitar and Joey excelling on organ throughout. The arrangement of Magic Time was better than the one I heard at Friday's show and this was followed by a rare instrumental featuring Van on saxaphone with excerpts initially from Celtic Excavation and then on into Celtic Swing. Goldfish Bowl featured a great saxaphone solo by Troy Roberts and rather inevitably Joey on organ. The Party's Over brought a bit of a lull to proceedings but the tempo was immediately lifted by a cover of Laughin' and Clownin' which featured really nice background saxaphone playing by Troy. Sack of Woe was followed by a somewhat shortened version of Ain't Gonna Moan No More before we got another real highlight with a slightly varied arrangement of Into The Mystic. Finally, the show was brought to a conclusion with Gloria after another all too short set time which clocked in at 77 minutes tonight.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Love The Life I Live
Things I Used To Do
Miss Otis Regrets
Moondance
Teardrops/Your Friends/Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Roll With The Punches
Magic Time
Celtic Excavation/Celtic Swing
Goldfish Bowl
The Party's Over
Laughin' and Clownin'
Sack of Woe
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Into The Mystic
Gloria

Set Time 1h 17m

16-March-2019
Subterania
London, England

15-March-2019
Subterania
London, England


Brendan sends in review of night on at Subterania
Van Morrison & Joey De Francesco at Subterania, London, 15th March 2019
As the joint billing suggested would occur this show drew very heavily on the collaborative material with Joey recorded on Van's last couple of albums. As with previous such shows Van used Joey's band plus Dana Masters on backing vocals and Teena Lyle on percussion and vocals. The first real highlight of the show emerged three songs into the set with a fine version of Miss Otis Regrets featuring a brilliant trumpet solo by Joey. Laughin' and Clownin' included excellent organ/piano solos by Joey and also featured a great solo by his saxophonist. Van strapped on his guitar to deliver a great version of Roll With the Punches which was followed by The Party's Over and Dimples.Worried Blues/Rollin' and Tumblin' were really strong and got a great audience reaction.Ain't Gonna Moan No More featured some lovely acoustic guitar and was followed by jazzy arrangements of Have I Told You Lately and Magic Time neither of which were as good as the original ones in my opinion. Teardrops merged into Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket and saw Joey display even further versatility by performing a nice saxaphone solo as a somewhat amused Van looked on approvingly. Got To Go Where The Love Is from the latest album was featured next to be followed by the title track The Prophet Speaks.This sounded almost identical to Ain't Gonna Moan No More and will mainly be remembered by audience members for the rather unedifying sight of Van standing in front of the bass player for an extended period to apparently deliver a public tutorial to him as to how he wanted the song played. I thought that's what rehearsals were designed for! Finally a shortened version of Gloria brought proceedings to a conclusion after an unacceptably shortened set time of merely 75 minutes.
The level of musicianship displayed throughout was at a very high level but these shows will appeal mostly to those who are happy to hear a set consisting almost entirely of jazz and blues numbers (the majority of which are cover versions). For anyone hoping to hear classic Van Morrison material it is pretty much non existent and the 'buyer beware' principle certainly applies.

Set List
Gonna Send You Back To Where I Got You From
Hold It Right There (Wait A Minute Baby)
Miss Otis Regrets
Laughin' and Clownin'
Roll With The Punches
The Party's Over
Dimples
Worried Blues/Rollin' and Tumblin'
Aint Gonna Moan No More
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Magic Time
Teardrops/Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket
Got To Go Where The Love Is
The Prophet Speaks
Gloria

Set Time Ih 15m

Saturday, March 02, 2019

Celtic Soul with the Arco String Quartet-Ulster Hall, Belfast - A celebration of the music of Van Morrison, 2nd March 2019


Brendan Hynes sends in hi thoughts on Van Tribute Band, Celtic Soul
This show represented the most ambitious show performed to date by top Van Morrison tribute band Celtic Soul and it was great to see the famed Ulster Hall packed for this celebration of the wonderful music of Van Morrison. The audience came from far and wide and it was probably one of the biggest gatherings of dedicated Van fans at one concert since the infamous Van shows on Cyprus Avenue in 2015.

The addition of strings (compliments of the Arco String Quartet) added a further dimension to the magical musical tour through Van’s wonderful back catalogue and they were particularly prominent on the four Astral Weeks songs performed namely Cyprus Avenue, The Way Young Lovers Do, Ballerina and Beside You (which also featured some beautiful guitar playing by Ray McEvoy). Caravan and Queen of the Slipstream also featured the string quartet prominently and to great effect. Other particular highlights for me on a night of many were The Healing Game, Philosophers Stone and Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (a great arrangement) but really there was no respite as the band delved deeply into Van’s outstanding collection of work.

Lead singer Clarke Wilson (who also plays fine saxophone) was very pleased to be on stage at the Ulster Hall for such a big show as he issued the words “Hello Belfast” on a number of occasions during it to considerable acclaim. Rumours that he was whisked away in a limousine at the end of the show have yet to be confirmed. Clarke was ably assisted by the aforementioned Ray on electric and acoustic guitar, Marcus McAuley(acoustic guitar),Rik Gay (drums),Keith Ward(piano and keyboards),Gerry McClurg (trumpet) , Mark Crockard (electric and double bass) and of course on this special night by the Arco String Quartet.

For anyone who has even a passing interest in the music of Van Morrison then a Celtic Soul concert will certainly not disappoint and the music is played with a reverence and competence totally befitting its quality.
-Brendan Hynes