28-April-2019
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, USA
Setlist (Thanks Robbie M.)
How Far From God
Symphony Sid
Baby Please Don’t Go/Don’t Start Cryin’ Now/Got My Mojo Workin’/Playhouse
Days Like This
Have I Told You Lately
Cleaning Windows/Bebop A Lula
Ain’t Gonna Moan No More
There Stands The Glass
Moondance/So What
Broken Record
Sometimes We Cry
Wild Night
Think Twice Before You Go
Vanlose Stairway (Van on piano)
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon/Big Joe Turner Sings/Raincheck/Sitting Pretty
Jackie Wilson Said
Help Me
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jay Berliner (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
25-April-2019
Chicago Theatre
Chicago, USA
Setlist (Thanks Art S.)
Back on Top
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Cryin' Now/Got My Mojo Workin'/Playhouse
Just a Little Bit w/James Hunter
Days like This
Have I Told You Lately w/Dana Masters
Ain't Gonna Moan no More
Magic Time
Moondance/So What/My Funny Valentine
Steal My Heart Away
Whenever God Shines His Light w/Dana Masters
There Stands The Glass
I Can't Stop Loving You
Vanlose Stairway (Van on piano)
Cleaning Windows/Be Bop A Lula
Ballerina
In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Big Joe Turner Sings/Raincheck/Sittin' Pretty
Help Me w/ James Hunter
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jay Berliner (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
24-April-2019
Chicago Theatre
Chicago, USA
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
How Far From God
Let’s Get Lost
Symphony Sid
Baby Please Don’t Go / Medley
Playhouse
Days Like This
Have I Told You Lately
Carrying A Torch
Precious Time
Sometimes We Cry
Help Me w/James Hunter
Little Village
Who Can I Turn To
Moondance
Broken Record
I Believe to My Soul
Wild Night
Cleaning Windows
Jackie Wilson Said
Party’s Over
In the Afternoon
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jay Berliner (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
23-April-2019
Chicago Theatre
Chicago, USA
Chicago Tribune (Source)
Van Morrison’s deft singing and resonant voice defied age, genre and rules Tuesday at the Chicago Theatre. Playing the first of a sold-out three-night stand, the Northern Ireland legend treated the relatively intimate venue like a private club at which he can call all the shots and make changes at a moment’s notice without any questions asked. Nattily adorned in frosted sunglasses, a fedora and a pin-striped suit, he also looked the part of an old-school musician — ready to assume control and refusing to accept no for an answer.
Yet the singer’s command, disposition and rich catalog weren’t the only reasons why the 100-minute set doubled as a clinic in the art of expressive performance. Morrison’s spectacular backing band, and each member’s largely wordless dialogue with their colleagues and the headliner, went beyond the aural faculties of the songs. Their interactions provided behind-the-scenes looks at not only the architecture of the arrangements, but made visible the seemingly divergent blend of cooperative looseness and intense focus required for such in-the-now creativity to thrive.
Long known for his reputation as a demanding bandleader, and currently in the midst of a recording outburst that has seen him release four albums within the past two years, Morrison projected an authoritative demeanor from the moment he stepped out on stage. He communicated by way of subtle hand gestures, severe arm motions, obvious stares and snapped fingers. If he wanted an unscripted solo, he pointed at the chosen instrumentalist. When a passage lacked the pace he desired, he turned and signaled for the drummer to switch up the beat, nodding his head once everything fell into place. He even cracked a smile on occasion.
Able to sense what should happen in a song before it does, the 73-year-old proved as much a conductor as singer, a conduit for ideas as much as a saxophonist. The restless jukebox blaring inside Morrison’s head meant the band could never take its eyes off one another or think a particular structure would remain unaltered from start to finish. Morrison continually tinkered and refined, bringing up certain elements, like the rubbery thrum of an upright bass or soft metallic sustain of a vibraphone, and dialing back others. And he got what he requested — shifting jazz- and R&B-based platforms for mystical exploration and spiritual adventure.
Primarily singing in a low-to-medium register, Morrison was parts velvety crooner, street-corner busker, blue-eyed soul belter, blues growler and fluid scat singer. He let emotion and spontaneity guide him, not necessarily lyrics or sounds. Morrison’s phrasing — the effortless manners in which he articulated syllables, offered hesitations, stretched spaces, contrasted legato and staccato deliveries — caused nearly every song to blossom with melodic surprise and meditative awareness.
Recast as a spry work unmoored from its balladic roots, “Have I Told You Lately” maintained its sincerity while displaying a newfound stride. A haunting version of “Saint James Infirmary” trekked to New Orleans, with Morrison’s sax duetting with a trumpet to send out the funereal standard with a decided swagger.
Ever mindful of history and place, the singer also paid homage to Chicago blues without merely aping the style. A rendition of “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and medley of “Baby, Please Don’t Go/Got My Mojo Working/Playhouse” paired sharp rhythms against swampy grooves. Similarly, even a few well-worn hits — “Moondance” and “Wild Night” included — sounded invigorated by way of reimagined swing, on-the-fly improvisation and Morrison’s trombone-like vocals.
“I want to know / Did you get the feeling,” the singer wondered on “Did Ye Get Healed.” On this evening, he needn’t harbor any doubt.
-Bob Gendron
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
How Far From God
Let’s Get Lost
Symphony Sid
Baby Please Don’t Go / Got My Mojo Working
Playhouse
Magic Time
Moondance
Days Like This
Enlightenment
Sometimes We Cry
Have I Told You Lately
St. James Infirmary
Broken Record
Wild Night
Ain’t Gonna Moan No More
Worried Blues / Rollin’ and Tumblin’
Talk Is Cheap
Cleaning Windows
Bright Side of the Road
Did Ye Get Healed
The Party’s Over
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jay Berliner (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
