04-April-2022
 Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

London, England

Brendan was at gig & sent in his thoughts 

Night One 

Chris Farlowe got proceedings under way with a short set backed by Van's full band and the set included covers of songs by Bobby Bland and Solomon Burke before finishing with what Chris emphasised was the original version of Handbags and Gladrags as recorded by him. 

Van's set commenced with the instrumental Caledonia Swing (no doubt inspired by its inclusion on the Belfast film soundtrack) before being followed as has become the norm by three songs from Latest Record Project including the title track. Days Like This was followed by the first real highlight in Someone Like You and while the speeded up jazzy 'Las Vegas' style version did few favours to the song, Elle Cato's magnificent vocals certainly did with her voice complementing Van's superbly. I Forgot That Love Existed was a welcome inclusion after which Chris Farlowe joined Van for a quick fire trio of songs namely Hey Mr.DJ, Stormy Monday (featuring an excellent Dave Keary guitar solo) and Born to Sing. It was good to hear And It Stoned Me and These Dreams of You which have recently been included in set lists. Carrying a Torch was a standout song which once more featured Elle Cato to great effect. Following the ending of Dead Or Alive, which Van seemed unhappy with, he shouted 'Healing Game' to the band in response to an earlier audience request for the song but he sadly abandoned it following the intro without singing a word while informing the audience that the band didn't know how to play it. This caused much disappointment among attendees who were elated at the opportunity of hearing this classic song in concert only to have it removed so abruptly. Maybe next time? The show then ended rather predictably with Down To Joy, Help Me and the encore of Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria bringing it to a conclusion.
-Brendan Hynes 

Setlist (Thanks Brendan Hynes) 

Caledonia Swing 

Latest Record Project 

Up County Down 

Double Agent 

Days Like This 

Someone Like You 

I Forgot That Love Existed 

Hey Mr. DJ (with Chris Farlowe) 

Stormy Monday (with Chris Farlowe) 

Born To Sing (with Chris Farlowe) 

And It Stoned Me 

These Dreams Of You 

Ain't Gonna Moan No More 

Magic Time 

Carrying A Torch 

Precious Time 

Enlightenment 

Dead Or Alive 

The Healing Game (abandoned after intro) 

Down To Joy 

Help Me 

Brown Eyed Girl 

Gloria (with Chris Farlowe)

Big Hand for The Band!

Chris White (Saxophone)
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Richard Dunn (Keyboards)
Teena Lyle (Percussion)
Colin Griffin (Drums)
Elle Cato (Vocals)