30-March-2025
Glasgow Concert Hall
Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow Concert Hall
Glasgow, Scotland
Brendan Hynes Sends in His Thoughts on Gig
In opening with a smooth instrumental version of Skye Boat Song, Van was seemingly paying his respects to his Scottish surroundings. He followed this song with a masterful version of Did Ye Get Healed which not only saw the brass section excel but also Dana Masters and Jolene O' Hara with superb backing vocals. Van was clearly very enthused as he encouraged both the band and the audience to clap along in unison towards it's conclusion which they did. When a rare performance of Little Village followed it was clear that this was going to be a special night and when Van then sat behind the piano and introduced the Ray Charles song What Would I Do? the bar was raised even higher with it's delivery with Van really into it and great solos from John McCullough on organ and Chris White on saxophone. After the band had brought the sound level way down low Van rather amusingly said "don't stop playing"!! When Van remained on piano for a beautiful rendition of Northern Muse I was thinking that this was the most magical start to a Van Morrison concert I had heard in a long time.
After performing Enlightenment and Days Like This Van suddenly exclaimed "By The Way, Happy Mother's Day" in recognition of the day that was in it.
Have I Told You Lately saw Dana feature prominently and even more so on Someone Like You which followed with Van on piano once more. It was beautiful and much appreciated by the very respectful Glasgow audience.
Ain't Gonna Moan No More got the full treatment with extended band solos while Only A Dream saw Van in meditative mode as he repeated the words " all change" and "church bells chime" at the song's conclusion for an extended time.
Green Rocky Road was indeed quite rocky at the outset as Van quickly removed the electric guitar he had strapped on and asked the unfortunate crew member who brought out a replacement and took away the offending instrument "how did that happen?". Van was clearly unhappy with the replacement guitar and handed it back as well before continuing to sing for a couple of minutes without any guitar until finally one was delivered in satisfactory working order at which point I was able to settle back down once more in my seat!
The opening line of Real Real Gone saw an audience member seated near me seemingly become overcome by the brilliance of it all when pointing at Van before exclaiming "He's A Genius"!! The song itself was merged with You Send Me and featured Dana and Jolene prominently and to great effect.
As the show neared it's conclusion Van introduced a Junior Wells blues song called Snatch It Back And Hold It which he and the band fairly thundered through at pace. If this song is a sneak preview of some of the songs to be performed at the forthcoming Blues Project shows in Mandela Hall, Belfast then it certainly augers well.
Gloria featured as the last song of the main set with no encore. The band featured extensively as ever on this number and with Jolene reaching an extremely high vocal pitch during her vocal contribution which got great audience appreciation.
Van was in fine voice throughout the show and very committed to the songs performed aided in no small measure by the superb contribution of his band and backing vocalists.
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist
Skye Boat Song
Did Ye Get Healed?
Little Village
What Would I Do
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Enlightenment
Days Like This
No Other Baby
Have I Told You Lately
Someone Like You
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Only A Dream
Green Rocky Road
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Snatch It Back & Hold It
Gloria
Skye Boat Song
Did Ye Get Healed?
Little Village
What Would I Do
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Enlightenment
Days Like This
No Other Baby
Have I Told You Lately
Someone Like You
Ain't Gonna Moan No More
Only A Dream
Green Rocky Road
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Snatch It Back & Hold It
Gloria
Set Length I h 44m.
Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Sam Burgess(Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)
Sam Burgess(Bass)
John McCullough (Keyboards)
Neal Wilkinson (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)
Jolene O'Hara (Vocals)
Alan 'Sticky' Wicket (Percussion)
Christopher White (Saxaphone)
Matt Holland (Trumpet)
