23-November-2014
Great Hall
 Downpatrick 
Northern Ireland

via David K.

After the previous evening’s concert it was with a great sense of anticipation that I made my way to the second of Van Morrison’s concerts at Downshire Estate. The concert started very promisingly with the instrumental Caledonian Swing replacing the regular Celtic Swing opener and providing a nice variation. As was the case the night before, Blue Money followed to the great delight of the audience. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child was next and I felt it was even better than the night before. In particular, Paul Moran was given the latitude to play an extended organ solo which was quite exceptional and further enhanced the magnificence of what we were hearing. Melancholia featured Dana Masters prominently on vocals and a great piano solo from Paul Moran in a wonderful arrangement. Van then gave us another rare gem in The Streets Only Knew Your Name which was quite beautiful. Everything was going great but then the first signs of turbulence appeared as the band launched into Wavelength but without any vocal contribution from Van for the first couple of verses. A stage crew member came on with what appeared to be a lyric sheet but it wasn’t clear whether Van had drawn a blank on the lyrics or there was something else he was unhappy about. When the song finally took off with Van finally on board (much to the relief of the audience who were holding their collective breath) there was some great guitar playing from Dave Keary before the band brought the song to what proved to be a premature end while Van continued to sing resulting in them having to start up again. It was somewhat shambolic and whatever the reason it was clear that Van and the band were not on this occasion on the same wavelength. The wonderful Queen of the Slipstream brought the concert back onto an even keel followed by Sometimes We Cry featuring Dana Masters on shared vocals. At this point Van engaged briefly with the audience to tell us he was going to change things around a bit and do a number off the country album. What followed was a song called More and More but pretty quickly I knew I would be quite happy to hear less and less of this particular song. When Days Like This and Precious Time followed in quick procession I sensed a distinct shift in emphasis and so it proved. Nonetheless, a pretty rip roaring Think Twice Before You Go livened things up again somewhat followed by Open The Door and In The Midnight which featured Dave Keary doing the high pitched vocal piece and impressing Van so much he got him to do it again. Van then gave us a really thunderous version of John Lee Hooker’s Boogie Chillun which is really quite infectious. Magic Time was pleasant but no more than that but Higher Than The World elevated things once again before Van coasted firmly into festival set territory to finish the concert with Jackie Wilson Said, Whenever God Shines His Light,Real Real Gone and Brown Eyed Girl. The concert finished very tamely dead on 90 minutes with no encore and the band not bothering to do any real extended instrumental workout after Van had departed.

The concert ddidn'tscale the heights of the previous night’s show and Van clearly wasn’t anything like as animated but there was so much good(and at times great) music in there(particularly the opening 7 songs) that it still for me provided plenty to enjoy and savour. It was just a pity it ended in a pretty downbeat manner as this can often be the abiding memory that one is left with afterwards.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist (Thanks to David/Pablo)
Caledonian Swing (Instrumental)
Blue Money
Motherless Child
Melancholia
Streets Only Knew Your Name
Wavelength
Queen of the Slipstream
Sometimes We Cry
More and More
Days Like This
Precious Time
Think Twice Before You Go
Open The Door (To Your Heart)
In The Midnight
Boogie Chillun
Magic Time
Higher Than The World
Jackie Wilson Said
Whenever God Shines His Light
Real Real Gone
Brown Eyed Girl

Big Hand for The Band!
Chris White (Saxophone)
Alistair White (Trombone)
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

22-November-2014
Great Hall
 Downpatrick 
Northern Ireland

This was the first night of Van Morrison’s two night stint at this intimate venue and reports coming back from those who had heard some of the sound check promised the unearthing of some rare musical gems. Happily these reports proved well founded and after the usual Celtic Swing opener Van launched into a really vibrant Blue Money which I don’t recall hearing live previously so it was a real treat. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child followed and this was quite magnificent with backing vocalist Dana Masters making a significant contribution to it’s delivery. 

Next up was a beautiful arrangement of Melancolia which far exceeded the recorded version in my estimation. Without getting time to draw breath we were then brought into mystical territory with a wonderful Someone Like You during which Dana Masters’s superb soulful voice extracted a spontaneous round of applause from the audience. I felt she stole Van’s thunder somewhat on this one but I’m sure he doesn't mind. It was just getting better and better and a thunderous Wavelength followed with superb guitar playing from Dave Keary. The always welcome Enlightenment was followed by a brisk Choppin Wood before Van launched into an extended blues/rock and roll medley starting with Baby Please Don’t Go then onto Parchman Farm before Van and the band let loose on Don’t Start Crying Now/Boppin the Blues/Mean Woman Blues/Shake Rattle and Roll. Van and the band were in rip roaring form during this medley and it fairly brought the house down. A rather short Rough God was ended quickly by Van who seemed unhappy with something so De Niro, Pesci and Clint impressions did not feature at all. 

Magic Time featured some nice piano from Paul Moran who also excelled with a great organ solo on the following number, In the Midnight. Fairly routine versions of Moondance and St. James Infirmary were followed by a fairly rare rendition of Glad Tidings which featured a lot of hand clapping from the band with which the audience joined in. Keep it Simple was sung with great conviction by Van who spat the lyrics out as if he really meant them. The start of this song featured a cameo appearance by one of Van’s crew who upon hearing the opening line charged onto the stage holding Van’s ukulele only to be met by a look from Van which sent him scurrying back off even quicker still holding the ukulele. Great entertainment! The opening bars of Help Me indicated that the night was coming to a close but not before Van brought proceedings right down to a whisper before engaging in a monologue during which he had some sort of imaginary conversation asking whether the person he was talking to was referring to “you know who?” while also making references to blackmail. I don’t really know what this was about but it was certainly something different. Van then thanked the band and departed the stage before returning for a funked up version of Gloria which moved into I Feel Good and gave the band the latitude to really cut loose which they did.

The show clocked in at 1h45m and was a really good one. The inclusion of the rarely played numbers brought an added dimension to the show and served to emphasise the wealth of material in Van’s armoury much of which has been sadly neglected over the years but since the publication of it Lit Up Inside seems to have been revisited by Van which is good news for all his fans.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist (Thanks David K./Pablo G.)
Celtic Swing
Blue Money
Motherless Child
Melancholia
Someone Like You
Wavelength
Enlightenment
Choppin' Wood
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm
Rough God Goes Riding
Magic Time
In The Midnight
Moondance
St James Infirmary
Glad Tidings
Keep it Simple
Help Me/Lonely Avenue
Gloria

Big Hand for The Band!
Chris White (Saxophone)
Alistair White (Trombone)
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

26-May-2013
Castleward 
Downpatrick, Nothern Ireland

Via Maurice K.

Setlist
Celtic Swing
Only a Dream
Days Like This
Pagan Heart
Baby Please Don't Go
Precious Time
Brown Eyed Girl
Moondance
Born To Sing
I Can't Stop Loving You
Sometimes We Cry
Enlightenment
Have I Told You Lately 
Help Me
Whenever God Shines His Light
Star of the County Down
Jackie Wilson Said
Here Comes the Night
Gloria