20-November-2015
3 Arena
 Dublin, Ireland

Brendan Hynes sent in this review
This was Van's first full concert show back in Dublin since the particularly triumphant one back in early 2012. Despite being seated in the front row it was my misfortune to encounter probably the most ignorant and noisy group of people (who were visitors from abroad) I have ever had to endure at a seated concert in the row behind who talked and laughed loudly throughout the entire concert (apart from the first two songs which they missed as they were still stocking up their drinks at the bar). Repeated requests to desist were met with derisory responses and they informed me that "Man,this is a rock concert" as an explanation. They reserved the maximum level of talking and laughing for the quietest numbers particularly And the Healing Has Begun, All In The Game and In The Garden. Wonderful!

The concert itself started pretty tamely with Van racing through Celtic Swing, Close Enough For Jazz, Magic Time, Days Like This and Keep It Simple in quick succession none of which reached any great heights in my opinion. A really strong version of Playhouse brought both the band and audience to life and featured a brilliant trumpet solo from Paul Moran. Sometimes We Cry featured a strong duet with Dana Masters with Van also playing some tambourine. The Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie medley went down a treat and was notable for Van's change of wording during Parchman Farm to Communion Wine which he attributed to someone changing his script. Before embarking on In The Afternoon Van asked the audience if they were alright and if the people up the back could hear. While Van brought us down the ancient highway and onto the overpass that's as far as we got and the song ended quite abruptly before it really went anywhere. Talk Is Cheap was pretty ordinary fare but Not Feeling It Anymore was anything but with Van swaying over and back at the microphone and his feet shuffling as he sang.The audience loved this one and roared their approval. Things I Used To Do did very little for me but was followed by a strong Why Must I Always Explain with Van on electric guitar. The guitar stayed on for a welcome rendition of And The Healing Has Begun which didn't go on for as long as I would have liked but was great while it lasted. Whenever God Shines His Light was well delivered and received prompting a few dancers to emerge from the crowd. All In The Game got as far as No Plan B but not much further so we were not transported to the Burning Ground on this occasion as Van quite quickly departed the stage. Van returned for a lively Help Me before asking for a "big hand for the band" and exiting once more. As the annoying 90 minute mark had not yet been reached Van did return once more for a welcome and well received In The Garden which saw Van invoke the help of the 'holy guardian angels' before the 'no guru no method no teacher' chant after which he departed into the night leaving the band to excel with splendid solos culminating in Dana doing some great vocal work which drew a storm of approval from the audience. The reaction at the end was so strong that it prompted keyboard player Paul Moran to take an audience photo for posterity. Set time was 1h 37m.

-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Magic Time
Days Like This
Keep It Simple
Playhouse
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
In The Afternoon
Talk Is Cheap
Not Feeling It Anymore
Things I Uses To Do
Why Must I Always Explain
And The Healing Has Begun
Whenever God Shines His Light
All In The Game
Help Me
In The Garden

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

10-December-2014
Olympia Theatre
 Dublin, Ireland

via Pablo G.

Brendan sent in his thoughts on the show
The question I pondered in the build up to this show was whether the magic of the inaugural Lit Up Inside show in The Lyric Theatre in London the previous month could be repeated. The resounding answer delivered at the Olympia was that it most certainly could and this was another marvelous night for dedicated Van Morrison fans in particular.

via Pablo G.

The format was similar to the London show with Eamon Hughes, editor of Van’s Lit Up Inside book, doing the introductions before some footage from an old BBC Arena programme was shown of Van and Bob Dylan singing Foreign Window in Greece. Van was then introduced for a question and answer session largely conducted by author Ian Rankin but with some input also from Eamon Hughes.If anything, Van was even more relaxed this time round and really warmed to the process as it developed. Interestingly, the questions explored differed significantly from the London show and Van somehow got drawn into areas one might not have anticipated including a reference to a book written by Morrissey which Van was clearly very impressed by as he really enthused about its brilliance. At this point Ian Rankin somewhat mischievously interjected to say that Morrissey is not like Van at all because Morrissey is grumpy. This seemed to go over Van’s head despite Ian repeating the comment but it was not lost on the audience who laughed heartily. Van also got quite animated talking about Spike Milligan and a performance he had given where a cat ran on to the stage and according to Van the cat did a 30 minute performance. This all went down great with the audience who would not normally encounter Van’s humour and wit to such a degree.

Van with Edna O'Brien

Following the interview there was a short film of Van in discussion with poet Michael Longley followed by readings of some of Van’s lyrics by Michael Longley (Coney Island and Into The Mystic) and by Irish broadcaster Marty Whelan (Tore Down A La Rimbaud and Madame George).The latter, who was hugely enthusiastic about Van’s work, was unable in my view to match Edna O’Brien’s mesmeric readings of both songs at the London show, particularly Madame George.

After a short interval the concert performance commenced with the rarely played Alan Watts Blues in a really nice arrangement followed by stirring performances of Tore Down A La Rimbaud and Wonderful Remark. The beautiful Foreign Window followed and while it was great the brilliant acoustic guitar work of Dave Keary which was so prominent at the London show was somewhat drowned out by Van’s electric guitar on this occasion which was a pity. Coney Island conjured up lovely images in our minds and was followed by Magic Time which was one of two additions to the London set list (the other one being Moondance as the penultimate number).In introducing Why Must I Always Explain, Van informed us this was a re-write of Tupelo Honey and this version featured Van on electric guitar with the legs pumping as he sang over his solo in that inimitable style of his. Incredibly when the song had just finished an audience member shouted out looking for Tupelo Honey to which Van replied like a shot “we just played it!”.Van then brought us through Celtic Excavation with nice saxophone playing from him and on Into the Mystic. This was quite incredible and Van brought things down to a whisper as he stepped away from the microphone and then back and then away again gently whispering the lyrics to a totally silent Olympia. It was hard to follow that but Madame George wasn’t far behind and it is great to be treated to such a classic from the vaults again. Moondance brought proceedings to a halt as Van thanked the band while the audience clapped along enthusiastically with their closing instrumental workout. This was not quite the end however as Van returned one more time to deliver On Hyndford Street to leave the audience truly healed having enjoyed a really magic time in the presence of the undisputed musical genius that is Van Morrison.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Alan Watts Blues
Tore Down at La Rimbaud
Wonderful Remark
Foreign Window
Coney Island
Magic Time
Why Must I Always Explain
Celtic Excavation/Into the Mystic
Madame George
Moondance
On Hyndford Street

Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jeremy Brown (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)