20-December-2015
Nells Jazz And Blues
London, England
Evening Show
Brendan sends in this review
After all the excitement surrounding the afternoon show it was perhaps unsurprising that the evening show started in a very sedate manner. However, when the opening three numbers consisting of Celtic Swing, Sack of Woe and Centrepiece/Corrine Corrina(none of which rose above the level of mediocre) were followed by Days Like This and Precious Time the prospect of a really disappointing set list loomed largely. Mercifully, Van then played Enlightenment and following repeated requests by dedicated fan Pamela Kendix he finally capitulated and performed the always treasured Foreign Window to great acclaim. When a terrific Tore Down A la Rimbaud followed, the concert was back on an upward curve. Sometimes We Cry was well delivered and enthusiastically received quickly followed by What Am I living For? from the country album. Early In the Morning/Rock Me Baby were powerfully delivered and really lifted proceedings. The only song repeated from the matinee show followed in the form of In The Afternoon which once more was fantastic and was thankfully afforded total reverence by the audience. There were also a couple of comedic moments included on this occasion with Van telling us the ancient highway was actually the MI 5 before quickly correcting the reference to the M5 but not before the band and audience had erupted with laughter. When Van had moved into a segment of Don't You Get Me High and referred to 'when you feel my leg' an enthusiastic chap appeared to be volunteering and shouted up to Van who quickly retorted "not you" much to everyone's amusement! Cleaning Windows was good to hear again but suffered significantly once more from the absence of the brass section. In my view the band are restricted considerably by the reduced band numbers as there is a predictability and inevitability which sees every musical break in songs consist of a guitar solo followed by a piano/organ solo (or vice versa) apart from the occasional trumpet solo by Paul Moran who obviously has to stop playing the piano/organ at that point in the song to the detriment of the overall sound. From a musical viewpoint it is hard to understand why Van chose to eliminate the brass section which has been a constant and I daresay key element of his music throughout almost the entirety of his career but the decision has certainly not resulted in enhanced concert performances.
Van strapped on his guitar for Why Must I Always Explain but didn't really bring it to the level of previous renditions and Ballerina which followed was dogged by some sound problems which Van was clearly unhappy with but it nevertheless included a fine trumpet solo from Paul Moran. In The Garden brought proceedings to an end but Van departed quite early without ever getting really engrossed leaving the band to play out the last six minutes without him which they did with each taking extended solos and Paul Moore's one on bass being particularly good.
Set time was 84 minutes with Van really pushing the boat out by staying on stage for 78 minutes.
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist
Celtic Swing
Sack O Woe
Centerpiece/Corina
Days Like This
Precious Time
Enlightenment
Foreign Window
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Sometimes We Cry
What Am I Living For
Early in the Morning/Rock Me Baby
In the Afternoon/Raincheck/Burn Baby Burn
Cleaning Windows
Why Must I Always Explain
Ballerina
In the Garden
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
20-December-2015
Nells Jazz And Blues
London, England
Matinee Show
Brendan sent in his review
Early arrivals for the third of Van Morrison's four weekend shows were met by closed doors and signage indicating a repossession of the premises. There was talk of bailiffs inside the premises and I had a vision of Van throwing himself in front of the doors to stop the band's equipment being seized but with the show eventually going ahead we were denied such a sight!
The show started with an alternative instrumental apparently called Bags Groove which was followed by Who Can I Turn To? which featured a great trumpet solo from Paul Moran. Moondance also saw Paul excel on piano and he was really hogging the limelight as he also excelled on trumpet during a powerful I Believe To My Soul. Sometimes I Feel Like A motherless Child went down a storm with Van's electric guitar contribution getting an ovation. Things I Used To Do was a pretty pointless addition to the set but Take Your Hand Out of My Pocket which followed was certainly welcomed and featured great guitar from Dave Keary and an absolutely incredible organ solo from Paul Moran (is there no end to this man's talent?). Think Twice Before You Go and Whenever God Shines His Light raised the tempo and were well received before Carrying A Torch afforded Dana Masters a chance to shine on vocals. Van briefly alluded to the bit of drama earlier in the afternoon before appropriately playing In The Afternoon.Yet again this was the show stopper as Van took us an extended journey down the ancient highway to the overpass before finishing with the repeated line"sitting pretty at the end of the line "to an enraptured ant totally hushed audience. Phenomenal! Magic Time and Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now were well performed but contained no surprises. All In The Game included some Hawaiian guitar sounds from Dave Keary which greatly pleased Van who departed the stage shortly after leaving the band to play on for a further 5 minutes or so. Paul Moore played some intricate bass but the drum solo which followed was simply a time filler.
My overall feeling was that the show which lasted just 81 minutes was very short but also very sweet.
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist
Bags Groove
Who Can I Turn To
Moondance
I Believe To My Soul
Motherless Child
Things I Used To Do
Take Your Hand Outta My Pocket
Think Twice
Whenever God Shines His Light
Carrying A Torch
In the Afternoon/Burn baby burn
Magic Time
Baby Please Don't/Go Parchman/Don't Start Crying Now
It's All in the Game
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
19-December-2015
Nells Jazz And Blues
London, England
Evening Show
Brendan Hynes sent in this review
This show had a somewhat erratic start as an instrumental number was quickly abandoned after a few notes to be replaced by Celtic Swing. Unlike the previous runs of shows at this intimate venue the setlist did not deviate greatly from the standard and pretty predictable shows of recent months with the exceptions being Sack of Woe, Wild Night and Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket (which included a great organ solo from Paul Moran). Highlight of the show was undoubtedly In The Afternoon which saw Van become totally engrossed and providing us with one of those moments we always hope for and savour. The ancient highway was certainly fully utilised tonight and after Van went into Burn Baby Burn territory it ended with him humming for quite some time to the band's laid back accompaniment. Wonderful! The rest of the set was somewhat predictable but was played with considerable vigour by both Van and the band so the energy level never flagged.
After Brown Eyed Girl was somewhat surprisingly played,the opening strains of Gloria which followed indicated that the show was over already. Set time was a paltry and unacceptable 80 minutes (Van was gone after 74 minutes) and quite honestly if Van is either unable or unwilling to do two full shows he should confine himself to one show per day as the audience at each show just end up being shortchanged. The much criticised standard 90 minute set length is miserable enough without cutting it even further.
Two more shows await on Sunday and one hopes for a few rare nuggets to be unearthed during them.
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist
Celtic Swing
Sack O Woe
Motherless Child
Carrying A Torch
Wild Night
Sometimes We Cry
Think Twice Before You Go
Take Your Hand Outta My Pocket
Keep It Simple
Whenever God Shines His Light
In the Afternoon/Burn Baby Burn
Baby please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
I'm Not Feeling It No More
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
01-March-2015
Nell's Jazz and Blues Bar
London, England
Brendan's take on night two at Nell's
After the predicable Celtic Swing opener to the second night of shows at this very intimate venue Van then delivered Close Enough For Jazz and a jazzy Back on Top in quick succession before performing a really strong version of You Don’t Know Me helped in no small part by brilliant vocals from Dana Masters which saw her get a well deserved ovation from the tightly packed audience. Paul Moran did a superb trumpet solo which enhanced this number even further. Think Twice Before You Go saw Van unleash the band at full throttle with a terrific version before we had the first of many surprises with the playing of Wild Honey with Van and Dana exchanging vocals beautifully throughout. Paul Moore delivered a really intricate bass solo towards the end much to Van’s obvious approval as he shouted “yeah” I can’t remember when, if ever, I heard Van sing this live but it was worth the wait. Without giving us any chance to recover Van launched straight into a powerful Foreign Window with some band members looking quite ecstatic with the magic of it all. Whenever God Shines His Light not only gave Dana a further chance to excel on shared vocals but also included nifty guitar from Dave Keary and bass from Paul Moore.
At this stage Van started inviting requests and a very popular gentleman in the front row suggested And The Healing Has Begun to which Van instantly said “ok” What followed was around 10 minutes of musical magnificence with Van totally in the zone. He played guitar throughout and was aided in no small measure by brilliant guitar playing by Dave Keary and a further fine bass solo from Paul Moore. That’s Life was powerfully delivered with Van asking the audience at the end if it was really possible for him to roll himself up in a big ball. Oh how we laughed! Symphony Sid returned us briefly to jazz territory with more great vocals from Dana while Keep it Simple was introduced by Van as a selection of George Formby’s hits.
When Van announced Philosopher’s Stone as a request a woman near the front could contain her excitement no longer and shouted up “you’re a good man Van” to which he replied “I know I am -I have a lot of bills to pay!” To my horror Van then asked “which version?” so fearing a repeat of the infamous fast rhythm and blues version from a year or so ago which desecrated this classic I found myself shouting “SLOW” and without further ado that is what was delivered in superb fashion to an audience which was now quite ecstatic. Centrepiece brought things down slightly before requests were again invited resulting in a welcome airing of Did Ye Get Healed which got a great response.
Van then shifted into blues territory with a tremendous How Can A Poor Boy merging with Pagan Heart and finally I Put A Spell On You. The lucky audience members were reeling at this stage as he performed a beautiful Celtic Excavation/Into the Mystic before exiting the stage to great acclaim. He quickly returned to deliver a stomping version of Help Me before finally departing and leaving the band to express themselves even further. Set time was 1h 40m.
This was a truly unique night with Van clearly in great form as he plucked classics on request from the audience and delivered them as only he can. Apart From the opening Celtic Swing instrumental no other song from the previous night was repeated as Van (in the spirit of the new album title) re-worked the catalogue. And what a catalogue it is! This concert was a masterclass from a musical genius and one that will live long in the memory of the lucky 300 or so in attendance!
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Back On Top
You Don't Know Me
Think Twice Before You Go
Wild Honey
Foreign Window
Whenever God Shines His Light
Healing Has Begun
That's Life
Symphony Sid
Keep It Simple
Philosophers Stone
Centerpiece
Did Ye Get Healed
How Can a Poor Boy/Pagan Heart
Celtic Excavation/Into the Mystic
Help Me
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
28-February-2015
Nell's Jazz and Blues Bar
London, England
Brendan sent in his thoughts on the first of two Nell's gigs
This was the first night of Van Morrison’s latest weekend residency at Nell's and his performance started as usual with the Celtic Swing instrumental before taking us briskly through nicely delivered versions of Higher Than The World and Magic Time. A really strong I Believe To My Soul saw Dana Masters make a fine vocal contribution much to the delight of the audience while Baby Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm saw Van and the band up the tempo considerably and Van good humouredly chastise drummer Bobby Ruggiero for coming in too early during the latter with a drumbeat replicating one of many gunshots before Van had signalled the particular gunshot. Days Like This certainly slowed things down before a thunderous Real Real Gone was delivered. This had a much more prominent organ sound than previous versions which is probably largely down to the continued absence of the brass section from the band. Sometimes We Cry was somewhat of a duet between Van and Dana and a good one at that while In The Midnight provided one of the real highlights of the night. Moondance contained no surprises and was followed by the welcome return of All in the Game which was a much shortened version and pretty disappointing as a result. Who Can I Turn To was notable for Van’s vocal performance while Precious Time was just as you would expect.I Just Want To Make Love To You was a shorter version than usual but it was great while it lasted. Talk is Cheap really moved at pace and was particularly good with Van quite amused when delivering certain lines while Early In The Morning was another powerhouse version from Van and the band.
Following the delivery of Enlightenment and I Can’t Stop Loving You I had pretty much consigned this show to being one that while being very enjoyable did not contain too many real highlights when suddenly Van changed direction and brought us out on the ancient highway with In The Afternoon making sure to bring us on down the underpass along the way. Big Joe Turner,TV Mama and Flip,Flop and Fly were all thrown into the mix as Van delivered what for me was the show stopper of the night. Van had actually introduced the song as being off The Healing Game album asking the audience if they had heard of it but it won’t be found there as it is actually on the Days Like This album. No sooner had the song ended than the welcome intro to In The Garden confirmed that we were now firmly in mystical territory. Van gave this the full treatment before leaving the stage to wild applause. No sooner had he departed than he returned with a terrific Ballerina before finally heading off into the night leaving the band to finish the job. Those last three numbers had brought proceedings to a much higher level and provided a fitting climax to the show which lasted I h 47m.
-Brendan Hynes
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Higher Than The World
Magic Time
I Believe to My Soul
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Cry Cry Baby
Days Like This
Real Real Gone
Sometimes We Cry
In the Midnight
Moondance/Funny Valentine/42nd Street
All in the Game
Who Can I Turn To
Precious Time
I Just Wanna Make Love to You
Talk is Cheap
Early in the Morning
Enlightenment
I Can't Stop Loving You
In the Afternoon
In the Garden
Ballerina
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
21-December-2014
Nell's Jazz and Blues Bar
London, England
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Higher Than the World
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Mean Mean Woman Blues/Cry Cry Baby
MagicTime
I Believe to my Soul
Precious Time
What Am I Living For
Playhouse
Keep It Simple
Alan Watts Blues
Enlightenment
Sometimes We Cry
I Just Wanna Make Love To You
Whenever God Shines His Light
In the Midnight
Moondance
Who Can I Turn To
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
In the Garden
Gloria
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
20-December-2014
Nell's Jazz and Blues Bar
London, England
Brendan sent in his thoughts on gig
This was the second night of Van Morrison's weekend residency at this newly opened club which is quite a bit off the beaten track.Were it not for the presence of some long established Van fans in the queue along the side of Sainsburys I would have concluded there was a pre Christmas clearout in the store.
Coming off the back of two really good Downpatrick shows and two excellent Lit Up Inside shows in London and Dublin I had no great expectation that this show could emulate those but what a surprise was in store.This turned out to be one of those nights when Van was really in the mood which combined with the quality of the set which developed on the night provided the lucky 300 or so present with a terrific show.Having opened quietly with Celtic Swing Van quickly took us an excursion Higher than the World before launching into a blistering combination of Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now which included De Nero and Pesci impersonations and Van aiming a number of kicks at an imaginary victim.A superb I Just Want To Make Love To You featured brilliant guitar playing from Dave Keary and brought us right back to the It's Too Late To Stop Now shows all those decades ago.Magic Time saw Van do some overtime on saxophone given the rather surprising absence of the brass section while Whenever God Shines His Light saw Dana Masters being quite em..masterful when given the opportunity to shine on vocals.Blue Money was preceded by a humorous background story from Van all the way back to his Monarch showband days in the 1960s. The song itself was great and included a high pitched vocal competition between Dana and Dave but no matter how high they went Van looked for them to go higher.We then had another epic return to the It's Too Late To Stop Now days with I Believe To My Soul which included beautiful back up vocals from Dana and quite incredible trumpet playing from Paul Moran.
Such was Van's humour he had by now ventured into asking us what we wanted him to play which brought Melancholia as the first successful request and this was another lovely rendition.Following the always welcome Enlightenment, Van did a long and humorous introduction to Why Must I Always Explain which he again informed us started out originally as Tupelo Honey.Van was in his element on this one playing electric guitar while vocalising over his end solo to brilliant effect.Such was the energy on stage that even the most regularly played numbers such as Moondance seemed to have a new vibrancy and on this occasion Van had introduced a chant of "So What" a number of times towards the end of the song.Keep It Simple was preceded by Van asking what someone has to do to get a ukulele around here before re-telling his 'Billy Connolly thinks Van is very funny' story.
By now the song requests were coming fast and furious with a couple of audience members literally pleading for In The Garden.Van finally relented and delivered a stunning elongated version during which he brought everything down to a whisper before the holy guardian angels brought us up into the heavens in a stunning crescendo.Magnificent!
A wonderful Ballerina saw Van depart the stage before returning with a power packed Help Me which included his "It's Too Late to Stop Now" chant(always a sign that he is really into the performance).When Van had finally departed the band cut loose with extended solos to send the audience into rapturous applause after 1 hour 40 minutes of magnificence.
Travelling back from the concert my overriding feeling was one of being privileged to be able to see an artist of such quality in such small and intimate surroundings delivering a set that left one almost breathless by it's conclusion.
-Brendan Hynes.
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Higher Than the World
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Cry Cry Baby
I Just Wanna Make Love to You
Magic Time
Whenever God Shines His Light
Blue Money
I Believe To My Soul
In the Midnight
Enlightenment
Why Must I Always Explain
Moondance
Keep it Simple
In the Garden
Ballerina
Help Me
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
19-December-2014
Nell's Jazz and Blues Bar
London, England
Setlist
Celtic Swing
Higher Than the World
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Don't Start Cryin Now
I just Wanna Make Love To You
You Don't Love Me No More
Blue Money
Days Like This
Magic Time
Did Ye Get Healed
Think Twice Before You Go
I Believe to My Soul
Moondance/My Funny Valentine
In the Midnight
Whenever God Shines His Light
I Can't Stop Loving You
Enlightenment
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Big Hand for The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
03-November-2014
Nell's Jazz and Blues Bar
London, England
FOR MARY AT NELL’S
A very interesting show in which Van The Man became Van The Blues Man, Van The Comic, and Van The Raconteur. Maybe Billy Connolly was right after all.
The words ‘health’ and ‘safety’ didn’t apply tonight with 300+ souls rammed into the space for 150 laid back jazzers. Thanks goodness some wag didn’t shout “f-f-fire” during Streets Of Arklow. Remind me not to go back to Nell’s when there is a crowd-puller on stage.
But at least most of the crowd had a close up and personal sight and sound of Van enjoying himself for once. Having seen many interminable, by rote, shows during the last 20 years it was a joy to see those besuited legs a-pumpin’, the chest expandin’ and the jowls a-howlin’.
A pretty pedestrian start with Van warming up the band and getting their chops loosened. A real pleasure to hear the new(ish) vocalist Dana letting rip on New Symphony Sid – she has a fine jazz and gospel voice and is more than capable of standing with Van on an equal footing. Even when she was presented twice with songs she was not prepared for (Streets and Somerset) she slipped in behind Van with some choice harmonising.
The first highlight hurried in with Someone Like You – a long-time personal favourite – which was delivered in style and with much emotion. A lovely version. Then came Van’s dedication of Magic Time to Mary Bell – an unexpectted but sincere tribute and a very dynamic reading of the song too. Maybe us fans are not so parasitic after all.
We then settled into some excellent versions of well-known Van standards – a rich and concentrated In The Midnight, a spirited Rough God with Dana letting go, and a good reading of If You Only Knew which I haven’theard live for ages – since 2003 GB tells me.
Van’s maracas had by now appeared from backstage, so it was OK to summon up the ghosts of Bo Diddley and Them. In fact much of the blues material reminded me so much of Van as lead singer of an r&b band – what with Dave playing those Billy Harrison licks. The r&B section finished with the Harpo belter Them made ‘famous’ Don’t Start Crying Now, and Van mentioned his recent Slim Harpo award which he said wasn’t on his website - takes two clicks Van, to find it. A diverting Sometimes We Cry followed, with Van cupping his ear a la Johnny Ray (sorry, reader, but I am old enough to remember Johnny Ray ‘crying’ with his hand over his bad ear on Sunday Night At The London Palladium).
Hooker’s Think Twice was another belter, and the show was chugging along at a goodly 7 out of 10 when a jolly decent fellow down front requested Streets Of Arklow. Van hesitated at first but Paul Moran’s enthusiasm led into Van getting into the zone and rendering a delicious balanced Streets, summoning up those long past celtic emotions from his Irish trip in the rearlly 70s, and the show became an instant 7.5!
Next up was more Hooker with that fabulous Hooker boogie. Having been immersed in a 45 minute Canned Heat boogie down the Marquee in the 60s, I just love it, and even the Red Hot Pokers’ version coiuldn’t destroy that riff. Of course Van brought it off in great style – ad-libbing the Henry’s Swing Club verse into Nell’s Club and Kensington High Street, and Vince Power got one more of the many name-checks.
Through some throwaway Van stuff in the next couple of ditties, and another fine Moondance. Van went off and was soon back on to play tribute to his old acker, Acker Bilk, with Somerset. Then the evening finished with a roaring Help Me full of improvs around the Revue-era Lonely Avenue.
All in all a thoroughly satisfactory show with some real highs and no lows, no tumbleweed tonight, and Van as loose, amiable, chattyand funny as I’ve ever seen him. Echoing Brendan’s last comments, I still want to hear more of the Van Classics - even some of those in Lit Up Inside – and most of those that aren’t. But not all long-time fans agree – they want a rich stew with many elements – not just Van’s writing. But after all, in 50 years time no-one will be singing Van’s songs like Van!
-Simon Gee
7.5 / 10
NELL’S JAZZ & BLUES CLUB
LONDON
ENGLAND
3 NOVEMBER 2014
1h 51m
:Celtic Swing (*)
:Lost John
:The New Symphony Sid
:Someone Like You
:Magic Time
:Who Can I Turn To?
:In The Midnight
:Rough God Goes Riding
:If You Only Knew
:I Can Tell
:Baby Please Don't Go >
Parchman Farm >
Don't Start Crying Now
:Sometimes We Cry
:Think Twice Before You Go
:Streets of Arklow
:Boogie Chillen
:Whenever God Shines His Light
:Brown Eyed Girl
:Moondance >
My Funny Valentine
***
:Somerset
:Help Me > Stormy Monday >
Night Time Is The Right Time >
Lonely Avenue >
Mansion On The Hill >
Mean Old World
Van Morrison : vocals (except on *), saxes, harmonicas, maracas
The Van Morrison Band : Dave Keary : guitar; Dana Masters : lead and back-up vocals; Paul Moran : keyboards, MA; Paul Moore : electric and double bass; Bobby Ruggiero: drums, MC; Alistair White : trombone, tuba; Chris White : saxophones, flute.
Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Lost John
Symphony Sid
Someone Like You
Magic Time (Dedicated by Van to Mary Bell)
Who Can I Turn To
In the Midnight
Rough God Goes Riding
If You Only Knew
I Can Tel (You Don't Love Me)
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Don't Start Cryin' Now
Sometimes We Cry
Think Twice Before You Go
Streets of Arklow
Boogie Chillin
Whenever God Shines His Light
Brown Eyed Girl
Moondance/Funny Valentine
Somerset (Acker Bilk tribute)
Help Me/Stormy Monday/Lonely Ave/Stormy Monday
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)
