14-November-2016
Festival Hall
 Glasgow, Scotland

Brendan Hynes sent in this review
In keeping with the precedent set the previous night in Edinburgh Van Morrison varied the set list once again with seven different songs included on this occasion. The first of these was the pleasant instrumental Caledonian Swing from the new album while Memory Lane from the album was later performed and was really impressive. The Beauty of The Days Gone By saw Van on acoustic guitar and it seemed to catch the band by surprise as Van started more or less unaccompanied before turning around to see if the band were going to join in which thankfully they did with Paul Moran adding a fine extended trumpet solo to the rendition. A rare and most welcome Domino followed and Van and Paul Moran manfully added some brass sounds which are pretty integral to this song but they were obviously restricted to doing so only when Van wasn’t singing and Paul was not playing keyboards. Mose Allison’s Benediction (Thank God For Self Love ) was a rather poignant inclusion in the set given that his death was announced the following day and the reason for the exclusion of the Parchman Farm(a song long associated with Mose) comedy routine after Baby Please Don’t Go now seems apparent. In The Garden was the final set list change from the previous night but was once again quite a shortened version so Van didn’t really get too immersed in it but it was beautiful nevertheless while it lasted and he departed into the wings at its ending only to return once more for Gloria which saw the band cut loose once again to great acclaim.

Highlights among the remainder of the concert included Someone Like You, Tore Down A La Rimbaud and Beautiful Vision once more, the magnificent Haunts of Ancient Peace (which ventured into Summertime in England territory down by Avalon with even Mr. Lawrence getting a mention along the way) and The Mystery which was wonderful once again but was somewhat blighted towards its conclusion as Van attempted a harmonica solo only to find the first harmonica he tried to be out of tune so he promptly flung it back down. The second one Van tried was even worse and suffered the same fate while the third one didn’t sound much better but he persevered as we all kept our heads down and prayed(to The One of course).

While not quite reaching the heady heights of the previous night’s Edinburgh concert with Van appearing somewhat subdued this was nevertheless another really good show which was loudly acknowledged by a captive audience at its conclusion.

-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Caledonian Swing
Sack of Woe
Back On Top
Too Late
Memory Lane
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Beautiful Vision
The Mystery
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Haunts of Ancient Peace/excerpts from Summertime in England
The Beauty of the Days Gone By
Domino
Carrying a Torch
Lonely Avenue
Benediction (Thank God For Self Love)
Moondance
Someone Like You
Brown Eyed Girl
Baby Please Don’t Go/Don’t Start Crying Now
In The Garden
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Set Time 1h 40m.

13-November-2016
Edinburgh Playhouse
 Edinburgh, Scotland

Brendan Hynes checks in with this review
From the outset of Van's latest show on this mini UK tour it was obvious that he had decided to shake things up a bit as he opened with Sack Of Woe followed by Back On Top which featured nice guitar and piano solos from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. Three songs from the new album followed in Too Late, Keep Me Singing, which featured Van on harmonica and was really nice, and finally The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword which Van certainly sang with great gusto. Beautiful Vision got another welcome airing with nice steel guitar from Dave Keary and lovely vocals from Dana Masters who got a deserved ovation. The fast version of Have I told You Lately which followed also featured Dana prominently before a relatively rare rendition of The Mystery which was quite wonderful. What followed was even better as Van wandered over to the piano(always a promising sign) for a beautiful Haunts of Ancient Peace (complete with some Common One references) which featured excellent steel guitar and trumpet solos from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. Van remained at the piano for a reinvigorated Open The Door (To Your Heart) before he delivered a fine I Believe To My Soul featuring a great trumpet solo from Paul Moran. Tore Down A la Rimbaud was spectacular once more and was followed by a really good Carrying A Torch. Van strapped on the guitar for Why Must I Always Explain and performed some really nifty guitar sounds at the end of what was another highlight. It was then back into blues territory for a resounding Lonely Avenue with Dave Keary's great guitar solo being acknowledged by Van with a few "yeah" utterances. Moondance, Crazy Love and Cleaning Windows were all well delivered and received before another sublime version of Someone Like You which once again featured Dana on vocals to great effect. Brown Eyed Girl which followed was a small price to pay for the quality of show being enjoyed tonight. The opening notes of Celtic Excavation which followed prompted me to ensure my seatbelt was fastened in the sure knowledge that Van was about to transport us on a wonderful journey Into The Mystic which he duly did before exiting the stage still singing as the audience loudly shouted their approval. Van returned one more time for Gloria which has now become a vehicle for the band to showcase their impressive individual talents with extended solos once Van has departed. Dave Keary was first up with an even longer solo than heretofore followed by Paul Moran on trumpet, synth and organ, Paul Moore excelling once more with intricate bass, Mez Clough indulging the rockers in the audience with a long drum solo before finally Dana mesmerised us once more with her vocal/chanting contribution to bring the show to a close.

This was an outstanding performance by Van and his band which was rapturously enjoyed by the audience and was aided in no small measure by Van digging more deeply into his extensive and wonderful song catalogue than his been the case in most of his more recent shows.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Sack Of Woe
Back On Top
Too Late
Keep Me Singing
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
Beautiful Vision
Have I Told You Lately
The Mystery
Haunts Of Ancient Peace
Open The Door (To Your Heart)
I Believe To My Soul
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Carrying A Torch
Why Must I Always Explain
Lonely Avenue
Moondance
Crazy Love
Cleaning Windows
Someone Like You
Brown Eyed Girl
Celtic Excavation/Into The Mystic
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)


Set Time 1h 45m