A Look Back At Glastonbury 1982

It was 30 years ago today that Van played at the Glastonbury Festival in England. Long time Van fan looks back on the festival and Van's gig that day.

Van Morrison at Glastonbury June 19, 1982

From Pat's long running blog, Visions Of Pat

In the year of 82 there was a pestilence on the land,it began at Thatcher and spread outwards. I was living in a little village called Hilperton with my mate Fred and another bloke called Wally in a house called 'The Nook'.Next door lived this old man who we called 'the old grey fella'.He was always banging on the wall because of the noise.I was one of Thatchers victims,on the dole but i used to do a bit of gardening around the village to get some beer money. I did the gardening at the local pub The Lion And Fiddle and the pub owner used to give me some money and then I'd sit in his bar and give him the money back over the course of the evening.Thatcher was starting her Falklands adventure,it was the worst of times and the even worser of times but there was something to cheer up about,a new Van album 'Beautiful Vision'

I like the cover design,i don't know what it all means though.It reminded me of a line in a David Bowie song 'Crack in the sky and a hand reaching down to me'. I liked the cover so much i had it framed and stuck it on my wall.As i have said i think where Van lives is reflected in his music and for a short time in the early 80's Van lived with his northern muse Ulla Munch in the Vanlose district of Copenhagen and this inspired a number of tracks on Beautiful Vision such as Vanlose Stairway, Scandinavia,She Gives Me Religion and the title track.'Celtic Ray'the opening track though is very Irish,with Van yearning for home.Van says in the song that he has been away too long.Lots of Irish people move away to places not greener but meaner but they never move away mentally,they always think about returning.This theme is continued on 'Northern Muse,Solid Ground'.The muse in question would be Vans musical muse and how he had to leave in order to fulfill his creative spirit.

The line 'If you see her say hello' is the title of a Dylan song off Blood On The Tracks.I wonder if Van pinched it off Bob? (Paragraph missing here,will deal with later) Whats my line?' sings Van in the next song. Whats My Line was a popular panal show on the telly when i was a kid.It was hosted by Eamon Andrews and the panalists had to guess what the contestants did for a living.Van tells us his line was 'Cleaning Windows'. This is a great song unlike anything else on the album and i think Mark Knopfler plays on it.In the song Van talks about buying 5 Woodbines and i did actually find a packet of 5 woodbines at work under some floorboards.Van the name dropper is in evidence here with Jimmy Rodgers, Jack Kerouac and Christmas Humphreys getting a mention amongst others.Van likes to get his listeners into things he is into.'Baby don't let it slide' sings Van at the end.I think he was a bit worried about climbing up the ladder!


'Vanlose Stairway' is another great song.The apartment where they lived in Copenhagen is quite an ordinary looking building but Van can make anything sound romantic,this stairway reaches right up to the moon!.Georgie Fame also does a great version of this on his own on the Van Morrison Songbook album that Simon Gee compiled. 'Aryan Mist' is another song inspired by Alice Bailey and her Tibetan friend.Apparently the railway carraige charm is a reference to amphetamines.


'Across The Bridge Where Angels Dwell' is a very contemplative evocative song which leads us in to the instrumental 'Scandinavia' which features Van on piano which is most unusual.I remember him doing this one at my second ever Van concert in 1982. This technique of the quiet song leading into the instumental is also used on a couple of other Van albums in the early 80's.The idea is that the music induces beautiful visions and mystical raptures in the listener and it works because this album is brilliant!


I went in my local pub in Trowbridge one day in April 1982 and a new poster had appeared on the wall.


"Hey,Van the man is on at Glastonbury," I told my friends in Scum Corner. "We know",they replied,"and you havent heard the best bit, Pee Wee is doing the backstage barThis is Pee Wee the pub landlord, not to be confused with Pee Wee Ellis the saxophone player. This was a chance too good to miss so I pestered Pee Wee until he finally agreed to give me a job.This was my third visit to Glastonbury.The year before i had got in a right mess doing things i shouldn't but this year i was going to behave and be sensible.On Wednesday June 16th 1982 a gang of of jolly boys and girls piled onto Pee Wee's bus and we set off down the ancient highway to Glastonbury.


All went well for the first couple of days, i made myself useful, fetching and carrying and proudly wearing my backstage pass.On Friday morning it began to rain heavily and the site was turned into a sea of mud.It was the wettest day in Somerset for 45 years but i didn't care, i was nice and dry backstage.The first act on was Manchester poet John Cooper Clarke who was really funny.As he walked off stage i shook hands with him and told him how great he was.Then a huge truck of the Edwin Shirley Trucking Company pulled up and who should jump down but Mick Townley who i knew from Bradford On Avon.He was a roadie for Black Uhuru and had just hauled their gear from Paris.I latched onto him and we watched Sly and Robbie do their stuff from the side of the stage.By now i had totally forgotten about my duties.I was having a good time!There was an American bloke hanging out backstage and chatting to everyone,he seemed familiar but i couldn't think who he was.I needed a drink and at the bar i got talking to another American, a little fella with a thick mop of curly dark hair.


"Whats your name mate?"I asked him.


"Randy"

"Well Randy,i'm going to buy you a brandy!" What an idiot!My friends were still reminding me about this 10 years later.This bloke was none other than the world famous guitarist Randy California,formally of the group Spirit.We got on fine though and the rest of the day descended into an alcoholic haze.That night when i crawled into my rancid sleeping bag i was really happy, tomorrow was the big day!It had been 3 long years since i had last seen Van and you never know i might even get to meet him! When i awoke the next morning it had stopped raining but the sky was grey and overcast and i had a terrible hangover.Not to worry,i thought to myself,a couple of drinks will get me straight.As i made my way to the back of the Pyramid stage i met the Backstage manager who was looking at me like a rat on a fork.

"I want your stage pass and i want you out of here now!"

"You cant do that, I work here"


"No you don't, I watched you all day yesterday and you didn't do anything except get drunk and annoy people, gimme that pass now."

After a bit more argument I handed over my pass and trudged through the gate and into the mud. The disappointment was almost unbearable. Van had missed his chance to meet me! I had to put it behind me and enjoy the rest of the day. I bought myself a gallon container of cider from the cider wagon. It stank but it was cheap and the effect was dynamite. I found a dry patch of ground and sat down to watch Roy Harper who i have always liked. During Roys set a breeze began to blow and eventually the sun came out. The Tor emerged from the mist and the scene was set. There are power cables that run right across Worthy farm held up by a line of pylons stretching away into the distance towards the Tor.I rememberered Vans words which now seemed really prophetic,'Meet me down by the pylons's everything seemed to be making sense, the cider was kicking in! The crowd in front of the stage got bigger and bigger as the afternoon wore on. As it approached 4 o'clock rivers of people could be seen walking down towards the stage through the tents.Eventually there must have been 30,000 people in front of the stage and i elbowed my way right to the front. The excitment was electric!Then Van shuffled on stage and picked up a guitar.A huge cheer greeted him but he didn't seem aware that there was an audience there at all.He was totally focused on the music. He mainly did material from Beautiful Vision but the highlight was Summertime In England. He seemed to be singing about the very ground we were standing on. It was a truly mystical experience to be there. After 80 minutes he was gone after a rousing version of Gloria.

The next day I realised who the American was who I had spotted backstage. It was Jackson Browne. He had stayed for the entire 3 days to enjoy the festival, not just turn up, trouser the money and bugger off like a lot of people. Anyway, I have seen Van many times since but no concert has quite equalled for sheer excitment and anticipation that muddy day in the Vale of Avalon all those years ago.
-Pat Corely

17-June-2012 Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, England

The Telegraph Source
Van Morrison, Hampton Court, review
Van Morrison played with both sensitivity and commitment at his gig at Hampton Court Palace, writes Andrew Perry.

“Welcome to the grumpiest gig in town,” quipped Van Morrison amid the Tudor splendour of Hampton Court Palace’s Base Court. The Belfast-born singer, of course, is not noted as one of rock’s jesters. Such is his repute for ill temper, one feared he might storm in like Henry VIII in the mood for spousal decapitation, hurling abuse at his audience, and thundering off again after a cursory few numbers.

Morrison, like his peer Bob Dylan, has always strenuously resisted simply rolling out the hits in performance. Unlike Dylan, he often chooses not to play them at all, rather than merely to savage them. By consequence perhaps, he has been under-appreciated recently. Gone are the days of his jazzy 1968 masterpiece, Astral Weeks, being often voted as the greatest album of all time.

Many latter-day Van records have been genre exercises, in skiffle, old-time country, and blues. As a mafioso-clad Morrison sauntered into view here, with a three-piece brass section in tow, and with an alto saxophone strapped to his chest, it was clear that tonight’s business was jazz.


Following a finger-snapping overture, “Brown-Eyed Girl” was rendered with West Coast cool, Morrison himself alternating between skiddly-bop scat and tender blasts on his sax. Two tracks later, “Fair Play” found him rattling up and down scales with both his voice and his reed, as if these were two interchangeable instruments.

The important thing was, he played both with sensitivity and commitment. Though he would air nothing from it here, “Astral Weeks” was all about applying jazzy formal freedom to rock songcraft. Jazz is home turf for him, and so Van, usually an insatiable sourpuss, seemed to be in the best of humours. “Paul McCartney said, money can’t buy you love,” he extemporized on one familiar line from “I’m Not Feeling It Anymore”, adding, “and he should know!”


To the joy of all present, Morrison really was feeling it, stretching out this and other tunes into exquisitely extended speculations. “Moondance”, as the evening light started to fade, was so jazzy, it actually morphed into Miles Davis’s “So What”.

Typically, there were digressions into country (Morrison duetting with his daughter, Shana), blues, and Vegas swing. Throughout, though, this was music as salubrious and classy as the setting, characterized by the band’s deft, delicate playing and their leader’s rare generosity of spirit.

With the rain holding off, and a raucous send-off of “Gloria”, it was a marvellous night, indeed – truly fit for a king.
-Andrew Perry

Setlist
Brown Eyed Girl
Higher Than The World
Fair Play
I’m Not Feeling It Anymore
All In The Game
Sometimes We Cry w/Shana Morrison
I Can't Stop Loving You w/Shana Morrison
Enlightenment
Crazy Love
Moondance
In the Garden
Old Black Magic w/Shana Morrison
Help Me
Ballerina
Gloria

03-June-2012 
Slieve Donard Resort
 Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Thanks to Dail for photo

Here is Pablo's review
“The road to Coney Island” review

Even thinking that I don’t have enough English to describe the beauty of this gig/gif, I’ll try. Leaving a side the great memories with all the friends around the world that I met this weekend, the quiet drinks, etc…This show, for me have been the second best this year (I’ll be murderer for this but still prefer the second night at the Culloden in April). The set list is nearly perfect as you can see. Van was in a great mood and the band come together already in the second song…

Yo-I like this song for start. They use it to warm up and its working.

BEG-sounds a lot better than in other shows with Van giving everything from the start. It’s a pleasure see him in so good form.

Higher than the world; flying into the music with a very good winds. Very comfortable on the sax.

Fair play-to him; I wont tell how he finish but I saw more than one in the room finishing the song with him. Class!!!

Not feeling it anymore. We do! We feel it! we enjoy it! and he did it again. Magic in that song, improving show after show…
“Welcome to the grumpiest show in town”, Van said…

It's all in the game.
This is it, No plan B! no safety net! He doesn’t need it. What a performance…”Daddy, PLEASE!!!!! I wanna go with you…To the Burning Ground!!!! You (My Van’s fan friends) know what I’m talking about!!!!!

Enlightenment, don’t know what it is….. But we can imagine, Van. Listen to you, singing like that, we have an idea. Vocal exhibition to explain us what it is…

In the garden-What else do you want!!!??? I’ll tell you. In this particular song I didn’t see Van with the same intensity than in Culloden. This one it’s the reason because I think this gig it’s a bit less amazing or awesome than the Culloden. But to tell the truth still I don’t know…Van sat on the piano and I grabbed my camera…
“We love you Van!!!!!!!”-“But you don’t even know me!”(Laughing)…”We love your music Van”-“That’s Better!!”

Haunt of ancient peace. You can see the video, I wont comment nothing here…Behind the song, Down by Avalon…

Ballerina. You can see how Van is enjoying playing Ballerina this year. From the ground to Heaven. From the whisper to the roar!!! I’m only missing the guitar at that stage…
Oh! Here it comes,

Tupelo Honey. You don’t need me to explain that to you…do you???
Why Must I Always Explain?? Only Van plays the guitar like that and we love it!!!
What happens with the time??? The show it’s nearly over already??? Can’t be!!!
We want more!!!! Please, somebody Help Me!!
We have that feeling that we have seen something especial. Big Clap for the Band!-Gloria! We have to take pictures and dance!!! Great Duel between Alistair and Chris to finish the song. Alistair won.

Time for a Quiet Drink!

PD: sorry for the mistakes! English its not my mother language…I´ll try but I know that I´m not very good. My very good friends will complete the reviews with the comments…
Pablo

Nosey's notes
Van was in a GREAT mood, speaking occasionally to the audience "Welcome to the grumpiest show in town, -- Any town"

Someone who shall remain nameless shouted to Van, while he was on keyboards "We Love You Van", he actually stopped, turned to her and said "What ?", she repeated herselfand he replied (the usual) "You don't know me", fortunately, she recovered and responded "We love Your Music", to which he said "Thats alright then" and smiles all around..

Setlist
Yo
Brown Eyed Girl
Higher Than the World
Fair Play
Not Feeling it Anymore
It's all in the Game
Enlightenment
In the Garden
Haunts of Ancient Peace
Ballerina
Tupelo Honey
Help Me
Gloria

‎

Shana Morrison Concert Schedule

Shana Morrison's latest album is Joyride

26-May-12 David Girard Vineyards Placerville, CA, USA
01-Jun-12 Friday Night Live Cloverdale, CA, USA
29-Jun-12 The Fret House Covina, CA, USA
30-Jun-12 Dark 30 House Concert Lakeside, CA, USA 
01-Jul-12 Muldoon's Newport Beach, CA, USA
04-Aug-12 Frog Tooth's Vineyards Copperopolis, CA, USA

Van Photo Of The Day

Review of Van's 21-Nov-68 gig at New York City's 'The Scene'. The same month 'Astral Weeks' was released.

03-May-2012 Millennium Forum, Derry, Northern Ireland

Petra sent in her review
Van is back on top. If any more evidence was needed – the two gigs in Northern Ireland’s City of Derry made it very clear. The good thing – his voice and performance are not only superb these days, but it was very obvious he is still enjoying to be on stage, after all these years. While the first concert on Wednesday was a well received tribute to the Derry Jazz Festival with many jazzy tunes, Van took us way way back into his 40+ years of musical career on Thursday. For sure, Martin McGinley’s review in the Derry Journal did justice to the first gig – albeit a jazz dominated set list might not be everybody’s cup of tea. But it is fair enough to say that Van was the headliner of a Jazz Festival and it was a stunning high precision gig leaving us in awe and wonder. 

On Thursday, Van played again a lot of saxophone right from the start, with us trying to figure out what was the title of the instrumental. ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, like the night before, fitted seamlessly into the Jazz Festival, as it was a lovely swinging version and not the pop standard anymore. ‘Higher Than The World’ and ‘Fair Play’ were beautiful and gentle -dreamlike songs with Van lingering on the word ‘Geronimo’ for a while as if he liked to taste the name on his tongue. ‘That’s Life’ saw Van laughing at himself when he sang ‘ .. and I roll myself up in a big ball’.

‘Not Feeling It Anymore’ is a title I more or less ignored on the 1991 album ‘Hymns To The Silence’ considering it a bit trivial. But lately it has come to sparkle and shine in concerts – maybe because Van makes it sound so personal ? Actually, there’s a lot of feeling in Van’s singing here – so we better don’t believe him …

A major tour de force these days is his ‘All In The Game’ medley. The words ‘… meet me down by the pylons’ have become ‘ … meet me down by the river – river of no return’. With the song fading out, he repeated the words ‘No Plan B’ for hours and hours and hours – at least it seemed so. After some time I got worried he would not get out of this line anymore – the musicians had to play the same notes over and over again and also looked a bit concerned at some point. A good piece of torture for singer, band and audience – brilliant and a bit freaked out. 

One surprise for me was Van asking for requests. Just to make it clear: It was Van. Asking the audience if they liked to hear a special song ... Did that ever happen before ? Out of the song titles hailing from all directions of the audience he chose to play ‘Little Village’ – a beautiful laid-back version. 

‘Precious Time’ was a bit negligible for me, but it reminded us indeed of elapsing time for the show – how many songs would there be left for us tonight ? ‘St. James Infirmary’ was a sublime New Orleans Jazz standard and made clear one more time that Van’s current band is very tight and brilliant these days. Interaction between Van and his horn section was breathtaking -  it certainly takes a lot of rehearsals before such precision is achieved. 

My personal highlight of the night was a beautiful, subtle ‘Ballerina’ making Van laugh aloud when he jokingly slapped his own face while singing ‘and the light is on the left side of your head’. When - ever - did we see Van so relaxed and in good spirits ?

‘Help Me’ with the nightshirt scenario is always a sure indicator that the show will be over soon. And so it was. Not before the band members were given one more opportunity to show their superb skills in laying down stunning solos, including Van himself playing his harp while leaving the stage. Only to come back to do one last song.

‘Gloria’ was the compulsive encore, a high energy version with Van quitting the scene long before the song was over. And actually, the band got started for good once The Man was gone. They turned it up - a little bit higher - and got going as if there was no tomorrow, making clear that not only Van was enjoying himself, but his great band members were, too. 

Two flawless and superb high precision gigs in Derry – although some of us may have wished to hear more of their favorite songs …
-Petra Söllner

Setlist 
Instrumental 
Brown Eyed Girl
Higher Than The World 
Fair Play
That's Life 
Not Feeling It Anymore 
All In The Game/Burning Ground/No Plan B 
Moondance
Days Like This 
Little Village 
Precious Time
St.James Infirmary 
Ballerina
Help Me
Gloria

02-May-2012 Millennium Forum, Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry Journal (source)

An unforgettable stroll along Cyprus Avenue It was the night the Bard of Belfast jazzed it up in Derry – and looked suspiciously like he was enjoying himself. 

For Van Morrison, headlining at the Montreaux festival in a matter of weeks, this visit to the Millennium Forum was up close and personal. Famously truculent, he seemed to respond to the warm reception from the Derry crowd and delivered a superb set which drew the best from himself and a classy seven-piece backing band. 

Van the Man, who made a historic return to Belfast from the States many years ago and didn’t so much as mutter ‘hello’ to his home town crowd, even gave a full-scale introduction to a brilliant version of the classic ‘St James Infirmary’.

 “Since this is a jazz festival we’d like to do a jazz number,” he said. “It seems this started out as ‘The Bard of Armagh’ and ended up like this.”

There was a jazzy feel to this set, opening the City of Derry Jazz Festival, with Van taking some fine solos himself on sax. But at the very end he ramped it up on harmonica and it was the encore ‘Gloria’ which brought the crowd to their feet. 

There were lots of highlights en route. It’s clear that Van is still meticulous about delivery, and this was a finely-crafted and fast-moving show which he drove along and directed from centre-stage. The band gave great opportunities for colour, most of them offering options on at least two instruments, and Van made the most of them with superb arrangements which included some virtuosic breaks. 

As Percy always says, ‘light and shade, light and shade’, and here we had the Caravaggio of the music business at work. 

Sound and lighting were first-class throughout. 

As the years take their toll, there’s always that question mark approaching gigs with singers who are older than you are. Joni Mitchell admits her voice isn’t what it used to be, Dylan’s may never have been. Van Morrison ripping into ‘Georgia’ was Muhammad Ali bouncing off the ropes to send George Foreman spinning towards a career in kitchen appliances. 

Van took the crowd on an emotional musical mystery tour – from the love poem ‘Who can I turn to’ to the days of ‘Moondance’; from the dark suits recalling the showband era to the early days of the blues and the fervour of the southern Gospel halls. 

The man himself is a study on stage, the missing Blues Brother in that hat and dark glasses, the fan of Spike Milligan who’s known as a Mr Grumpy, the son of a dispirited Harland and Wolff electrician who’s one of the world’s best-known chanters. To see him in such good form at close quarters – as his mama says, rejoice that there are days like this. 

-Martin McGinley

Setlist
So Complicated 
Brown Eyed Girl 
That's Life 
Who Can I Turn To 
Higher Than The World 
Days Like This 
Wavelength 
All In The Game
Not Feeling It Anymore 
Moondance 
Haunts Of Ancient Peace 
Sticks And Stones 
Georgia  
St James Infirmary 
Ballerina 
Help Me 
Gloria

16-April-2012 Culloden Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland

EastBelfast.com 

Detroit man Mike Seltzer shares his experience of coming back to Belfast for yet another Van Morrison show. Incredibly our first visit to Ireland was just this past February. Our second now in April. The bond and the impetus was our shared love for local legend and international musical sensation, Mr Van Morrison.

Having the privilege to travel freely worldwide and sharing a passion for his genius, my wife and I had the great pleasure of experiencing Van's long awaited Belfast return early this year. While over enjoying the richness of this beautiful and welcoming fabled location, two more very special gigs were announced at the storied Culloden Estate, and thus we decided a return visit was in order. We have never felt so "at home" so far away from home (in the suburbs of our hometown of Detroit Michigan in a small historic village called Franklin, where our 1840 historic home stands).

Last night, night two in this spectacular setting on the lush grounds of Culloden, Van and his crack band of immensely talented musicians took to the stage following a lovely warm up from proud daughter Shana Morrison. The night(s) were filled with gems from Van's rich catalogue and in a most intimate setting for a lucky 300 fans...The performances were simply stunning and though we've been to more than one hundred Van gigs all over the world, these two were simply remarkable in small ways that defy explanation.

Van, it seems to most, has a voice that has actually aged like fine wine and added even more depth and range - a truly amazing feat given his vast talent and amazing catalogue. These two special nights featured gems from that catalogue and as Van never plays the same set, nor the same versions of even his most treasured classics-- it's truly a musical joy and experience to watch as he conducts and totally spontaneous set list to a well rehearsed band that moves on his cues in directions not even he sees coming.

So the nights were filled with chestnuts from albums of yesterday - Higher Than The World, lush In the Garden, soaring All in the Game/No Plan B/No Safety Net/This is IT!, boundless Ballerina, classics reborn in Brown Eyed Girl, Days Like This, Wavelength, Not Feelin It Anymore, Moondance, a rousing rollicking Gloria and a band stretch of brilliance - lush solos for all, lovely duets with stunning Shana Morrison - the lucky few that were in attendance witnessed brilliance as Van swept from sax to keyboards to guitar to harp to vocal heights reaching to his core and showcasing what is simply the reason we have followed and traipsed the globe to see him...

There is simply nothing like Van Morrison live, uncut, unedited spontaneous and mystically transcending - Ten stars! Or more Our visits to East Belfast to spend time in the world Van grew up in; Hyndford Street, Cypress Avenue, Orangefield and even as far as Coney Island... to the celebration of the Titanic 100th and the beautiful new museum, to travels throughout the region.... all once again reinforcing the warmth of this wonderful Irish community. And thus we are planning yet another return in the fall. Ireland, and East Belfast beckons further exploration and Lori and Michael Seltzer must come back! 

-Mike Seltzer

Setlist
Brown Eyed Girl
Higher Than The World
Enlightment
Days Like This
Wavelengh
All In TheGame/No Safety Net/No Plan B
Not Feeling It Anymore
In The Garden
Haunts Of Ancient Peace (Van on piano)
That's Entraintment
Ballerina
Tupelo Honey/Why Must I Always Explain
Old Black Magic(w/Shana Morrison)
Gloria

15-April-2012 Culloden Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Setlist
Instrumental
Brown Eyed Girl
Higher Than The World
Enlightenment
Not Feeling It Anymore
All In TheGame/No Safety Net/No Plan B
In The Garden
Sometimes We Cry (w/Shana Morrison)
Help Me
Baby Please Don't Go
Here Comes The Night
Ballerina
Moondance
Tupelo Honey/Why Must I Always Explain
Gloria

Van Adds Two Intimate Black Tie Dinner Performances At The Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London In October

Van Morrison has added two intimate black tie dinner shows at the The Grosvenor House on Park Lane in London in October.

Sunday 14th and Monday 15th October 2012.

The Great Room, Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London, W1 

Including drinks reception and three course dinner.

Exclusive live performance from Van Morrison and his band.

Drinks reception 6.30pm, dinner from 7.15pm.

Call Sacramento Events ticket hotline to purchase tickets by phone on 01371 876509 or buy online.

The Road To Coney Island

Van to play an exclusive one-off concert at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa, Northern Ireland on Sunday 3rd June, only 320 tickets - available now.

01-April-2012 
Aberdeen Music Hall
 Aberdeen, Scotland

Evening Express
Van Morrison Delights Aberdeen Audience
Singing star returns to Granite City

MUSICAL maverick Van Morrison returned to Aberdeen for the first time in five years and gave a mesmerising performance.


Playing a 90-minute set accompanied with a full jazz band, Van Morrison wowed the packed audience at the Aberdeen Music Hall.


The Belfast-born star played a slick mix of famous songs, including Brown Eyed Girl, Here Comes the Night and In The Garden.


And the star showcased his talent not just as a singer, but as a musician, joining his band on saxophone, harmonica and guitar.


Playing a set that flowed from one classic song to another, the audience clapped along to the mix of blues, jazz and funk.


The blues band playing alongside Van Morrison was hugely talented, with each musician getting a chance to shine playing solo.


While the singer didn’t interact too much between songs with the audience, he kept the crowd entertained and tapping their feet along with his songs.


Van Morrison may not have been in Aberdeen for five years, but he returned with a big band and a big bang to the Granite City.
-Niamh Burns


Setlist
So Complicated
Higher Than The World
Fair Play
These Dreams Of You
Enlightenment
Not Feeling It Anymore/Hurting Game
It's All In The Game/What They're Writing About/Time Is Running Out/No Plan B/Burning Ground
In The Garden
Baby Please Don't Go/Train Kept A Rolling
Here Comes The Night
Brown Eyed Girl
Tupelo Honey/Why Must I Always Explain
Ballerina
Help Me/Boom Boom/Dimples
Gloria

31-March-2012 
Edinburgh Playhouse
 Edinburgh, Scotland

The Scotsman (Source)
Van Morrison was packing sax on Saturday, sauntering on-stage to strike up a version of Brown Eyed Girl that set the tone for much of the rest of his set, being as it was a gentle tussle between subtle jazz flavours and loungey tendencies. 

This show was an exercise in restraint with some lovely, lightly-wrought playing from his six-strong ensemble, arranged around Morrison in a wide semi-circle, ready to act on his clipped command. The mournful mute brass and his own mellow sax solo made Haunts of Ancient Peace one of the highlights of the night, only rivalled by the fine cool jazz swing of Moondance. 

Morrison’s vocals were almost always the only strident note in the recipe, unless he felt the need to suddenly beat the body of his guitar or deliver a foghorn blow on the harmonica. Enunciation of the lyrics was, as usual, an added bonus, wheeled out for the homespun wisdom of I’m Not Feeling It Anymore. Nevertheless, there was soul in his tone, and little welcome bursts of gruff humour which suggested that he may, in fact, have been enjoying his time on stage. 

The pace pepped up in the later stages with bluesy Them favourites Baby Please Don’t Go and Here Comes The Night and covers of Sonny Boy Williamson’s Help Me and John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom. Morrison re-appeared briefly for an encore of Gloria, then left the rest of the band to jam it out like eager teenagers free from parental control.

Setlist 

Brown Eyed Girl

Higher Than The World

Fair Play
Haunts Of Ancient Peace
Moondance

Wavelength

All In The Game/Make It Real/No Plan B/No Safety Net/This Is It/Burning Ground
Enlightenment
I'm Not Feeling It Anymore/Hurting Game
Baby Please Don't Go

Here Comes The Night

Ballerina
Playhouse (1 verse)

In The Garden

Help Me

Gloria/Boom Boom

Van Morrison & Tom Jones

With Special Guest Bobby Womack

One Night Only

Marlay Park, Dublin

Saturday 25th August 2012

Tickets on sale

Van Photo Of The Day

Van Morrison & George Harrison in 1990.

04-March-2012 Bournemouth Pavilion, Bournemouth, England

Daily Echo (Source)

I first saw Van Morrison at Birmingham’s Rainbow Suite club in 1965. I was a precocious under-age youngster; Van Morrison had already had two huge pop hits with Baby Please Don’t Go and Here Comes The Night with his Belfast band Them.

Even then, Van Morrison was a maverick. During the set he wandered offstage, leaving the audience perplexed. A few minutes later he strolled back on, astonishing the young crowd by swigging from a bottle of Guinness and smoking a cigarette. Unprofessional? Perhaps. A bad example? Maybe. Cool and unforgettable? Definitely.

Almost 50 years on, Van Morrison now has his drinks brought on stage for him, but shows no sign of stopping.

Opening with the catchy Brown Eyed Girl, backed by a stonkin’ seven-piece band, Van Morrison’s music is a smooth, moody blend of jazz, blues and Celtic rock.

His textured voice is another instrument, driving the lyric, swooping and whooping, occasionally scat-singing.

Particularly outstanding were the hypnotic This Is It, the atmospheric In The Garden, and the hooky Moondance.

The musical arrangements are tight and contrasting, ranging from almost whispered vocals across instrumental spaces, to full blasting melodies. Van Morrison also excels on saxophone, harmonica and guitar.

The show-stopping finale was the classic garage anthem G-l-o-r-i-a, which was actually the B-side of Baby Please Don’t Go, which started it all for Van the Man in 1964.

In 2012, the Belfast Cowboy still managed to rock the Bournemouth Pavilion!

-Brendan McCusker

Pete Viney's Blog (Source)

I last saw Van Morrison in 2007, making this by way the longest gap between shows in twenty-five years. I’ve seen him most years up until 2007, then I never got tickets for the Live Astral Weeks shows in 2009. 2007 was with the Crawford Bell Singers, who were on Austin City Limits and Keep It Simple. It’s hard to believe that Keep It Simple, the last studio album was four years ago, and Astral Weeks Live was three years ago. As I look on my long shelf of Van Morrison albums, I realize he’d averaged one a year. If you include the official compilations, forty-four albums between 1968 and 2009. So what’s he been up to? I’d assumed his muse drove him to be so productive.

I looked online to see the Brighton set the day before, Saturday. Nothing much I hadn’t seen before. I’d been hoping more of the 2009 Astral Weeks revisited venture would have stuck, but at Brighton, it was only Ballerina.

Bournemouth was The Pavilion, his preferred smaller venue, avoiding the cavernous echoey Bournemouth International Centre where he had a spectacularly unsuccessful gig on the “jazz tour” in 1995 (widely bootlegged as Stepping On A Dream), and Poole Lighthouse where he started the Linda Gail Lewis tour in 2000 with a ramshackle show. He wisely sticks to the Pavilion, though the smaller capacity (1200?) perhaps contributed to the £65 ticket price in the stalls – double the last time I saw him.

The notices saying mobile phones could not be used for recording or photography and drinks could not be brought in were on every entrance. Good. No flashes, no spilt beer. A TV monitor outside said he would begin at 7.45 and end at 9.15. Not “approximately”, and indeed it wasn’t approximate.

He started with Brown Eyed Girl, reversing his old setlists, and he set out his stall clearly. It was a jazzy version, very different from the original, reinvented as much as he reinvented Cleaning Windows a few years ago. He also got the song over with, a useful thing to do when so many newer fans just wait for it and then go wild. It’s disconcerting to hear something altered so radically, but he was in fine voice.

The band didn’t get namechecked throughout. But we had the MD on organ, piano and trumpet; plusbaritone saxophone / clarinet, trombone, drums, percussion, double bass / bass guitar and guitar. I recognized the keyboard guy and guitarist. The guitarist stood at 90 degrees to the audience with a music stand, facing the keyboard player on the opposite side. Guitar and bass added the very few backing vocals. Van played tenor sax a lot, and harmonica a bit. The immediate sensation was that this was to be a jazzy evening. It wasn’t all that jazzy as it turned out, but this was a supple band of very experienced musicians, who could do the volume changes and light and shade as well as any band he’s had. Sure, we lost backing vocalists (a minus) but trombone added a different instrument, and guitar was noticeably jazzy, until Gloria.

There was a concept, and at least for the first few, I had the impression it was tightly arranged, and unusually that the keyboard player was calling some of the shots. Some was shared with Brighton, but by no means all. We got Higher Than The World, and a big surpise (also done at Brighton), Fair Play from Veedon Fleece. Enlightenment was in this early section.

It’s All in The Game was the medley version segueing into You Know What They’re Writing About / No Plan B / This Is It. There was a lot of improvised stuff … no opinion, no theory, this is it … was repeated ad infinitum to powerful effect as the band played soft and low. It was a night to focus on Van’s voice. In The Garden got huge recognition applause, and the recitation of No Guru, No Method, No Teacher continued the No Opinion, No Theory of the previous song. He was really pushing his point. Moondance gave every one the chance to stretch and solo.

Not Feeling It Anymore / Hurting Game continued the mood, before breaking into Crazy Love then These Dreams of You. Three from Moondance on the night left me hoping for Caravan, but no, it never happens. It does remind you that of all the stars at The Last Waltz in 1976, he’s the only one who still has full power in the vocal chords. Crazy Love appeared on the Phenomenon soundtrack by Aaron Neville, with a Robbie Robertson guitar solo. This was very different as it was from the original too. A strong Talk is Cheap was around this point, and looking at the setlists online, I think it was the only time this tour.

St James Infirmary led into the best version of Help Me I’ve seen him do … I’ve never been fond of the song … but with that many horns (the trombone switched to a sousaphone or tuba or whatever, baritone sax, trumpet, tenor sax) doing interesting things it was lifted. Van left before the end, was only off for seconds, then re-emerged for Tupelo Honey which unlike last time broke into a long Why Must I Always Explain? This was where he got the show back at Bournemouth 1995, but this time the words were ‘No sweet Lorraine’ not as in 1995 with the F-word loudly inserted. That was also the third time in the evening he stressed his “Why must I explain? This is it. No criticism. No comment wanted” philosophy. He strapped on a Les Paul guitar for it.

Gloria was the usual version with the long loud “Van has left the building” ending while the band blew for five minutes, and I’m sure he walks off straight into a car. The fun bit of Gloria was where he went into Who Do You Love? in the middle … a possible nod to The Last Waltz in fact, where Ronnie Hawkins sang it.

I’d wondered about the evening, as there was no new album, no revised album set. What was the concept going to be? Was there one? The answer is a definite “yes.” As with the last two bands, he has created a distinctive sound palette, and refined the approach (very quiet playing, lots of vocal gymnastics and talk) which is powerful. My feeling that it was arranged more than usual was borne out by the lighting … cloud effect for It’s All in The Game, the same lit up green so as to look like trees for In The Garden, then stars for Moondance. It was one of the best Van Morrison shows I’ve seen … something I said the last twice, in fact!

Setlist

Brown Eyed Girl

Higher than The World

Fair Play

Enlightenment

All In The Game/You Know What They're Writing/No Plan B/This Is It!

In The Garden

Moondance

Not Feeling It Anymore/The Hurting Game

Crazy Love
These Dreams of You

Talk Is Cheap

St James Infirmary

Help Me

Tupelo Honey/Why Must I Always Explain

Gloria

03-March-2012 Brighton Dome, Brighton, England

Photo via Dail G

End of the Line Blog

Heading off to a Van Morrison gig there's always an edge of trepidation along with the anticipation. Of course, you know why you want to be there... That astounding voice. A back catalogue of songs to kill for. A jazzman's ability to cut and coax and prod and change - with a shaman's urge to take it somewhere higher. This is one of the few rock performers for whom the word 'genius' might not be the usual obvious hyperbole.

And yet... This is also the guy who turned in a perfunctory, uncommunicative and frustrating show the first time I saw him some thirty years ago, delighted to have bagged front row seats at the Hammersmith Odeon. This is also the guy who has churned out a whole load of uninspired songs with clumsy and self-pitying lyrics. Who has elevated grumpy-old-man-ness to a form of conceptual art.

I saw a couple of concerts in Brighton in the 90s which were pretty good, but then a gap until I was lured back for his reprise of Astral Weeks at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years ago. Trepidation cubed for that, given the cultural weight of the set-list and the eye-watering ticket prices - it could all go horribly wrong.

It didn't, of course. An absolute and delightful triumph: the voice undimmed by the years, unlike so many of his contemporaries; an extraordinary band; Van (by his standards) chatty and clearly enjoying himself; and to cap it all the unexpected and unalloyed joy of hearing 'Listen To The Lions' live after the night's main menu.

So, I couldn't wasn't expect him to match that, but couldn't miss the opportunity to see him in Brighton again. Trepidation along with anticipation.

A nicely in-character notice to welcome us to The Dome: no support, on stage at eight sharp, 90 minutes, no drinks, bar shut, no photography - under pain of ritual disembowelment (inside later, security folk were indeed rushing down the aisles earnestly to wag fingers at the merest gleam from a mobile).

But as soon as the music started, the tension slipped way. This was never going to be a reprise of the Albert Hall but it was definitely the next best Van show I've seen. Primarily a jazz band behind him for this tour, all in black, highly skilled - trombone and sax, keyboard doubling on trumpet, guitar, bass and two drummers - slipping effortlessly into a lightly swinging arrangement of 'Brown Eyed Girl'. Van in command: stretching words, repeating, scat singing; pointing in the solos, nodding proprietorially at the particularly good ones - of which their were many.

It's also an evening to appreciate what a good musician Van is himself: he blows some very nice alto sax, along with harp on a couple of numbers and even plays some electric piano.

An early highlight was 'Fair Play' from 1974's classic Veedon Fleece, Van blending sweet high notes with more guttural attack, playing around repeatedly with the wonderfully bizarre 'you say Geronimo' line. There's even a bit of slapstick when Van sings 'you can hear the brass band' then waits ostentatiously while the horns pretend to miss their cue. Sounds daft, but it was good fun at the time...

After that, he briefly reminded us that he can write some clunkers by wheeling out 'I'm Not Feeling It Anymore' ('I just ended up in doubt/All my drinking buddies, they locked me out' etc, etc) before returning to the stronger side of his songbook.

A lot of the set is gently paced and quietly pitched. He's not afraid to cut things back and draw out individual instruments. And that makes for strong dynamic variety when the band crank up and really go for it. A medley moving from 'All In The Game' through to 'No Plan B/This Is It' builds irrestibly to the repetition of the key phrases 'this is it...no rehearsal'.

Then things calm through 'Moondance', 'Haunts Of Ancient Peace' and (another lovely surprise) a slow and gentle reading of 'Into The Mystic' - after which 'In The Garden' builds again to its forceful conclusion 'no guru, no method, no teacher'. Time for some hairs on the back of the neck to spring to attention at a liberating message very convincingly expressed.

Photo via Dail.

 After 'Crazy Love', Van calls to the wings for a crib sheet, introducing a Rodney Crowell song 'that we haven't played for a while'. It is 'Till I Gain Control Again', from the Pay The Devil country set from 2006. He doesn't seem to have to study the words much, but relative unfamiliarity may help form what is a moving version of a fragile song.

He then segues into 'I Can't Stop Loving You' before a killer sequence of five songs to close the show: a stark and blues-inflected 'St James Infirmary'; a jaunty 'Precious Time', with an arrangement bordering on ska; then reining back for a luminous take on 'Ballerina' (introduced as a request from his six-year old daughter), before cranking up again with 'Help Me' and closing with a storming and stonking version of 'Gloria'.

The last song is a joy. I realise I'd almost come to think of 'Gloria' as Patti Smith's song, but it's great to hear the relish its creator can still bring to it, the best part of fifty years on - and the sheer enjoyment of the band, reeling off chorus after exuberant chorus after their leader has marched off the stage - a great rock guitar solo followed by a chopping and churning keyboard break, including a heel landing on the keys, Jerry Lee Lewis style.

After that, there is of course no chance of a second encore: the house lights are up before all the band have left the stage. Van is probably several streets way already.

Oh, well: let him do it his way - the results can be extraordinary.

-Pete Wrench

Setlist

Brown Eyed Girl

Higher Than The World

Fair Play

All In The Game/You Know What They're Writing/No Plan B/This Is It

Haunts Of Ancient Peace
Moondance

Not Feeling it Anymore

In The Garden

Crazy Love

Till I Gain Control Again
St James Infirmary

I Can't Stop Loving You

Spanish Steps/Into The Mystic

Ballerina

Precious Time

Help Me

Gloria