07-September-2018
KeyBank Pavilion
 Burgettstown, USA

Times Online Source
Well, it was a marvelous night for a moon dance Friday, with Van Morrison at KeyBank Pavilion singing many of his classic songs.

Not that the lazy fans in the second-tier seats got up on their feet to shake and groove until the very end, though it looked rather lively on the lawn.

Granted, Morrison’s 90-minute performance got off to a slow start, bringing initial fears of, wow, what if the 45-year wait to see the Northern Ireland legend on a local stage didn’t meet expectations? Morrison and his band sounded too quiet, especially compared to the guitar-shredding set of alt-country artist Sturgill Simpson that had preceded them.

Morrison seemed to notice it, too, making a few upward pointing gestures, as in, hey, turn up the volume. Morrison played sax on “Benediction (Thank God For Self Love),” and he and his lightly jazzy pop-rock band sounded OK on “Magic Time,” but they were still too quiet and in need of more energy. Sporting a dark suit, tinted glasses and stylish hat, Morrison added harmonica to the blues standard “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” which perked up things. Everything finally started to click — evidently volume adjustments were made — as Morrison’s signature, soulful voice got good and peppy on “Here Comes The Night” by his 1960s band Them.

From there, it truly was a marvelous experience, as the band began to assert itself, including soothing female backing vocals on “Carrying a Torch” then the classic “Moondance,” somewhat re-arranged, with a prominent bass line behind Morrison’s jaunty vocals.

Van The Man even cracked a smile during “Broken Record,” where he and the band imitated a broken record, complete with a scratching, stuck needle sound effect, and him repeatedly singing “broken record, broken record, broken record...”

The excitement grew with a back-to-back “Days Like This” and the classic “Wild Night,” while Morrison played piano for “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

And talk about an epic ending, with the famed “Brown Eyed Girl” sparking the crowd to sing “Sha la la la la la la la la la la, dee dah” — just like that — and then a spry “Gloria,” in all its G-L-O-R-I-A glory, getting even those spectators in the pavilion’s second tier to stand and dance.

Not only did local Morrison fans get to a cross an item off their bucket list, they saw a fine performance.
-Scott Tady

Setlist
The Way Young Lovers Do
Benediction
Magic Time
Baby, Please Don't Go
Here Comes the Night
Cleaning Windows
Carrying a Torch
Moondance
Broken Record
Days Like This
Wild Night
Sometimes We Cry
Enlightenment
I Can't Stop Loving You
Vanlose Stairway
Warm Love
Wonderful Remark
Whenever God Shines His Light
Jackie Wilson Said
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Jay Berliner (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

31-August-2018 
Wrest Park 
Silsoe, England

Brendan checks in again with review of Van's gig on his 73rd birthday

Van Morrison/The Waterboys/Hot House Flowers at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, 31st August 2018

I usually avoid these festival shows like the plague but as it was Van Morrison's 73rd birthday I hoped that he might produce a special show to mark the occasion but it was a forlorn hope as it transpired.

Hot House Flowers commenced proceedings with a rather sedate set consisting of some of their better known material including Don't Go along with some traditional Irish material. The Waterboys by contrast hit the stage running and played a brilliant set culminating with The Whole of the Moon and Fisherman's Blues. Apart from Mike Scott on vocals,guitar and piano the band also features the incredible Steve Wickham on violin and an organ player who goes by the name Brother Paul and is a real throwback to days of yore with long blond hair flowing as he was virtually hanging over the edge of the keyboards while delivering several outstanding solos. The band also features the outstanding former Van drummer Ralph Salmins.

After the Waterboys set I reckoned Van would have to reach some great heights to emulate their performance but he came nowhere close. As the set list indicates, this show was a typical festival one featuring plenty of 'the hits' alongside several jazz standards and jazzy reworkings of Van songs none of which to my ears are an improvement on the original versions.The third song was the rarely played Start All Over Again which was emphasised by Van demanding the lyrics sheet at the song's commencement. Bring It On Home To Me was strong once again as was Carrying A Torch but it was only toward the end that the show picked up somewhat with the inclusion of Did Ye Get Healed,Why Must I Always Explain and In The Afternoon after which Van exited the stage singing the line 'Need A Shot of Rhythm and Blues' over and over. Van did return for an encore of Brown Eyed Girl and an extended Gloria which, in fact, got by far the biggest audience reaction of the night with the band really cutting loose after Van departed. Dana Masters did some great vocals, Paul Moore produced some really funky bass lines while Teena Lyle has undoubtedly added to her fan base after an extended percussion solo.

The audience incidentally was a typical festival one with virtually everyone in the unreserved area where most were congregated talking and laughing non stop throughout with the music of secondary importance and being purely of a background nature. It continues to fill me with a sense of wonder that people are prepared to travel such long distances and spend so much on concert tickets just to have a good chat and a few drinks with their friends. It seems that once they take a few photos to prove they were there to be shared with their friends (i.e.the other ones that they were not talking to throughout the concert) then their night is complete.

As the festival shows near completion for 2018 it is to be hoped that Van will then delve more deeply into his real quality material for future shows and perhaps deliver some more Llangollen type shows which would be much more representative of his outstanding musical legacy.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Skye Boat Song (instrumental)
Benediction
Start All Over Again
Magic Time
Only A Dream
Bring It On Home To Me
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Can Tell
Carrying A Torch
Enlightenment
Jackie Wilson Said
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Moondance
Broken Record
Did Ye Get Healed
Why Must I Always Explain
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 39m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

30-August-2018 
Bonus Arena 
Hull, England

Brendan is back with review from new venue in Hull

Van Morrison at the Bonus Arena, Hull -30th August 2018

This concert saw the official grand opening of this new venue and it was more or less filled to capacity. After quite a number of European outdoor festival shows which have consisted largely of the 'radio hits' I was hopeful that tonight's indoor show would feature much more of the real classic material that the dedicated Van fans yearn to hear as evidenced by the ecstatic reaction of fans to the quality material delivered at the Llangollen show in July. The opening half of this show however was pretty unremarkable and contained no real surprises although How Far From God and the Baby Please Don't Go medley were strongly delivered and went down really well with Dave Keary most prominent on electric guitar.A really strong Bring It On Home To Me was the first real indication of Van being really committed to the task at hand and this was followed by a fast but pretty ordinary cover of Benediction while Broken Record which followed was notable for Van increasing the number of consecutive times he uttered the song title towards its conclusion to 29.

Enlightenment and Carrying A Torch provided the first real indication of Van moving into a higher gear and while Days Like This saw a brief return to 'hits' territory a lovely Did Ye Get Healed picked up the tempo again. All In the Game was a most welcome addition and saw Van repeat over and over once more that "this is it" and there is "no plan B and no safety net". Warm Love was well delivered and received before a further trip down the ancient highway In The Afternoon brought the main show to a conclusion. When Van returned to the opening strains of In The Garden it seemed that more magic would ensue but sadly after a beautiful Dave Keary acoustic guitar solo this was a version cut brutally short as Van exited swiftly again mid-song only to return briefly to fit in what he apparently feels is the almost obigatory rendition of Brown Eyed Girl.

Van was in fine voice and sang with great power but there was no interaction with the audience throughout the show tonight.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Skye Boat Song (instrumental)
Lets Get Lost
How Far from God
Magic Time
Back On Top
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Can Tell
Moondance
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Bring It On Home To Me
Benediction
Broken Record
Enlightenment
Carrying A Torch
Days Like This
Did Ye Get Healed
All In The Game
Warm Love
In The Afternoon
In The Garden
Brown Eyed Girl

Set Time 1h 38m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

14-August-2018 
SF Masonic Auditorium 
San Francisco

Setlist
Hold It Right There
Ride On Josephine
Look Down the Road
Magic Time
Have I Told You Lately
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don’t Go/Don’t Start Cryin/Got My Mojo Workin
Days Like This
Broken Record
I Believe to My Soul
Symphony Sid
I Can Tell
Think Twice Before You go
Carrying an Torch
Vanlose Stairway
I Can’t Stop Loving You
In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Burnin Ground
The Party’s Over
Whenever God Shines His Light
Help Me
Brown Eyed Girl

24-June-2018
Isle of Wight Festival
Newport, England

22-June-2018
Azkena Rock Festival
Azkena, Spain

07-May-2018
Millennium Forum
Derry, Northern Ireland

Brendan check's in with night 2 from Derry
The first five songs performed tonight were identical to those at the concert the night before and as Van then strapped on his electric guitar he suddenly became quite chatty and announced that as the audience might have guessed by now this was the blues and jazz set before he ran through a brief summary of the songs already performed. Automobile Blues which followed was well delivered and featured fine guitar and organ solos by Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. How Far From God followed and was really good once more while Sometimes We Cry was very strong with the additional feature of a brief vocal exchange between Van and an audience member who shouted down from the balcony which culminated with Van explaining to him that the song was about Johnny Ray. Have I Told You Lately (fast version) and the Baby Please Don't Go medley raised the tempo before another fine rendition of I Believe To My Soul. Did Ye Get Healed was terrific once again while Saint James Infirmary was well delivered and received. When introducing The Party's Over,Van said it is off the Versatile album and asked if the audience had heard of it and that it is in the jazz charts before going on to say that they used to do comedy but this is serious!In The Afternoon was really good once more while it lasted but is was a somewhat shortened version apparently to make way for the rather surprising inclusion of Brown Eyed Girl given Van's earlier comment about the type of set being performed tonight. This was the final song of the main set but Van did return for an encore of Gloria which included a rather comical moment when Van was ready to depart but realised his mobile microphone wasn't on stage after looking everywhere for it while Dana Masters peered anxiously over the top of her own microphone stand as if she was hoping that it would somehow magically appear and the crisis would pass. Mercifully the missing microphone was swiftfully delivered on stage and it's brief absence didn't hinder Van's rather premature departure after a mere 79 minutes on stage. Even the band's extended solos didn't stretch the set time beyond a rather meagre 85 minutes. Precious time was clearly ticking away!

This show and the previous few jazz shows by Van have seen him pay homage to a number of the jazz and blues artists who influenced him initially and set him on his musical path. He has journeyed on that path with great distinction over the following years to such an extent that the vast majority of the rather limited number of his own compositions included in recent jazz sets have shone like a beacon when performed alongside the old standards and in my view represent the achievement of even higher levels of musical excellence by Van to those reached by the revered artists to whom he clearly feels indebted musically.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Hold It Right There
The Way Young Lovers Do
Let's Get Lost
Magic Time
Symphony Sid
Brand New Automobile
How Far From God
Sometimes We Cry
Have I Told You Lately
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Believe To My Soul
Did Ye Get Healed
Saint James Infirmary
The Party's Over
In The Afternoon
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 25m

03-May-2018
Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Cheltenham, England

Brendan Hynes was at the gig
Van Morrison certainly indulged his jazz influences tonight with somewhat of a jazz overload as three of the songs played feature on the new You're Driving Me Crazy album and no less than five on the previous album Versatile. The show opened as usual with Hold It Right There featuring Paul Moran on trumpet extensively. Paul also featured prominently on the following The Way Young Lovers Do as he alternated feverishly between piano and trumpet as he has evidently not yet perfected the art of playing both instruments simultaneously. Let's Get Lost was the first of the Versatile songs performed and was followed by a real Van favourite in Magic Time. Symphony Sid featured Dana Masters on vocals and was followed by the instrumental Affirmation which to me sounded much better live than on record and while it is quite basic it has that unmistakable Van instrumental sound at it's core.How Far From God livened proceedings considerably before we were treated to the wonderful Wild Honey. Moondance was notable for the audience ovation for Teena Lyle after a fine vibraphone solo which proved that she is not just big in Las Vegas. I Believe To My Soul was very strong and featured Dave Keary prominently on guitar while Saint James Infirmary featured Paul Moran extensively on organ throughout (except when he was playing trumpet when obviously the organ playing stopped). Did Ye Get Healed was a welcome inclusion and was really good with great organ and guitar solos while Dana sang "it's getting better and better" over and over as Van brought the song towards it's conclusion.After I Get A Kick Out of You represented yet another Versatile track it was time once more to fasten our seatbelts as Van took us on a journey down the ancient highway In The Afternoon and then high on a hill looking down on the ancient highway.The female backing vocals were great during this song and crystal clear.Broken Record brought us rapidly back down to earth while The Party's Over was a pretty uninspired song choice to follow. When Help Me followed one knew the end was nigh and I fully expected to hear the usual " big hand for the band" from Van but instead he concluded the song and went straight into a most welcome Ballerina which went down a storm.As Van departed the stage he hung in the wings for quite a while still singing before finally Paul Moran's booming voice announced "Sir Van Morrison" over and over while Van made his departure and he did not return. The band went into overdrive at this stage with Dana on vocals and Paul Moore with an extended bass solo dead heating for first place based on the audience reaction.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Hold It Right There (Wait A Minute Baby)
The Way Young Lovers Do
Let's Get Lost
Magic Time
Symphony Sid
Affirmation
How Far From God
Wild Honey
Moondance
I Believe To My Soul
Saint James Infirmary
Did Ye Get Healed
I Get A Kick Out Of You
In The Afternoon
Broken Record
The Party's Over
Help Me
Ballerina

Set Time 1h 38m

21-April-2018
Subturania
London, England

Setlist
You’re Driving Me Crazy
Hold It Right There (Wait A Minute Baby)
Miss Otis Regrets
Things I Used to Do
Magic Time
Centerpiece/Times Gettin' Tougher/Everyday I Have the Blues
Young Lovers Do
Have I Told You Lately
Teardrops on my Pillow
Close Enough for Jazz
Foggy Day in London Town
Moondance
Broken Record

Big Hand For The Band!
Joey DeFrancesco (Organ)
Dan Wilson – guitar
Troy Roberts – tenor saxophone
Michael Ode – drums
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

20-April-2018
Subturania
London, England

Brendan checks in with Night 2:
Night two of the three night stint at Subturania followed the pattern of the previous night in that the material was drawn almost entirely from the new album. After opening with You're Driving Me Crazy and Hold It Right There (which saw Van lead the clapping along to extended guitar and saxophone solos) Van introduced Miss Otis Regrets as a song written by Cole Porter for a bet. A deviation from the previous night saw When Shadows Fall performed and this was a real highlight with Joey excelling on piano and organ. Magic Time was a slightly slower version than usual and featured an extended trumpet solo by Joey while the guitarist's excellent solo drew applause from Van. The song ended with Van performing a saxophone solo with great exuberance as his legs pumped furiously. Close enough For Jazz featured some scatting by Van while All Saints Day featured great organ by Joey and was much superior to the previous night's version.Travellin' Light geatured great saxophone and guitar solos while Joey's organ solo pleased Van greatly. The Things I Used To Do/Got My Eyes On You /Dimples medley included a harmonica solo by Van and got the "one more time" treatment. The slow blues which followed consisted as far as I can ascertain of Teardrops On My Pillow/Broken Hearted Blues(correct answers on a postcard please) and included a wonderful guitar solo followed by a saxaphone solo which drew plenty of "yeah"s from Van. There was also a humorous exchange between Joey and Van after Van sang"if I had ten million dollars I would give her every dime" with Joey saying "oh yeah?" to which Van immediately retorted "not really!". Van introduced Money's Getting Cheaper as a Jimmy Witherspoon track he had recorded himself back in 1966 and this was really good. Dana Masters got a nice audience ovation for her vocals on the fast version of Have I Told You Lately and Moondance brought the show towards its end but with Van returning for an encore of Centrepiece/Every Day I Have The Blues before thanking Joey and asking for a "big hand for the band"followed by "big hand for the ladies" directed towards Teena Lyle and Dana Masters.

The level of performance by the musicians on stage was at the virtuoso level with all looking very relaxed and comfortable and given considerable latitude by Van to stretch out and display their considerable talents during extended solos.Van once more seemed to really enjoy himself greatly with plenty of smiles and laughs and humorous interplay with Joey.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
You're Driving Me Crazy
Hold It Right There(Wait A Minute Baby)
Miss Otis Regrets
When Shadows Fall
Magic Time
Close Enough For Jazz
All Saints Day
Travellin' Light
The Things I Used To Do/Got My Eyes On You/Dimples
Teardrops On My Pillow/Broken Hearted Blues
Money's Getting Cheaper
Have I Told You Lately
Moondance/My Funny Valentine
Centrepiece/Every Day I Have The Blues

Set Time 1h 28m

Big Hand For The Band!
Joey DeFrancesco (Organ)
Dan Wilson – guitar
Troy Roberts – tenor saxophone
Michael Ode – drums
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

19-April-2018
Subturania
London, England

Brendan Hynes checks in with review of Subturania night 1:
The joint billing for this show was a clear indication that it would draw heavily from the forthcoming album and be very jazz orientated and so it proved as Van advised at the outset that they would be showcasing songs from the new album You're Driving Me Crazy out on 27th April 2018.

After opening with the album title track Van announced the next song as Hold It (full title Hold It Right There) which seems to be exactly the same song as Wait A Minute Baby which Van has performed regularly in recent times.Strange but true! Miss Otis Regrets was the first real highlight and featured a great trumpet solo by the multi talented Joey De Francesco. Things I Used To Do again featured Joey prominently with a brilliant organ solo which prompted Van to lead an audience clap along which continued through great sax and guitar solos by Joey's musicians.

It was the fifth song in before we got a Van original in the form of Magic Time which included a fine trumpet solo by Joey.Close Enough For Jazz saw Van do some scatting with Joey replicating the sounds on organ.Travelling Light was followed by the fast version of Have I Told You Lately which saw Dana Masters get some of the limelight on vocals.The version of the somewhat biographical Goldfish Bowl was particularly good and a great organ solo was applauded by Van who then exclaimed"there's Joey!" before giving the "one more time" instruction towards the song's ending to show that he was really into it.This song got a great crowd reaction.The Way Young Lovers Do featured really good extended organ,guitar and flugelhorn solos and was one of the main highlights. Centrepiece moved into Every Day I Got The Blues before All Saints Day and Moondance/My Funny Valentine brought the show to a conclusion after a relatively short set time of 1h 24m. Joey and the band remained on stage for a while as if expecting Van to return but he was nowhere to be seen.

This show was far removed from a standard Van show and would be appreciated most by those who are jazz fans.The quality of musicianship was of an extremely high level throughout and Van seemed particularly enthused by the playing of the saxaphone player which perhaps might prompt Van to restore the brass section to his own band where the absence of same has left a definite void.Van was very animated throughout the show and clearly enjoying the musical collaboration.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist (Thanks Michael S.)
You’re Driving Me Crazy
Hold It Right There
Miss Otis Regrets
Things I Used to Do/Got My Eyes On You/Dimples
Magic Time
Close Enough for Jazz
Travelin' Light
Have I Told You
Goldfish Bowl
Young Lovers
/Centerpiece/Everyday I Have The Blues
All Saints Day
Moondance

Big Hand For The Band!
Joey DeFrancesco (Organ)
Dan Wilson – guitar
Troy Roberts – tenor saxophone
Michael Ode – drums
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

08-February-2018
James L. Knight Center
Miami, USA

Setlist (Thanks Davis L.)
Wait a minute
Moondance/So What
I Get A Kick Out of you
How Far From God
Magic time
Baby, Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don’t Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Can Tell
Rough God Goes Riding
Broken Record
Sometimes We Cry
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Have I Told You Lately?
Wild Night
Wild Honey
Jackie Wilson Said
Carrying A Torch
Whenever God Shines His Light
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

07-February-2018
James L. Knight Center
Miami, USA

SouthFlorida.com (source)
At a few minutes before 9 p.m. on Wednesday in Miami, Van Morrison asked his band for a time check. He was 12 songs into a 19-song performance at the James L. Knight Center, the first of two shows at the venue, and had less than an hour to go. Two songs later, the 72-year-old Irish singer stepped back from the microphone and checked his watch. Was he in a hurry? He could have fooled us.

On a stage crowded with instruments and musicians, everyone clad in black, Morrison’s suit striped with gray, the artist held down the center with the disposition of a man who is always right where he belongs. Behind gold-tinted sunglasses and under a suit-matching fedora, Morrison said little to the audience beyond “thank you.” By my count, he smiled once. He communicated plenty.

Favoring the blues and jazz tones of his recent albums, including the pair of recordings he released in 2017, “Roll With the Punches” and “Versatile,” Morrison revealed a continued interest in ideas that have informed his work since the 1960s: the risks and rewards in loving another person, our endless struggles with faith and mortality, the magic of nature, the absurd comedy of it all. Of course, none of it would ever have carried without that voice, an instrument whose reach seems divine simply because of how human it is. Don’t we all wish to express ourselves in this way, even if all we’re trying to say is “baby, please don’t go” or “whatever happened to Tuesday and so slow?”

Morrison’s set at the Knight Center didn’t ignore his hits, but it didn’t depend on them, either. “Moondance” arrived early, as the second song, and it revealed itself slowly, with Morrison and his six-piece band teasing out the melody until the audience caught on and responded with cries of recognition. “Days Like This” was as hopeful and lovely as always, if not more so thanks to the open and attentive playing of the band. The song was followed by “Broken Record,” an almost too clever blues original from “Roll With the Punches” that was delivered with a winking charm the recorded version lacks. “Brown Eyed Girl,” performed near the end of the set, was given fresh life, with Morrison jauntily leading his group on alto sax and then, as he did throughout the evening, stepping back to let the individual musicians solo. No one in the audience could confuse these excursions for showing off.

Mostly, the concert offered one surprise after another, with Morrison pulling songs from corners of his career only his most committed fans would have visited: “Little Village,” “Playhouse,” “In the Garden,” “Hey, Where Are You?” Nothing felt esoteric or out of place, and the set appeared to be navigated by mood more than stagecraft, with Morrison calling out titles to his band between songs, and the musicians repeating those titles to one another. “Versatile,” released on Dec. 1, is, after all, Morrison’s 38th studio album.

“You can call it nostalgia, I don’t mind,” Morrison sang about halfway through the show, in the 2005 song “Magic Time.” I wouldn’t do so then, and I wouldn’t do so at the end of the night, when Morrison shouted the chorus of “Gloria,” his 1964 hit with the band Them, walked offstage with a microphone in hand, continued to sing while out of sight in the wings and left the band to spend the next 10 minutes placing the song, and its listeners, squarely in the present.
-Jake Cline

Setlist (Thanks Shannon)
Wait A Minute, Baby
Moondance
I Get A Kick Out Of You
How Far From God
Baby Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/Don’t Start Cryin' Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Can Tell
Magic Time
Little Village
Days Like This
Broken Record
In the Midnight
Enlightenment
Sometimes We Cry
Playhouse
Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Big Joe Turner Medley/Raincheck/Sitting Pretty
Whenever God Shines His Light
Brown Eyed Girl
In The Garden
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

03-February-2018
The Colosseum Caesars Palace
Las Vegas, USA

via April Reynolds Casey

Brendan on night three of Vegas gigs
The third and final performance of Van Morrison's stint at this venue featured a certain degree of overlap with the set lists from the previous two shows so for brevity and to guard against developing writer's block I will concentrate largely in this report on the variations tonight. The first of these was Bye Bye Blackbird which I wasn't exactly yearning to hear and having done so remain of the same mindset. The second one featured a duet with Shana Morrison as father and daughter tonight shared a Beautiful Vision with us which culminated in Van declaring a couple of times "I can make it through with your beautiful vision". It was great to hear and well deserving of the rapturous reception received. Crazy Love got a relatively rare outing and this was a great version with Van singing it like he really meant it. Little Village was another welcome inclusion which received a great ovation and featured excellent solos by Dave Keary on guitar and Paul Moran on trumpet. In the Midnight saw Dave Keary impress Van so much with his high pitched vocal that he got him to do it again. An extended In The Afternoon was a major highlight once more and brought the main performance to a close before Van returned twice for Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria to finish. Of the other numbers performed Sometimes We Cry was really good tonight with Enlightenment and Magic Time running it close.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Wait A Minute Baby
Moondance
Bye Bye Blackbird
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
How Far From God
Magic Time
Beautiful Vision w/Shana Morrison
Broken Record
Sometimes We Cry
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Enlightenment
Crazy Love
Wild Night
Precious Time
Little Village
In The Midnight
In The Afternoon
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Set Time 1h 39m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

02-February-2018
The Colosseum Caesars Palace
Las Vegas, USA

Brendan was there for 2nd gig
Having opened the show once more with Wait A Minute Baby and Moondance Van Morrison delved into the Versatile album for a competent version of I Get A Kick Out of You before delivering a stirring How Far From God from the preceding Roll With The Punches album. Sometimes We Cry was particularly strong tonight and Van was particularly amused when the audience erupted before he and Dana had delivered the final line asking "do you want to do it?" before adding"how does it go?". Got My Mojo working was once more the highlight of the Baby Please blues medley and was rapturously applauded. Ride On Josephine got the "one more time" treatment from Van while Magic Time which followed was indeed quite magical tonight. When Van announced his daughter Shana I knew That Old Black Magic would be performed once more and it does fill me with a sense of wonder that Van doesn't give her some latitude to duet on some of his own songs rather than to continually trot out that old chestnut.Whenever God was particularly notable for the ovation given to percussionist Teena Lyle who appears to have achieved some kind of cult status in the States judging by the reaction to all of her solos during the show. Days like This and Precious Time which followed were really for the 'hits brigade' in the audience but a really nice Enlightenment raised the quality level again. Wild Night was pretty powerful and well received before Van took us on a mystical journey down the ancient highway In The Afternoon. As Van brought the sound right down the stage was shrouded in darkness save for a single beam of light shining down on him while Dana Masters soothingly repeated the phrase"its my life baby its your life baby" over and over in the background. It was quite wonderful. Jackie Wilson Said and the Las Vegas style version of Have I Told You Lately followed in quick succession before the opening strains of Celtic Excavation brought us Into The Mystic to a tumultuous roar of approval from the appreciative audience. Van departed still singing in the wings as the song concluded before returning for Help Me which ended with an extended band workout once Van had finally left the stage.

The sound quality was excellent again tonight and showcased Van's vocals which are sounding as good as at any time over the past few years. While the set list overall was somewhat sparce in terms of classic Van material his performance was a fully committed one throughout.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Wait A Minute Baby
Moon dance
I Get A Kick Out Of You
How Far From God
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
Ride On Josephine
Magic Time
That Old Black Magic w/Shana Morrison
Whenever God Shines His Light
Broken Record
Days Like This
Precious Time
Enlightenment
Wild Night
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck/Stretching Out/Sitting Pretty
Jackie Wilson Said
Have I Told You Lately
Celtic Excavation/Into The Mystic
Help Me

Set Time 1h 43m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

31-January-2018
The Colosseum Caesars Palace
Las Vegas, USA

Brendan is in Vegas from Ireland and sent this review
As the band hit the stage 3 minutes ahead of the scheduled start time the first thing I noticed was that David Hayes of the long flowing silver hair was back on bass in place of Paul Moore on this occasion. The opening few numbers were the same as on the recent UK tour apart from the regrettable exclusion of Warm Love. The Baby Please Don't Go medley featured Dave Keary to great effect on guitar and the final segment saw Van do a full version of Got My Mojo Working complete with Van comically stumbling over the words. This went down a storm as did I Can Tell which followed. Sometimes We Cry featured Dana Masters on shared vocals to considerable acclaim before Van delivered an extremely good In The Afternoon which saw him lose concentration momentarily following some rowdy shouts from a couple of idiots in the audience before then continuing on to mesmerise us. As we are in Las Vegas it was no surprise that we got the speeded up version of Have I Told You Lately and Van has done this version so often at this stage that if he reverted to the original slow version it would probably sound like a new and in my view much superior arrangement. Whenever God Shines His Light featured a great organ solo by Paul Moran while Wild Night was rapturously received.Days Like This, Precious Time and Cleaning Windows followed in quick succession before Van slowed things down to deliver an extended and quite wonderful version of All In The Game which received the full treatment as Van reminded us one more time that there is no Plan B and no safety net before bringing us down to the factory and on to the burning ground before finally taking us down to the river as he made his way off stage. This was pure class!

Van returned for an encore of Brown Eyed Girl followed by a storming Help Me before exiting the stage once more only to return a final time for Gloria which featured outrageously good extended guitar and organ solos by Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively.

Van seemed re-energised tonight after a break following the extensive UK tour late last year. He was fully committed and in great voice throughout which was aided in no small part by the superb acoustics in this iconic venue.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Wait A Minute Baby
Moondance
Magic Time
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Got My Mojo Working
I Can Tell
Sometimes We Cry
In The Afternoon
Have I Told You Lately (fast version)
Whenever God Shines His LIght
Wild Night
Days Like This
Precious Time
I Can't Stop Loving You
Cleaning Windows
All In The Game/Burning Ground
Brown Eyed Girl
Help Me
Gloria

Set Time 1h 41m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
David Hayes (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Teena Lyle (Percussion, Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)