30-October-2016
Bluesfest - O2
 London, England

Brendan Hynes review of gig
Van Morrison made what has become by now his annual appearance at this festival but as this large venue was only filled to about half capacity, saturation point appears to have been reached. Van had a hard act to follow in Jeff Beck who turned in a guitar virtuoso performance in opening the show but Van proved well up to the task. Too Late from the new album opened Van's set in lively fashion followed by an up tempo version of Have I Told You Lately which in my view detracts from the song's quality. A nice delivery of Magic Time was followed by a lively version of Wavelength. Van then announced his new single off the album as Every Time I See A River and this sounded great live and even better than on the album featuring a lovely guitar solo from Dave Keary and nice backing vocals from Dana Masters.Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now raised the tempo and was followed by Here Comes The Night.Cleaning Windows was enjoyable but continues to suffer from the absence of a brass section which is such an integral part of the song in its original incarnation.

When Van announced a blues medley featuring Chris Farlowe and Jeff Beck few could have imagined what was to follow as we were taken through Stormy Monday/Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket/Lonely Avenue with Van and Chris trading vocals interspersed with searing guitar solos from Jeff.Van went into John Lee Hooker style mode during Lonely Avenue with terrific vocals answered magnificently by Jeff on guitar. This was incredible! Chris stayed onstage to trade vocals with Van on Sometimes We Cry and as usual improved Van's humour no end.Moondance was merged with Way Beyond The Hill from the new album to good effect before we reached another major highlight with In The Afternoon which again got the full treatment from Van and included a superb trumpet solo from Paul Moran and nice backing vocals from Dana.Help Me signalled that the end was nigh but Van returned for two encores in Ballerina which featured lovely acoustic guitar from Dave Keary and then Gloria which saw the band cut loose once Van had departed with Dana on vocals and Paul Moore on bass being particularly impressive.

All in all this was a fine and fitting show to conclude Bluesfest 2016.
-Brendan Hynes

Setlist
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Wavelength
Every Time I See A River
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Cleaning Windows
Stormy Monday/Take Your Hand Out Of My Pocket/Lonely Avenue (w/Chris Farlowe & Jeff Beck)
Sometimes We Cry (w/Chris Farlowe)
Moondance/Look Beyond The Hill
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Ballerina
Gloria

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

Set Time 1H 29M

09-October-2016
Forest Hills Stadium
 New York, USA

Dan Murray's take on gig
Look Beyond the Hills

Located near a lovely residential area in Queens, Forest Hills Stadium is a pretty big venue, but tightly configured and with excellent sound throughout.

I had been worried about the weather for days, and it turns out that Matthew was still stinging the area with his tail, whipping up strong winds and some showers. The showers abated by mid-afternoon as the storm moved further out to sea, but the winds stayed brisk during the entire show. It was a chilly, chilly evening, but that set the atmosphere for a pretty hot gig with Van and the band seemingly unbothered by the weather. Morrison was in excellent voice throughout the show, opening with Too Late and finishing with In the Garden and Gloria. The set list was expertly pegged to the crowd.

Of course, at a venue this size, there is going to be a very diverse group: The idiots who talk and don't listen, those who listen sporadically, and those intent on following every note, some dancing and smiling and having a grand time. I was surrounded by each type.

Ghostly, softly illuminated clouds sailed over the venue as skies partially cleared for the gig, a big half-moon cookie of a moon shining down. Jetliners banked gently near the stadium on their airport approaches, their lights twinkling. It was a great atmosphere.

Van and the band knew they had to cut through the cold in the air, and they did a great job helped out by the superb sound system. The music was sharp and spot on.

Van continues to revel in performing at the moment, his body language full of energy and his head tilting back and emoting with power.

Every song was well-performed, with In the Afternoon getting the workshop treatment. With Bobby Ruggiero back on drums for the US gigs, Van returned the Parchman Farm spouse-shooting drumshots into the set, and that Old Black Magic duet returned with a lovefest by dad for daughter Shana, who opened the show with a nice, longer-than-usual set. Tore Down a la Rimbaud was joyous and inspiring.
Van featured 4 songs from his gorgeous new album, but not Out in the Cold Again. That would have been too appropriate.

In the Afternoon continues to be a welcome beauty, Van exploring new avenues on the ancient highway until sittin' pretty on the mountaintop above the deep blue sea, with vistas stretching out over miles and miles of golden sand. Always great to get Garden and the Holy Guardian Angel. Van sang this one and Gloria clear out into the wings and through the side curtains.

Van fan Brian Heffler suggested I contrast this show with the Culloden gigs I was fortunate to attend 3 weeks ago. Some of the differences are obvious, Forest Hills is 40 times bigger than the Culloden. It has bench seating, primarily, instead of tables in an elegant ballroom. It is open air with much more people movement and distraction.

But Van and the band surmounted all of those things on Sunday night. The music at the Culloden and the music at Forest Hills featured the same commitment and pleasure-inducing features, although obviously the Culloden was much more intimate and conducive to a little more stretching out on the workshops. All the shows were highly successful.

Van and the crew now swing out to the West Coast for 5 more gigs, in very different venues. I have a feeling they are going to be memorable.
-Dan Murray

Setlist (Thanks John Z.)
Too Late
Wild Night
Magic Time
Someone Like You
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Cleaning Windows
Sometimes We Cry
Old Black Magic w/Shana Morrison
Precious Time
Going Down To Bangor
In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck/Sittin' Pretty
Whenever God Shines his Light
Why Must I always Explain
Brown Eyed Girl
Keep Me Singing
Let It Rhyme
In The Garden
Gloria

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

29-September-2016
Radio Theatre
 London, England

Setlist
Too Late
Magic Time
Wild Night
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Every Time I see A River
Cleaning Windows/Be Bop A Lula
Let It Rhyme
Whenever God Shines His Light
Sometimes We Cry
Going Down To Bangor
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
Keep Me Singing
Enlightenment
Carrying A Torch
Brown Eyed Girl
Jackie Wilson Say
In The Garden

21-September-2016
Culloden Estate & Spa
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Brendan sent in his thoughts on gig:
This was the fourth installment of these special shows highlighting Van Morrison’s lyrics and followed a similar pattern to the previous shows with Van first being interviewed by writer Ian Rankin before readings of some of Van’s song lyrics were delivered by luminaries from the world of acting and poetry in the form of Kim Catrall, Scarlett Sabet and Paul Muldoon.

The interview was a bit of a duel between Ian and Van with the latter not allowing himself to be led in particular directions by the line of questioning. Parts of the interview were quite hilarious (sometimes unintentionally) with Van at one stage questioning whether something he said was funny as the audience were laughing merrily. At one point Ian provided a quotation purported to have come from Van to the effect that it is not so much the words that are important as the conviction behind them when they were written. Van asked him who wrote that to which Ian replied “you did”. Van was quite amused at this revelation and said he didn’t recall doing so before going on to joke that it sounded like something he might have stolen from the writings of Mark Twain! At another stage Van asked whether this was comedy and were Ian and himself a double act. When pressed as to whether he could see himself as a comedian and doing a ‘stand up’ routine Van replied that he could see himself doing a 30 minute routine if someone wrote some better jokes for him!

The first readings were done by Kim Catrall and featured Someone Like You and a rare outing for Meaning of Loneliness from the ‘What’s Wrong with This Picture’ album which was delivered particularly well and even featured some singing at the end by Kim. Van provided acoustic guitar backing for both readings and there appeared to be huge mutual respect between both artists. Scarlett Sabet enthralled us with On Hyndford Street and The Way Young Lovers Do before Paul Muldoon finished this segment of the show with Cleaning Windows and Madame George to great acclaim.

After a short break the music part of the show started quite suddenly with a vibrant Tore Down A La Rimbaud as audience members rushed in all directions to reclaim their seats. The magnificent Foreign Window followed and was brilliantly delivered and ecstatically received before a relatively rare rendition of Little Village kept things moving nicely. At this point Van introduced a song off the new album called Out In The Cold Again which was not out of place alongside the established material and it saw Van bringing the sound way down low to a whisper. Three of the next four songs (the exception being Fame) were also off the new album namely Going Down to Bangor(a fairly routine rhythm and blues number), Memory Lane which was quite nice and Too Late which is the current single from the album. I felt the performance fell quite flat at that point and given the brevity of the performance the showcasing of so many new songs was somewhat inopportune. Personally, I would happily have swapped a couple of them to hear songs such as Madame George and Into The Mystic which were such spectacular highlights of the London and Dublin versions of the show. We were not to be left disappointed, however, as Van concluded the set with an extended and mesmeric In The Afternoon before departing into the night.

Brendan Hynes

Set List
Tore Down A la Rimbaud
Foreign Window
Little Village
Out In The Cold Again
Going Down To Bangor
Fame
Memory Lane
Too Late
In The Afternoon

19-September-2016
Culloden Estate & Spa
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Per H.)
Look Beyond the Hill
Too Late
Magic Time
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Foreign Window
Carrying A Torch
Fame
Baby Please Don't Go/Don’t Start Crying Now
Here Comes the Night
Out in the Cold Again
Have I Told You Lately (Vegas Version)
In the Afternoon
Precious Time
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Whenever God Shines His Light
Into the Mystic
Brown Eyed Girl
It’s All In the Game/Burning Ground
Gloria

18-September-2016
Culloden Estate & Spa
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Dan Murray)
All Saints Day
Magic Time
Too Late
Keep It Simple
Tore Down A La Rimbaud
Foreign Window
Whenever God Shines His Light
Someone Like You
Have I Told You Lately (Vegas Version)
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go
Here Comes the Night
WIndows
Precious Time
In the Afternoon
Wild Night
It's all In The Game/Burning Ground
Help Me
Gloria

17-September-2016
Culloden Estate & Spa
 Belfast, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Dan Murray)
Back On Top
By His Grace
Baby Please Don't Go
Here Comes The Night
Whenever God Shines His Light
Precious Time
Wild Night
Real Real Gone
Have I Told You Lately (Vegas Version)
Moondance
Cleaning Windows
Jackie Wilson Said
Think Twice Before You Go
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

09-September-2016
Messehalle Erfurt
 Erfurt, Germany

Setlist (Thanks Ben)
Centerpiece/Corina
Magic Time
Wild Night
Someone Like You
Wavelength
Precious Time
Baby Please Don't Go
Here Comes The Night
Cleaning windows
Sometimes We Cry
Enlightenment
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon
It's All Over Now Baby Blue
I Can't stop Loving You
Crazy Love
Brown Eyed Girl
In The Garden
Help Me
Gloria

08-September-2016
Freilichtbühne Junge Garde
 Dresden, Germany

Setlist
Moondance
Magic Time
Wild Night
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm
Here Comes The Night
Talk Is Cheap
Precious Time
Sometimes We Cry
Cleaning Windows
Carrying A Torch
Think Twice Before You Go
Too Late
Keep Me Singing
Why Must I Always Explain
Jackie Wilson
Whenever God...
St. James Infirmary
Help Me
In The Garden
Gloria

22-August-2016
Slieve Donard Hotel
 Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Brendan Hynes sent in his thoughts on gig
It was clear from the outset that Van Morrison’s set tonight was going to be a high powered one as he immediately launched into rip roaring versions of Wavelength and Wild Night, both of which featured great guitar and organ throughout from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. A nice delivery of Magic Time was notable for a fine trumpet solo from Paul Moran and some saxophone from Van to finish.Baby Please Don’t Go went down a storm as usual and went straight into Don’t Start Crying Now thus bypassing Parchman Farm on this occasion. Here Comes The Night provided some nostalgia and was quickly followed by Precious Time before Dana Masters was afforded the opportunity to shine on vocals during Sometimes We Cry and Whenever God Shines His Light. Talk Is Cheap was strongly delivered by Van before two new songs off the forthcoming album got an airing in the form of Keep Me Singing which was pretty strong and Too Late. The latter has been released as a single presumably because of its up tempo beat but I can’t quite see it topping the charts. In The Afternoon which followed was (not for the first time) the highlight of the night as Van brought proceedings down to a whisper before repeatedly uttering the phrases “stretching out for miles and miles” and “it won’t be long child before we are sitting pretty” to a mesmerised and captive audience which almost unanimously gave Van a long standing ovation at the song’s conclusion. The rarely played Dylan cover It’s All Over Now Baby Blue was greeted ecstatically by the audience but suffered from some initial turbulence as Van barked “D” followed by “A ” at guitarist Dave Keary and bassist Paul Moore who both seemed convinced they were playing it correctly. Real Real Gone lifted the tempo again and featured Dana on extended vocals including a snatch of You Send Me. Think Twice Before You Go saw the band in full flow before we were brought back down to earth with Brown Eyed Girl. Jackie Wilson Said saw Van and Paul Moran duet on saxaphone and trumpet respectively before a welcome rendition of Did Ye Get Healed. In The Garden featured some beautiful acoustic guitar from Dave Keary but Van didn’t really get as immersed in the song as one would have hoped which was probably down to some noisy over inebriated individuals in the audience. Van departed at this stage but as the 90 minute curfew had not yet been reached he quickly returned for strong renditions of Help Me and Gloria to send the fans home happy. The latter saw the usual extended band solos when Van had departed with Paul Moore on bass getting a somewhat frenetic response to his solo as he happily took the limelight and interacted at some length with his worshipers in the audience much to the amusement of the rest of the band.

Set time was 1h 36m.

-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Wavelength
Wild Night
Magic Time
Baby Please Don’t Go/Don’t Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Precious Time
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Talk Is Cheap
Keep Me Singing
Too Late
In The Afternoon
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Think Twice Before You Go
Brown Eyed Girl
Jackie Wilson Said
Did Ye Get Healed
In The Garden
Help Me
Gloria

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

21-August-2016
Slieve Donard Hotel
 Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Al B.)
Moondance/Look Behind The Hill
Carrying A Torch
Magic Time
That's Life
Till We Get The Healing Done
Wild Night
Sometimes We Cry
Baby, Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying
Here Comes The Night
Let It Rhyme
Too Late
Someone Like You
Precious Time
Out in The Cold Again
Going Down To Bangor
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Gloria

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

10-August-2016
Sverresborg Arena
Trondheim, Norway

Setlist (Thanks Merete K.)
Moondance
The Way Young Lovers Do
By His Grace
Someone Like You
Magic Time
Close Enough For Jazz
Precious Time
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Wild Night
Why must I Always Explain
Cleaning Windows
Domino/A Shot Of Rythm & Blues
Real Real Gone
When Ever God Shines His Light
Kingdom Hall
Jackie Wilson Said
Bright Side Of The Road
Brown Eyed Girl
Help Me
Gloria

Keep Me Singing

Available 30-September-2016

Van Morrison's 36th Album

The Plain Dealer
Van Morrison was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in in 1993, a member of the same class that saw the enshrinement of such artists as Cream, the Doors, Dick Clark and Creedence Clearwater Revival, among others.

The question could be who is among the more illustrious company – them or him?

The difference is that most of those folks were brought into the Rock Hall well after their careers had peaked – and in some cases, after they had died. So it's safe to say that their best work was behind them.

Not so with Morrison, and his newest album, "Keep Me Singing,'' his first collection of new music in four years, is proof of that.

Morrison, now 70, formed his first band at the age of 12, and has been improving ever since.

His song "Brown-Eyed Girl'' is a staple for every classic rock cover band in the free world – and some bands in the not-so-free world. But as popular as it is, it's not his best tune; that would be "Into the Mystic.''

And that's why this album is so good: Every song on it, from the LP-opener "Let It Rhyme'' to the instrumental "Caledonia Swing,'' is a winner, on a par with "Into the Mystic.''

The 12 originals and lone cover – "Share Your Love With Me,'' previously covered by artists like Aretha Franklin and Kenny Rogers – allow Morrison to wrap his emotional baritone around the lyrics and give them meaning beyond the actual words.

"Too Late'' is a bit of that doo-wop skiffle sound that began his career. "Holy Guardian,'' with its "nobody knows the trouble I've seen lament,'' is a love song for the woman of his dreams.

One of the more touching songs is "Memory Lane,'' which is about exactly what it says. But it's great because it lets Morrison fans – especially those of us who view ourselves as contemporaries of the 70-year-old star – to sit back and recognize that is what's left for us, all without a trace of self-pity.

The only real hope is that this isn't the final address on any Morrison Memory Lane. Grade: A
-Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer

Keep Me Singing
Van Morrison
Caroline International

09-August-2016
Lokerse Feesten
Lokerse, Belgium

Setlist (Thanks Wim D.)
Moondance
The Way Young Lovers Do
By His Grace
Someone Like You
Enlightenment
Magic Time
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Precious Time
10.wild night
Sometimes We Cry
Domino
Whenever God Shines His Light
Beauty Of the Days Gone By
Why Must I Always Explain?
Cleaning Windows
Have I Told You lately?
Real Real gone
Did Ye Get Healed?
Jackie Wilson Said
Bown Eyed Girl
Gloria

06-August-2016
The Abbey Grounds
Glastonbury, England

via What's On Somerset

Setlist (Thanks Simon Gee)
Moondance > So What
The Way Young Lovers Do w/Clare Teal
Carrying A Torch w/Clare Teal
By His Grace
When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God
Precious Time
Wild Honey w/Joss Stone
Crazy Love w/Joss Stone
Wild Night
Have I Told You Lately
Baby Please Don’t Go > Don’t start Crying Now
Here Come The Night
Haunts Of Ancient Peace
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon > Ancient Highway > Joe Turner Sings > Raincheck
Think Twice Before You Go
Rock Me Baby
I Believe To My Soul
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

Van Morrison: lead vocals, guitars, alto saxophone, harmonicas, tambourine, piano

The Van Morrison Band: Mez Clough : drums; Dave Keary : guitar; Dana Masters : backing vocals; Paul Moore : bass; Paul Moran : keyboards, trumpet

Special Guests: Joss Stone and Clare Teal: lead vocals

29-July-2016
Storsjöyran
Ostersund, Sweden

Setlist (Thanks Per H.)
Mondance/My funny Valentine
The Way Young Lovers Do
By His Grace
Someone Like You
Precious Time
Wild Night
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't start Crying Now
Here Comes The Night
Playhouse
Cleaning Windows
Think Twice Before you Go
Whenever God Shines His Light
Have I Told You Lately
Jackie Wilson Said
Bright Side Of The Road
Brown Eyed Girl
Carrying A Torch
Wavelength
Help Me
In The Garden

Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

09-July-2016
Lucca Summer Festival
Lucca, Italy

Setlist
Moondance
The Way Young Lovers Do
Magic Time
By His Grace
Someone Like You
Whenever God Shines His Light
Have I Told You Lately
Wild Night
Enlightenment
Little Village
What Am I Living For w/Tom Jones
Sometimes We Cry w/Tom Jones
Baby Please Don't Go/Don't Start Crying Now/Here Comes The Night
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Raincheck
The Beauty Of The Days Gone By
Why Must I Always Explain?
Think Twice Before You Go
Brown Eyed Girl
Help Me
Gloria

15-June-2016
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England
Late Show

Setlist (Tentative - Thanks Geoff P.)
Centrepiece/Corrina Corrina
The New Symphony Sid
Goin' Home
Think Twice Before You Go
Whenever God Shines His Light
Every Time I See A River' (New Song)
*Unknown New Song
Too Late (New Song)
Carrying A Torch
Sometimes We Cry
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
In the Midnight
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Burn Baby Burn/Raincheck Burn/Raincheck

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

15-June-2016
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England
Early Show

Pamela K. sent in this review
The early show at Nell's was scheduled for a 7:00pm start and posters at the venue told us that it was being filmed. However, we should have guessed that the evening would not be straight-forward when the support act was cut short after just 3 tracks, as Van was going to come on 45 minutes early. The band, including guest trombone legend, Chris Barber, walked on stage and drummer, Mez Clough, started counting in the first song. Unfortunately, bassist Paul Moore, wasn't ready, which led to Paul Moran, stopping proceedings. This little hiccup appeared to set the tone for subsequent proceedings!

After this false start, Van opened on saxophone with Centrepiece / Corrina Corrina but there was clearly tension on stage. Mez looked nervous and Van appeared rather displeased. Next up - The New Symphony Sid - not one of my favourites but it had the redeeming feature of a duet with Van and Dana Masters. Van then trotted out professional but uninspired versions of Goin' Home, Think Twice before You Go and I Believe To My Soul, by which time our hearts were beginning to sink. Where was the spontaneous, passionate Van who thrives on the intimate atmosphere of a small jazz club, such as Nell's?

Things started to look slightly more promising with an upbeat version of Did Ye Get Healed?, followed by Saint James Infirmary, which allowed Van, Paul Moran and Chris Barber to showcase their brass skills. Then, suddenly, one of those inexplicable moments occurred which characterise a Van Morrison concert. Van started to chuckle mid-way through In The Midnight, Dave Keary shared the joke and the whole mood on stage lightened. Now the concert changed beyond all recognition. The audience started calling for requests but Van announced he was going to do "some new material" and gave us two songs, neither of which he introduced. The first song had a similarity to When The Leaves Come Falling Down, whilst the second was in the vein of Tore Down a la Rimbaud. No doubt, both will feature on his new album, apparently due for release in the Autumn, and these performances bode well.

Clearly, Van had heard my husband, Chris, calling out for Someone Like You earlier because he then told us that he had had a request and launched into a heart-felt version of it. Now he was visibly enjoying himself and once this song had finished, I took the opportunity to ask for Why Must I Always Explain? At first, Van looked surprised and responded with "You want that?" "Yes", I said, and so he popped his guitar over his shoulder and treated us to a superb version of this great song, even asking his roadie to re-tune his guitar halfway through whilst the solos from other band members were being played, so that he could join in again towards the end, in fine tune. Here was the inspired, passionate Van!

The audience and Van were now on a roll. Chris chanced his arm with another request - this time for "Thanks For The Information". Van launched straight in, enthusiastically, for a brilliant rendition of this classic, featuring excellent work from Paul Moran on trumpet and organ plus Dave Keary on guitar. This was followed by a sublime nine-minute version of In The Afternoon and, to use Brendan's expression, we put on our seat-belts to enjoy this journey down the Ancient Highway. Van was obviously enjoying Dave Keary's wonderful guitar solo and then Paul Moran's trumpet solo. He also relished the whoops and woos from the audience during the Don't You Make Me High section - chuckling through the lyrics. The song reached a magnificent crescendo -- one of those transcendental musical moments that only Van can create. What a delight!

Time was now against us, so we went straight into Gloria -- a fairly brief version but delivered with gusto. The band were all set for a lengthy jam, only to receive a signal from the roadie to cut it short, probably because the club had to turf everybody out in preparation for the evening show. Each band member still managed to contribute excellent solos, including Chris Barber, Mez Clough, who had recovered from his initial angst and was now clearly enjoying himself, and Dana, whose scatting has become a highlight of the jam. And so the show ended after 83 minutes to wild applause.

All in all, a somewhat tense beginning but, once Van started to relax and enjoy himself, there were many magical moments. The ability to see Van in this intimate venue is just such a wonderful experience. I would really recommend to any Van fan that they try to see him at least once in this venue and, hopefully, there will be many more chances to do so.

However, as we left the club, Vince, the owner, was getting an ear-bashing from some disgruntled members of the audience who had turned up at 7:00pm, only to find they had missed half the show! The moral of this story is to be sure to turn up early to any Van gig ... just in case!
-Pamela Kendix

Setlist
Centerpiece/Corrina Corrina
The New Symphony Sid
Goin' Home
Think Twice Before You Go
I Believe To My Soul
Did Ye Get Healed?/Yeh Yeh
Saint James Infirmary
In The Midnight
New Song 1
Every Time I See A River (New Song)
Someone Like You
Why Must I Always Explain?
Thanks For The Information
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Burn Baby Burn/Raincheck
Gloria

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

14-June-2016
Hampton Court
East Molesey, England

via Mathew Jeffrey

Brendan Hynes sends in this review
Van Morrison made a welcome return tonight to Hampton Court Palace which has regularly inspired him to deliver outstanding performances at the venue over recent years. The show opened unsurprisingly with Celtic Swing and Close Enough For Jazz before Van announced that we were going to have some trombone tonight at which point jazz legend Chris Barber took to the stage and he was immediately involved to great effect in a cover called I'm Going Home. Magic Time which followed saw Van in great voice on a particularly strong version. When this was followed by a magical rendition of Did Ye Get Healed it was clear that Van was up for the concert tonight as he brought the music up and down and back up again to great effect. St James Infirmary got a relatively rare outing with Van prominent on saxophone. Van then raised the tempo with a powerful Wavelength which featured a great guitar solo from Dave Keary and Van playing tambourine with rare enthusiasm.Wild Night kept up the high tempo before Carrying A Torch was delivered to great acclaim.Whenever God Shines His Light featured great guitar and trombone solos and was one of the best versions I have heard. I Believe To My Soul brought us back to 'Its Too Late To Stop Now' territory and saw both Van and Dana Masters in great voice throughout.Enlightenment was notable for a nice trombone solo from Chris Barber and was followed by In The Afternoon which saw Van repeat the phrase "keep on rockin' if it feels good" over and over after he had safely negotiated the ancient highway. Baby Please Don't Go /Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now featured some great improvised trombone playing by Chris Barber which enhanced delivery no end. Moondance and Brown Eyed Girl were enthusiastically received by the more boisterous audience members and were followed by a song I didn't recognise which may be titled Its Too Late. Help Me saw Van enter the finishing straight in a high powered version which featured a great trombone solo from Chris Barber and saw Paul Moran excel on organ throughout. After a quick departure Van returned one last time for Gloria to greatly please the enthusiastic audience who were now on their feet and indeed many had rushed towards the front of the stage.When Van had finally departed the stage the band cut loose with extended solos from each band member with Paul Moran on organ,Paul Moore on funky bass, Chris Barber on trombone, Dave Keary on guitar and Dana Masters on vocals all delivering their party pieces before this week's drummer Mez Clough delivered a fine drum solo to considerable acclaim from the excited audience.

While this show didn't reach the transcendental heights of previous shows at the venue it did see Van in fine voice and giving a committed performance throughout. Set time was 1h 42m.
-Brendan Hynes

Get Surrey
The king of the troubadours brought a sell-out crowd at Hampton Court Palace to its feet with a storming version of Gloria to finish a polished performance earlier this week.

Typically, rather than milking the applause, Morrison exited the stage mid-song to leave the rest of the band to finish the concert.

It was a fitting climax to a masterclass where Morrison effortlessly eased through a set of more than 20 tracks from his extensive back catalogue, with the addition of a cover of St James Infirmary, presumably added to demonstrate the talents of the octogenarian trombonist Chris Barber.

Older readers will remember Barber as a band leader, and he surprisingly played the whole show.

The rest of the band comprised drums, bass, guitar, backing singer and a keyboardist who doubled as trumpeter.

With a jazzy feel throughout, Morrison kicked off his set with the instrumental Celtic Swing, moving seamlessly into Close Enough For Jazz and then one classic track after another, including a sensational version of Moondance.

Others included Brown Eyed Girl, Carrying A Torch, Whenever God Shines His Light On Me, Baby Please Don’t Go and Magic Time.

Contrary to his reputation as a moody performer, the Blues Brother look-alike certainly appeared to enjoy himself throughout the show, while directing his ensemble with a military precision and having a stage hand on constant duty to receive instructions.

Now into his seventies, his voice is as strong as ever and it is clear that Van is still "the man".
-Chaz Brooks

Setlist (Thanks Wim)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
Going Home
Magic Time
Did Ye Get Healed?
St. James Infirmary
Wavelength
Wild Night
Carrying A Torch
Whenever God Shines His Light
I Believe To My Soul
Enlightenment
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Burn Baby Burn/Raincheck
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now
Moondance
Brown Eyed Girl
Too Late (New Song)
Help Me
Gloria

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