20-October-2017
Fox Theater
 Oakland, USA

Setlist (Thanks Mike M.)
Moondance
I Can Tell
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Baby Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/ Don’t Start Cryin' Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes the Night
Wild Night
Precious Time
Rough God w/Shana Morrison
Black Magic w/Shana Morrison
In the Afternoon
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God
Why Must I Always Explain
Bright Side
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Think Twice Before You Go
Help Me/blah blah blah
Brown Eyed Girl
In the Garden
Gloria

14-October-2017
Agua Caliente
 Rancho Mirage, USA

Setlist (Thanks Grant M.)
Moondance
Roll With The Punches
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Rough God Goes Riding w/Shana Morrison
That Old Black Magic w/Shana Morrison
Precious Time
Sometimes We Cry
Enlightenment
Days Like This
Baby Please Don’t Go
Here Comes The Night
Wild Night
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Night Time Is The Right Time
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
In The Afternoon
Help Me
Caravan
Gloria

13-October-2017
Agua Caliente
 Rancho Mirage, USA

Setlist (Thanks Grant M.)
Moondance
Roll With The Punches
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Darm
Sometimes We Cry
How Far From God
Whenever God Shines His Light
In The Afternoon
Wild Night
Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
Precious Time
Enlightenment
Its All In The Game
Help Me
Ballerina
On Hyndford Street

23-September-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

Once again, Brendan shares his thoughts on 2nd Nells gig
Van Morrison at Nells Jazz and Blues,23rd September 2017

As on the previous evening Van started with numbers from the new album namely I Can Tell, Roll With The Punches, How Far From God and Automobile Blues (which featured Van on guitar and a really great piano solo from Stuart McIlroy followed closely by a fine organ solo from Paul Moran). Van then moved into his wider catalogue with Have I Told You Lately (fast version) featuring Dana Masters on shared vocals and then Moondance. Carrying A Torch featured Dana prominently once more to great effect while Magic Time received a further airing with fine guitar and trumpet solos from Dave Keary and Paul Moran respectively. In The Midnight never scaled any great heights due largely to Van's dissatisfaction with some part of the instrumentation which he felt was too loud. Mose Alison's Benediction from the new album followed and this was quite an upbeat version which was a considerable improvement on previous pretty mournful renditions. All In The Game was reprised once more and while really good it didn't quite scale the heights reached the previous evening.

Whenever God Shines His Light raised the tempo considerably before Van strapped on his guitar for an exquisite version of And The Healing Has Begun as he took us down the back streets over and over again. As if that wasn't enough excitement for one evening we were then treated to In The Garden which featured beautiful guitar and trumpet solos. Into The Mystic which followed kept us in dreamland but only after considerable confusion at the start when at least one band member seemed to be playing a different song to the rest. Nevertheless it was really splendid once it took off and this was the sort of material the dedicated fans yearn to hear a lot more often when attending Van shows. After a brief departure Van returned for what turned out to be a considerably truncated version of Gloria with most band members denied the opportunity to showcase their talents with extended solos apparently on Van's instructions as the concert finished after only Ih 20 m.

This was the best Van show I have seen in quite some time and while it was very short it was also very sweet particularly in the finishing straight.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
I Can Tell
Roll With The Punches
How Far From God
Automobile Blues
Have I Told You Lately
Moondance
Carrying A Torch
Magic Time
In The Midnight
Benediction
All In The Game
Whenever God Shines His Light
And The Healing Has Begun
In The Garden
Into The Mystic
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Stuart McIlroy (Piano)

22-September-2017
Nells Jazz And Blues
 London, England

via Matthew J.

via Matthew J.

Brendan checked in with his thoughts on gig
Van Morrison at Nells Jazz and Blues,London, 22nd September 2017

Given the release of Van's new album Roll With The Punches on the day of the show it came as no surprise that the setlist was heavily laced with songs from the album. I Can Tell got proceedings off to a pretty blistering start and was followed by the album's title track which was quite impressive and somewhat reminiscent of Hoochie Coochie Man. How Far From God featured a really fine piano solo from guest pianist Stuart Mcilroy while Lightnin' Hopkins Automobile Blues saw Van strap on his electric guitar and play some nice guitar to add to Paul Moran's great organ solo. Another cover in Teardrops From My Eyes was followed by a Van original called Too Much Trouble before Ride On Josephine brought the new album showcase to a lively close and included a nifty piece of guitar from Dave Keary. Van then brought us back in time with a most welcome and fine rendition of Warm Love. In The Afternoon was really good while it lasted but as Van took us down the ancient highway the band suddenly stopped momentarily before breaking into an up tempo rendition of a song called Don't You Get Me High which ruined the moment and if this was an experiment it certainly didn't work. Following this there was a request for The Healing Game to which Van seemed favourably disposed but unfortunately upon checking with the band to see if they knew it he got a negative response and so we were denied a chance to hear this fantastic song which Van has not played for many many years. 

via Matthew J.

Further requests for a couple of more classic songs left Van saying he was confused before he and the band launched into the Baby Please Don't Go medley which felt somewhat like a bit of a punishment. Magic Time which followed was a nice rendition with Paul Moran delivering a fine trumpet solo. Moondance contained no surprises before probably the highlight of the night followed with an extended All In The Game with Van once more confirming that there is No Plan B/No Safety Net and that This Is It. A cover of the Ray Charles song Night Time Is the Right Time was pretty incredible with Sumudu's beautiful vocal complementing Van's perfectly and deservedly getting acclaim from both Van and the audience. Help Me signalled that the end was nigh to be followed by an extended Gloria which saw the band excel for a full ten minutes after Van had departed the stage.

All in all it was a most enjoyable show which certainly went down a treat with the captive audience.
-Brendan Hynes

Telegraph (Source)
A tiny little jazz club in west London witnessed a show as great as any in his illustrious career from the legendary Northern Irish singer-songwriter. Van Morrison was on blistering form, delivering a dazzling and engaged performance that was as warm and friendly as it was bravura. Which, as long time Morrison watchers know, is not a given. He is always impressive when he plays but he doesn’t always look happy about it. Yet here he was, unleashing the full charge of his extraordinary talent to a couple of hundred fortunate fans.

With another fine new album to promote, Roll With The Punches (his 36th solo album), the legendary star could have opted to unveil it in a much grander setting. In November, Morrison tours prestigious concert halls. But he seems to like these small clubs, which take him back to his R’n’B roots. His seven-piece band were crowded onto a tiny stage, where Morrison stood like a hatchet-faced old bluesman in suit, trilby and sunglasses, inches away from the audience. His only real concession to stardom was a gold-plated microphone and stand.

The band watched their leader with nervous intensity as he called out songs, apparently making his set list up on the spot. But smiles broke out as the musicians established Morrison’s mood, as he nodded vigorously, punched the air for snare shots, and muttered “Yeah! Yeah!” at intricate guitar and trumpet solos. Most of the band played at least two instruments, Morrison himself played three: electric guitar, saxophone and harmonica, all with virtuoso fluidity and feel. But his fourth instrument is the one that still raises goosebumps: his voice.

At 72, Morrison sang like a champion. His breath blowing through the notes like cosmic ululations, swirling and eddying above the piano lines, swooping down with the bass, ricocheting off the drums with staccato repetitions. Whenever his head tipped back, the voice rose, and he embarked on an extemporaneous coda, it was astonishing to behold.

He played some R’n’B covers from the new album (“If anyone’s interested!” he griped cheerfully), some gorgeous selections from his vast catalogue (In The Afternoon from 1979 was bliss) and a smattering of hits. “This is an old chestnut but don’t hold it against me,” he quipped before 1973’s Warm Love. He tore through Baby Please Don’t Go, and whipped up an effervescent Gloria. A head-spinning Moondance was reinvented around stunning solos. “The reason we do that one is it gives the guys in the band a chance to blow, d’you know what I’m saying?” he remarked in his gruff, deadpan manner. Oh, we knew all right. “Let me explain this one to you too,” he joked before a sensual rendition of 1979’s All In The Game.

Morrison can be a legendarily taciturn and cantankerous performer but here he was, cracking jokes, asking for requests. “This is a workshop!” he announced, to much laughter. “We’re not doing comedy yet,” he mock complained, “that comes at the end.” His sound engineer was swaying and bopping at the desk, tapping controls to the rhythms of the music.

Back in the Seventies, when Morrison bore the aura of a hippy guru, his concerts were approached as spiritual experiences. These days, he seems content to offer something more prosaic. But such was the astonishing skill, soul and feeling on display, the effect remains the same: singer, band and audience lifted into the mystic realm of pure musical communion. Roll on, Van, roll on.
-Neil McCormick

via Matthew J.

via Fumiko I.

Setlist
I Can Tell
Roll With The Punches
How Far From God
Automobile Blues
Teardrops From My Eyes
Too Much Trouble
Ride On Josephine
Warm Love
In The Afternoon/Don't You Get Me High
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Magic Time
Moondance
All In The Game
Night Time Is The Right Time
Help Me
Gloria

Set Time 1h 30m

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards/Trumpet)
Mez Clough (Drums)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)
Stuart McIlroy (Piano)

14-September-2017
Ascend Amphitheater
 Nashville, USA

Nashville Scene (Source)

Van Morrison Keeps It Simple in Career-Spanning Show at Ascend

The legendary singer-songwriter didn't have much to say, but the songs speak for themselves

Van Morrison accepted his lifetime achievement award for songwriting at the Americana Honors and Awards Wednesday night with just two words: “Thank you.” With that, he joined the house band for a performance of his new single “Transformation,” and then he rolled out. So it was no surprise to The Spin that he didn’t have much to say on Thursday at Ascend Amphitheater. Van the Man has taken a number of steps to make sure there’s not a whole lot of fuss these days. Review passes have reportedly been in short supply for recent shows, and Thursday night’s came with a strictly-enforced no-photography rule (with one exception made for a shooter from Getty). He even kept things close to home by having his daughter, Shana Morrison, open the show.

We arrived as the younger Morrison was closing out her set, and it wasn’t long before the Van Band — several members of which had just been backing Shana — took the stage and, as the sold-out crowd found their seats, the bandleader announced the main attraction.

“Ladies and gentleman, Sir Van Morrison!”

The man himself — decked out in a pinstripe suit, fedora and sunglasses — strolled up from the back of the cavernous shed playing the saxophone as band rolled into the classic “Moondance.” With that they were off on a 23-song set of blues, rock and soul set that zig-zagged back and forth through Morrison’s enormous catalogue. The list included songs that were hits for his first band, Them, like “Don’t Start Crying Now” and “Here Comes the Night,” as well as covers of old standards like the R&B classic “(Night Time Is) The Right Time.” Surprisingly, it did not include the new single, “Transformation,” which he’d played the night before at the Ryman.

Odd bird though Morrison may be, his performance was strictly professional. He did the job and little else. During musical interludes, or verses sung by his fantastic duo of backup singers — who elicited mid-song cheers from the lawn on multiple occasions — Van would shuffle back from the microphone to take a slow drink from a glass of water or, once or twice, blow his nose. While he did seem to brighten up a bit when he had a saxophone around his neck or a harmonica in his hand, he mostly had the appearance of a man who’d just clocked in for work.

What a job it is, though. The 6,800 or so Van fans in the house — and honestly, it's tough to find anyone who doesn't appreciate his work — lapped up every second of their time with the man and his inimitable band. "Wild Night" inspired dancing in the aisles, and as he and his backup vocalists traded wails on "(Night Time Is) The Right Time," the crowd was pulled to its feet.

Among the few words he spoke all night that weren't lyrics were in his introduction of his daughter, who came back out to join him for a rendition of “Old Black Magic.” He stumbled a bit, but at least he can laugh at himself.

“I hope you understood that, because I didn’t,” he told the crowd.

He followed that with a rare cut — “Mechanical Bliss,” the title cut from an unreleased LP recorded in the mid 1970s — which, as he proudly noted, featured timpani and had him fighting back laughter throughout. After that he called out a direction to the band that also served as an acquiescence to a crowd that had been patiently waiting for That Song.

“OK, 'Brown Eyed Girl.' ”

The Ascend staff, which had been dutifully shutting down amateur iPhone photographers all night did their best, but for these few minutes, their efforts were largely futile. Morrison exited the stage one song later, but came back for a rollicking rendition of his hit with Them, “Gloria.” He left again but the band kept playing, cycling through solos during a 15-minute jam session.

By the time the last note rang out, Van may well have been on a flight to the next show.

Setlist (Thanks Dan H.)
Moondance
Have I Told You Lately
Warm Love
Sometimes We Cry
Days Like This
Enlightenment
Baby Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes the Night
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Wild Night
Half as Much
In the Afternoon/Ancient Highway/Don’t You Make Me High
Whenever God Shines His Light
Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)
(Night Time Is) The Right Time
Help Me
Old Black Magic (with Shana Morrison)
Mechanical Bliss
Brown Eyed Girl
Real Real Gone / You Send Me
Gloria

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

10-September-2017
Hersheypark Stadium
 Hershey, USA

The Morning Call

REVIEW: Van Morrison's Moondance caps day of highlights at Outlaw Music Festival at HersheyPark stadium

HERSHEY — It was a marvelous night for a Moondance.
With a large, glowing moon filling the late-summer sky above HersheyPark Stadium, Van Morrison, one of the best singers in rock history, showed his still prestigious power in a set that delightfully danced through his career to headline the Outlaw Music Festival.

Morrison’s only East Coast concert this year – and first in Pennsylvania in nearly a decade – was the highlight of a daylong festival that had many highlights, several provided by Lukas Nelson and his band Promise of the Real, and others by a blissfully energetic set by The Avett Brothers and a warm nightcap from festival curator Willie Nelson.

Morrison, in a gray striped suit and matching fedora, wearing dark shades even at night, actually opened his penultimate set with “Moondance” – or, more precisely two versions of it: An instrumental on which Morrison played saxophone, then a very jazzy vocal version with his horn of a voice an equal instrument.

It was a lovely start to an 18-song, 75-minute set that continually pleased with both song selection and powerful performance – putting timeless hits beside wonderful deep cuts and interesting covers.

The second song, “Warm Love,” a Top 40 hit for Morrison 45 years ago, was astonishing – still wonderfully warm with violin from his four-man band and two back-up singers.
On the newer (only 20 years old) song ”Sometimes We Cry,” Morrison snapped out words and pushed his vocals. The song was so good that a good number of the crowd of somewhere around 25,000 danced to it.

And on the new, very bluesy “Roll with the Punches” – the title track to his new album, due out Sept. 22. (It was the only song he played from it) – Morrison showed how much of a bellow his voice still carries.

The first half of the set offered straight-forward, sometimes shortened versions of songs, though many still carried delightful moments: Him playing harmonica and singing through an old radio mic on “Baby Please Don’t Go,” an inspired pairing of “Don’t Start Crying Now” and “Custard Pie.”

But there also were stunning highlights: A powerful version of “Here Comes the Night,” the 1965 hit for Morrison’s pre-solo band Them and an inspired version of his minor hit “Cleaning Windows,” tied to a cover of the Gene Vincent rockabilly classic “Be-Bop-A-Lula.”
But in the second half of Morrison’s set, nearly every song was a highlight.

While pairing “Ancient Highway” and “Raincheck,” Morrison held on the mic stand and rocked front-to-back, then danced slightly. “In the Afternoon” was slow and sensual.
And while it was a pleasure to hear his “Wild Nights,” now more than 45 years old. But to hear it played more muted, as if those wild nights are memories that are still calling, was transcendent.

Morrison’s vocals are universal. His cover of the Ray Charles hit “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was surprisingly country, and he absolutely bellowed the end notes. The gorgeous “Whenever God Shines His Light,” on which Morrison again played harmonica, was very contemporary gospel.

And Morrison wailed – wailed – on the bluesy "Night Time Is the Right Time," another Charles hit. It got a huge response from the crowd.

The fact that Morrison, at 72, still has that kind of power is amazing. He closed his set with a great seven-minute version of Them’s “Gloria,” which had all the power of the original.
But it was the second-last song that showed how good Morrison was. It was another bluesy offering, Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Help Me.” As Morrison played harmonica, many in the crowd danced as if there were no reason for inhibition.

Morrison made sure it was a marvelous night for a moondance.
-John J. Moser

Setlist (Thanks Mike S.)
Celtic Swing
Moondance
Warm Love
Sometimes We Cry
Roll With The Punches
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don't Start Cryin' Now/Custard Pie
Here Comes the Night
Cleaning Windows
In the Afternoon
Wild Night
Can't Stop Loving You
Whenever God
Nighttime is the Right Time
Help Me
Gloria

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

13-August-2017
Slieve Donard Hotel
 Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Setlist (Thanks Per)
Moondance
Have I Told You Lateley
Warm Love
Sometimes We Cry
Roll With the Punches
I Can Tell
Cleaning Windows
Precious Time
Baby, Please Don’t Go/Parchman Farm/Don’t Start Crying Now/Custard Pie/Here Comes the Night
In the Afternoon/Shake, Rattle & Roll
Days Like This
How Far From God
Night Time Is The Right Time
Help Me
Mechanical Bliss
Bright Side Of the Road
In the Garden
Gloria

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

11-July-2017
Porchester Hall
London, England

via Matthew J.

Pamela sent in this review
After experiencing the ‘greatest hits’ at Hampton Court, I was very much hoping that Van would use this concert to depart from those and give us some rarer treats from his fabulous repertoire.

On arrival inside the Hall, it was clear that Van would be show-casing his new CD – Roll With The Punches. Indeed, there were two large display banners either side of the stage, until a few minutes before the concert, to advertise it and to let us know it would be released on 22 September.

A few of the central seats on the front row were reserved. First ‘VIP’ to take their seat turned out to be the sister of Stuart McIlroy, who plays piano on the new album and who was on stage for much of the time. The next (and final) VIP was Lenny Henry and guest, who took their seats just before the lights went down.

“I hope he’s going to remove his f****n hat” whispered my husband, Chris. I don’t think Lenny heard but he did remove his rather natty trilby and then Van and the band came on stage, taking us through the first two familiar numbers of Too Late and Have I Told You Lately.

Van was in chatty mode and told us that his new album would be coming out in September and that this gig was being filmed “for promotional purposes”. He introduced the title track and said the song had been written by Don Black, with Van writing the music. It turned out to be a slow blues number.

He then took us through another six songs from the new album – Bo Diddley’s I Can Tell, a jaunty little ditty that I have seen Van sing at recent gigs, whilst shaking his maracas; Next followed a couple of Van’s songs from the new album. First was, Transformation. Noticeably, this was not a blues number, which is what the majority of the new album will consist of. It sounded to me like he had yet again tweaked the familiar but terrific melody from Tupulo Honey / Crazy Love / Why Must I Always Explain. Next, we got Too Much Trouble – another blues number and one of the better ones that we heard from the new album. These were followed by Bo Diddley’s Right on Josaphine and Sam Cooke’s Bring It On Home to Me. Perfectly enjoyable but not necessarily the type of song that I want to hear at a Van Morrison show. For the sixth number, Van welcomed onto stage his “old china plate”, Georgie Fame, to join him for Count Basie’s Goin’ To Chicago, probably the most uninspiring of the songs we had heard so far and, for me, a waste of the duet opportunity.
The last time Chris and I had seen Van Morrison and Georgie Fame on stage together, they ended up playing Symphony Sid. Worried that this gig was going the same way, Chris wasn’t taking any chances, so when there was a pause, he bellowed for Vanlose Stairway. We were only in the second row. Did Van hear? We won’t know, but he turned to his band and instructed them to play Vanlose Stairway. This rendition alone was worth the ticket price and easily the highlight of the night by far. Van played brilliant harmonica and the duet with Fame was sensational. A true feast for the ears! It’s moments like these that make you wonder why Van can’t perform more of his own truly great songs at his gigs? The irony of Van performing a number such as this is that it totally dwarfs the other material. Presumably not the effect which he wishes to produce!

We then came down to earth with a decent version of Sometimes We Cry, with Van chuckling during his pauses. Then the band launched into the immediately recognisable introduction to Fame, which Van introduced as another song from his new album. Just when I was wondering why had Van put this song on his new album when it had already been on What’s Wrong With This Picture?, he told us. He had “re-done it because people didn’t get it the first time” and because his songs weren’t played on the radio so he thought he would release it again. Hmmm, a rather spurious reason for regurgitating what I think is an ordinary song from his back catalogue.

That was it for the new album. Van then trotted out the usual Baby Please Don’t Go medley. Weirdly, during Parchman Farm, he asked if we had heard the song before?!? Hasn’t it appeared on virtually every set list during the past few years?!? Onto Help Me, which was noticeable in its variation through Stuart’s dextrous piano interludes. Unfortunately, it appeared that Van was having a good peer at his stopwatch because Help Me was a somewhat truncated version and, after requesting a big hand for the band, he disappeared off stage at the 70-minute mark. Time had been saved by the non-appearance of BEG and Moondance – no great loss, but it would have been nice to have had something instead. That was not to be. Back he came for a very brief rendition of Gloria, which featured a light-hearted moment when Mez forgot to “Knock Upon My Door”, leaving Van waiting for the drum beat, which didn’t arrive! Van then left the stage for the final time but even the band’s jam was cut short and the house lights came on bringing the concert to a seemingly rather abrupt end at 75 minutes!!! Perhaps Van was paying the film crew by the second?!?

On the way out, I passed a couple discussing how it was a shame that he hadn’t played BEG! For me, perhaps that was one of the reasons why the show was rather better than Hampton Court!!

Clearly, it was interesting to hear songs from the new album but, in my opinion, it is such a pity that after the fantastic Keep Me Singing – surely his best album for many years – Van has focussed this time on the blues with the majority not even being his songs. I am very frustrated that my two favourite artists – Van and Bob Dylan – seem to have become so obsessed with the idea of covering other people’s songs when they have two of the best canons of work of anyone. At least Roll With The Punches is not a triple album, unlike Bob’s Triplicate!
-Pamela Kendix

Setlist (Thanks Malcolm M.)
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately (Swing version)
Roll With The Punches
I Can Tell (Bo Didley song )
Transformation
Too Much Trouble
Ride On Josephine (Bo Didley song)
Bring It On Home To Me
Goin’ To Chicago (with Georgie Fame)
Vanlose Stairway (with Georgie Fame)
Sometimes We Cry
Fame
Baby Please Don’t Go / Parchment Farm / Don’t Start Crying Now / Custard Pie
Help Me
Gloria

Time: 75 min.

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

01-July-2017
Eden Sessions
Cornwall, England

During the gig, Van announced he has new album coming out in September. He then sang three songs from it which are noted in setlist below.

Long time Van fan, Pat Corley, was at the gig in Cornwall and did a nice review on his blog, Visions of Pat.

Setlist
Too Late
Have I Told You Lately
I Can Tell
Transformation (New Song)
Roll With the Punches (New Song)
Ride On Josephine (Bo Diddley Cover on New Album)
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Cry Cry Baby/Custard Pie
Here Comes The Night
Real Real Gone/You Send Me
Days Like This
Moondance
Sometimes We Cry
Why Must I Always Explain
In The Afternoon/ Ancient Highway
Wild Night
I'm Carrying A Torch
I Can't Stop Loving You
Jackie Wilson Said
Whenever God Shines His Light
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

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

15-June-2017
Hampton Court
East Molesey, England

via Matthew Jeffrey

Brendan Hynes sent in this review:
Van Morrison returned once more to the scene of a number of inspirational concerts by him over the years but sadly tonight's show was not one of them. After the first half dozen songs it was clear that Van was coasting and that we were going to be treated(?) to a typical open air festival set consisting almost entirely of the radio friendly 'so called hits'and so it proved. The set list says it all really and it was the most disappointing Van show I have attended since the equally disappointing Blenheim Palace show two years ago with Van just churning out a mainly up tempo set with the minimum of effort. Apart from In the Afternoon which was the clear highlight and Carrying A Torch there were no real magical moments as Van was happy to just belt out the hits. The show was so predictable that I was able to write down the last three songs on the set list consisting of Help Me, Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria before they were even performed. If I had been asked before the concert to draw up a set list of the Van songs I least wanted to hear, well most of them were played tonight.

An interesting new initiative introduced by Hampton Court festival organisers this year was the provision of an area to one side of the stage where the already noisy and talkative audience were encouraged and facilitated to abandon their seats and dance and talk even more loudly than before for maximum annoyance for the real music lovers in the rest of the audience.These 'fans' were particularly enterprising during In The Afternoon to such an extent that they succeeded in almost totally drowning out the vocals of Van and his two backing singers during the quietest segments. Thank you very much!!

It is to be hoped that when Van returns to playing indoor concerts after the summer festivals he will delve a lot more deeply into his extensive body of work.The current set list which has varied very little for quite a long time is utterly predictable,almost totally devoid of Van's really inspirational work and quite frankly has long since reached saturation point.
-Brendan Hynes

Set List
Too Late
Moondance
Magic Time
Have I Told You Lately(fast version)
Sometimes We Cry
Whenever God Shines His Light
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchman Farm/Don 't Start Crying Now/Custard Pie/Here Comes The Night
Precious Time
Days Like This
Enlightenment
I Can't Stop Loving You
All Work and No Play
Wild Night
Carrying A Torch
In The Afternoon
Jackie Wilson Said
Help Me
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)
Sumudu (Vocals)
Dana Masters (Vocals)

02-June-2017
BBK Music Legends Festival
 Bilbao, Spain

Setlist (Thanks Jose A.)
Too Late
Moondance
The New Symphony Sid w/Georgie Fame
Sack O’woe w/Georgie Fame
Vanlose Stairway w/Georgie Fame
Have I Told You Lately
Sometimes We Cry
Playhouse
Bring It On Home To Me w/Imelda May
Baby Please Don't Go / Parchman Farm / Don't Start Crying Now
Whenever God Shines His Lights On Me
Carrying A Torch
Days Like This
Precious Time
Someone Like You
All Work And No Play
In The Midnight
Think Twice Before You Go
Wild Night
Brown Eyed Girl
Gloria

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

19-March-2017
The Theatre At Ace Hotel
 Los Angeles, USA

Forbes

Van Morrison Pays Tribute To Chuck Berry At L.A. Show

What better way to spend St. Patrick’s Day weekend than with one of Ireland’s greatest musical exports, Van “The Man” Morrison? The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer spent three nights, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at the Theater At Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.

Reflecting an incredibly eclectic more than 50-year career that includes some of the greatest songs in rock history – “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Moondance,” “Saint Dominic’s Preview,” “Gloria” and countless more – Morrison concerts in recent years can be whatever the singer/songwriter feels like at that time, be it troubadour, folk rocker or, most likely, a jazz and blues cat.

It was the jazz and blues cat that took the stage for the closing show of his three-night stand. Even the gorgeous ballad “Have I Told You Lately,” was transformed into a swinging jazz number by Morrison and his superior band.

Looking the part in a dark suit, hat and sunglasses, Morrison worked through a mix of hits, such as “Moondance,” the upbeat “Wild Night,” the 1987 single “Someone Like You” and the agical closer “Into The Mystic,” and lesser-known fare like 1991’s “Why Must I Always Explain?,” a highlight for the way it was extended into a jazz jam, last year’s “Every Time I See A River” and the brilliant “Ballerina,” from the landmark Astral Weeks.

One of the highlights of the final night was a nod to rock and roll founding father Chuck Berry, who passed away this weekend, at the age of ninety. Morrison introduced his band’s cover of Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” as a tribute to the late rock legend, starting with a strong guitar solo, followed by Morrison’s lively and reverent interpretation of Berry’s timeless 1958 classic, one of his biggest commercial successes, hitting No 2 on the Billboard pop charts and No 1 on the R&B charts.

Of course musicians all around the world rightfully paid tribute to Berry this weekend, but seeing an artist of Morrison’s stature, a fellow Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer, added a sense of gravitas that only a handful of living musicians can match.

That applies to Morrison’s concerts in general. Though he is never going to be the type to play a greatest hits set, that is not who he is nor has he ever been as an artist, his place as a true rock icon and one of the greatest vocalists in the history of the genre is unquestionable. Just seeing that presence and listening to “the voice” still sound so powerful and compelling on songs like “Into The Mystic” make for spine-tingling moment that every true rock fan should experience at least once.
-Steve Baltin

Setlist (Thanks John M.)
Look Beyond the Hill
Have I Told You Lately
Magic Time
Someone Like You
Going Down to Bangor
Wild Night
Sweet Little Sixteen "Tribute to Chuck Berry"
Playhouse
Sometimes We Cry
Moondance
Precious Time
Days Like This
Cleaning Windows/ Johnny B Goode
In the Afternoon/ Ancient highway/ Raincheck/ Sitting Pretty
Baby Please Don't Go/ Parchman Farm/ Don't Start Cryin' Now/ Custard Pie
Why Must I Always Explain
Help Me
Ballerina
Into The Mystic/ High on the Hill/ Sense of Wonder