Entertainment For Lively Minds
Van Morrison at The Albert Hall
Anyone out there go to see Van the Man last night? What a night. I've seen him many times including both of the last two shows at Hampton Court, but last night was exceptional. Not only did we get, as billed, Astral Weeks in its entirety in the second half plus two (yes two) encores of Listen for for the Lion and Gloria (including a snippet of 'Who do you love' in the middle), but a first half of sheer joy. He was clearly having fun, he even spoke to us...it was brief, but amusing: "This is the bit where I hide behind the guitar', as he strapped it on for the first time and played some typically brilliant, restrained lead guitar.
It seemed as though it had suddenly dawned on him that he has an amazing back catalogue that the fans want to hear him play. The 'back and forth' in Common One was worth the entry price alone, as was the two minute strings interlude in Listen for the Lion.
The band were stupendous. Violin playing to die for. Van on harmonica and singing (or should I say growling) at the same time. Brilliant guitar playing. Wonderful backing singers....etc
I've been to many concerts at The Albert Hall...I think it's a terrible venue for a 'rock' concert but Van filled every corner of it. He touched everyone in the crowd. People were buzzing as they left, smiling from ear to ear. He's on again tonight. It wasn't sold out and there were plenty of fans trying to sell spare tickets at much less than the horrific box office price. If you're a fan and can get there I'd highly recommend it.
Oh..and by the way...if you were there last night and you noted down the set list, would you be kind enough to post it? Thanks
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I wasn't there...
... but my bro-in-law was and he said it was a fantastic night also (he actually travelled from Ireland for it).
Sure hope he brings this show to Dublin.
Setlist.com
No setlist for it on setlist.com as yet, but it might be worth keeping an eye out there.
Thanks for the review
Sounds like it was an amazing night. Wish Icould have been there.
Cheers - Joe
he searched his soul...
or at least his back catalogue! I have been repeatedly underwhelmed by his live shows in the past but not on this occasion - the old curmudgeon delivered a stunning performance, and brought the Albert Hall to glorious life.
Must say though I was perplexed by the continuous stream of people leaving their seats during the show, starting about 20 minutes in - was it prostate, fag break, checking on the babysitter, or just sipping from my interval merlot? We should be told.
Van at Albert on Sunday
I was there last night. The best sound system I've ever heard and the best band. Van was into the music, but was he into the emotion of the songs? I'm not sure. It's so hard to tell from just his voice. His voice is still a stupendous noise but because he wears those HUGE dark glasses, you just can't be sure what the hell is going on inside. Which is obviously how he likes it. He was also (through my binoculars from an excellent seat in the stalls) wearing quite a bit of stage slap (make-up). Interesting.
My favourite bit was the very end of the extended Madame George where he mumbled like a lost little boy who had been abandoned at a station. "a train/the train/is it a train/is it the train/a train/the train the train the train a train the train"? (at least that's how I experienced it) This was one of the few vulnerable moments, indeed one of the few quiet moments of the night.
My other favourite bit was the intro to Madame George where he described the final section (yes, he talked - once - to the audience) as "a dream that happens after this guy smokes an opium cigarette. That'll help you to understand what's goin' on..."
Ah, Van. Mysterious, majestic, magnificent. And just plain weird.
Yes, yes, yes... this is all very well and good...
but did you notice any sniggering from his backing musicians as he parped his first gob iron solo? This is what we want to know!
Van fluff
I missed the sniggering but was amused and somewhat touched when he fluffed the first line of Astral Weeks. Second night nerves, Van?
VM at RAH set list for saturday
Northern Muse
Troubadour
Baby Please Don't Go
And It Stoned Me
I Can't Stop Loving You
Wild Night
It's All In The Game/You know what they are writing about
Moondance
Queen of the Slipstream
Have I Told You Lately?
Caravan
And The Healing Has Begun
Common One
Astral Weeks
Beside You
Slim Slow Slider
Sweet Thing
The Way Young Lovers Do
Cyprus Avenue
Ballerina
Madame George
Listen To The Lion
Mystic Eyes/Gloria
some of the crowd are just idiots, most of the time texting and talking. Van didnt sing the 'I believe I have transcended..' on the Sat. The title track Astral Weeks was thrown away a little as crowd and band were not settled....annoying.....RAH sound is not good for sound, but still Beside You and Ballerina were exquisite and some of the first set. Patches of AW, CA, and MG but they didn't carry the intensity and variation of aforementioned. Loved slim slow slider and re-ordering...you could go again and again with it...
vm again
it was sheer beauty how he sang the first line of listen to the lion as it tumbled out of MG...worth it for that alone!
A traumatised VM fan posts!
Hi all
Great posts about the RAH gig. I can no longer see him in Cardiff in June. Which sucks.
Anyone likely to hazard a guess on the likelihood him doing more UK Astral Weeks gigs in the future.
Sorry if this is a dull post, but I'm consumed with annoyance at missing this and need calming!
A traumatised VM fan posts!
Hi all
Great posts about the RAH gig. I can no longer see him in Cardiff in June. Which sucks.
Anyone willing to hazard a guess on the likelihood him doing more UK Astral Weeks gigs in the future.
Sorry if this is a dull post, but I'm consumed with annoyance at missing this and need calming!