This is the second time I have stayed in Oxford for a Van Morrison concert. The previous occasion was when me and Kim went to see Van & Joan Armatrading play at Blenheim Palace about fifteen years ago. This time he was in concert at the New Theatre on George Street. I got to Oxford in the afternoon and made my way to my hotel in Wellington Square. I had intended to have a look around the famous Ashmolean Museum, but in the end, I stayed in my room listening to the football. My team Peterborough narrowly lost 1-0 to Fulham. Finally, I made my way to the Wig & Pen pub. After a while fellow Van fans Emer, Jane & Fumiko arrived. The pub was packed and noisy, but we managed to find a corner that was a bit quieter and ordered some food. Eventually we made our way across the road to the theatre. Van and his seven-piece band were promptly on stage at 8.00. There were two different members from the last time I saw Van back in September. I hadn’t seen the new backing singer Elle Cato before. I thought she was an impressive addition to the band. There was also a Hammond organ player sitting behind Paul Moran who I am quite certain is Richard Dunn who played on Van’s most recent album.
I won’t mention every song because I can’t think of anything to say about a lot of them. I’ll just give you a few thoughts and opinions I had about the show. Van’s voice is as good or better than ever, and he seemed to be in a very good mood. His sax solos were great, and the band are on good form as well. I am always impressed with Dave Keary’s guitar playing and particularly enjoyed his solo during Magic Time. Paul Moran was also very good in that song. Teena Lyle is always excellent and got warm applause for her solos. (See video of Magic Time below)
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| Elle & Van. |
The opening song was Latest Record Project and I quite like it as an upbeat catchy pop song to open the show. Van is also sending a message in the lyrics, ‘Not something from so long ago, not something that you might wanna know, but something I can relate to, In the present, in the present’. It has always been NOW with Van. He doesn’t want to be a nostalgia act and have a show full of songs from fifty years ago. He wants to perform the recent material. His problem is that a lot of fans just want to hear old classics. They aren’t interested in the new songs. There were no extended workshop type improvisational songs in Oxford. That is the transcendental Van that the fans like. Maybe he was pacing himself for the next night in Cardiff. (Or maybe not) Sometimes when he plays two nights running, the second night is better.
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| Dave Keary. |
For me personally the best songs in Oxford were Foreign Window, Magic Time, Cleaning Windows and In The Midnight. I have heard a lot of the songs too often. I preferred the previous Van show I saw in September at Glastonbury Abbey when at least we got Madame George and St Dominic’s Preview. One thing I really don’t like is the band jam session at the end of the show after Van has left the stage. Why not let Elle Cato sing a song or two? I remember when I first saw Van at the end of the 1970s, he used to let Katie Kissoon sing Crazy Love, it was great. With this jam session ending a lot of the audience think Van is going to return, and when he doesn’t, they leave disappointed. Anyway, after the show we went back to the Wig & Pen for a last drink and tried to remember the setlist. Between the four of us I think we got all the songs, but not necessarily in the right order. I think the others enjoyed the show more than me, and I’m sure most of the audience thought it was great. Maybe, it’s just me, perhaps I have seen him too often. Anyway, after the others left the pub, I had a final drink and found my way back to the hotel, and that was the end of that..........Setlist: Latest Record Project, Deadbeat Saturday Night, Double Agent, Sometimes We Cry, Symphony Sid, Broken Record, Foreign Window, Thank God For The Blues, Precious Time, Up County Down, Ain’t Gonna Moan No More, Days Like This, Baby Please Don’t Go /Got My Mojo Working, Think Twice Before You Go, Moondance, Cleaning Windows, Wild Night, Whenever God Shines His Light, Magic Time, In The Midnight, Help Me, Brown Eyed Girl, Gloria.
A big hand for the band!
2 comments:
Thanks, Pat. I always enjoy your blogposts and continue to be interested in how Van is getting along these days. It sounds like he is back to doing the journeyman's job of work - this is a state of being he seems most comfortable with, as with any still vital man of his day and age. Great fame and the trappings of stardom have always done little more than create debilitating anxiety for him - putting in time at a job and completing a job of work well far less so. My sister and her children and grand-children went to see him when he played San Diego recently. The report back was that they were disappointed that he didn't play any of the songs they knew - the classics. Perhaps they haven't seen him enough to know that of all the people in the world, Van is the least likely to dance to anyone else's tune or take into account anyone else's expectations. :-) Cheers, Janet
Hi Janet,
Thanks for taking the time to read my story and leave a comment. It's always nice to hear from you. I agree with everything you said.
All the best,
Pat.
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