News - 27/03/2015

Van Morrison live at London's Royal Albert Hall: live report

Van Morrison live at London's Royal Albert Hall: live report

The band started warming the venue and the audience with an elegant jazz tune, then suddenly - dressed like a gangster - Van the Man got on the stage grabbing his weapon of choice for the night: a saxophone.

Morrison's gig of March 25 was a benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust (hence the introduction by The Who's Roger Daltrey, who co-founded the association), but also a date of the promotional tour for his 35th album "Duets: Re-Working the catalogue" - in which he performed and recorded a string of duets with artists such as Michael Bublè, Stevie Winwood, Joss Stone, Mick Hucknall, Mavvis  Staple, Taj Mahal, George Benson, Natalie Cole, Mark Knopfler, Chris Farlowe, George Fame, Bobby Womack, PJ Proby, Clare Teal and Gregory Porter.

The Royal Albert Hall, drenched in music history is the perfect location for such a concert: a severe music master like Morrison couldn't ask for a better stage - beautiful, classic, stripped down, elegant - to deliver his art and communicate with his amazing voice.

His voice is spectacular, powerful, chrystal clear, versatile (like Van's repertoire), strong and confident - among his peers only Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger still have this gift. And it's a real challenge being on stage with him, for the guests he invited: for instance, Clare Teal chose to follow him and leave him the main spot in "Carrying a torch", but poor Mick Hucknall tried to challenge him, only to be smashed by Morrison's power.in "Streets of Arklow"..

The setlist mirrored Morrison's latest musical vein, heavily leaning on jazz and blues, but the real climax arrived with a high-tension r'n'b string of songs: from the classic "Baby please don’t go" to a crazy version of Sam Cooke's "Bring it all home to me" performed with PJ Proby.
Among the classics and the standards, Morrison also played a few originals, like "Moondance" and "Brown eyed girl" - the first became a jam session featuring solos by all the musicians on the stage.

After one hour and 45 minutes of performance, Morrison simply left the stage while the band was still playing. In a few seconds, without saying a word, the music stopped and the lights went on. A perfect end of the show, for an old school, bad tempered and immensely talented artist.

(Giampiero Di Carlo)

 

SETLIST

Celtic Swing 
Higher Than the World 
Carrying a Torch (con Clare Teal)
The Way Young Lovers Do  (con Clare Teal)
Baby, Please Don't Go 
Talk Is Cheap  (con Roger Daltrey)
Whatever Happened to PJ Proby? (con P.J. Proby)
Bring It on Home to Me  (con P.J. Proby)
Precious Time 
Get on With the Show (con Georgie Fame)
The New Symphony Sid (con Georgie Fame)
Centerpiece  (con Georgie Fame)
Days Like This 
Streets of Arklow (con Mick Hucknall)
Moondance 
Magic Time 
Brown Eyed Girl 
Celtic Excavation / Into the Mystic

ENCORE:
In the Garden

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