Van Morrison - Album by Album discussion - PART THREE

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by DJ WILBUR, Feb 29, 2008.

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  1. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    Are you ******** me? Well I never... Would Tori Plotz? or is it too unlady like?
    :shh: ;) :D :eek: :( :mad: :agree: :laugh:

    (I think I just emotocon plotzed all over you Vanlose Stairway....:goodie: :cheers: )


    cheers,
    PS: I knew i liked ya, and your Amos posts confirmed it...
     
  2. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter


    :laughup:

    ok, i just plotzed myself laughing....
     
  3. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    VAN MORRISON, MASSEY HALL, TORONTO, JULY 7, 2008

    With Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins in attendance (looking robust after his recent health scare in his traditional black t-shirt emblazoned "The Hawk") sitting just a softball's throw away from me on the floor, and John Platania, an original member of Van's Caledonia Soul Orchestra (!) onstage with The Man, there was a palpable sense of rock history in the Hall last night. One couldn't help but think of Ronnie, Van, et al onstage together for the finale of "I Shall Be Released" from The Last Waltz over thirty years before; and Platania first played with Van on the Moondance album back in 1970. This felt huge from the get-go.

    Both the tickets and Massey Hall website said the show would begin at 7:00 p.m. sharp, but that didn't stop the vast majority of folks from arriving late. Most of them, or so it seemed, all sat in my row K, a fact which necessitated that I would have to get up and let people file past my aisle seat. This meant that I had an obstructed view of Van for the first two songs; I was also prevented from getting into the music because people kept arriving late.

    I was floored that he began with 'Wild Night,' but somewhat disappointed the volume levels were so low. Gradually the sound issues were worked out, and things got a little louder. The appearance of 'Tupelo Honey' was a shocker; it was then I knew this was going to be a special night for me. Unfortunately, I missed the transition into 'Why Must I Always Explain' because I was dealing with the aforementioned latecomers.

    The double shot from the new album of 'Keep It Simple' and 'That's Entrainment' worked very well indeed; both songs trounced their studio counterparts with Van's acknowledged genius with employing dynamic shifts. During a quieter portion of the latter, hand claps propelled the song along in a plucky style that seemed more hypnotic than the charming studio version.
    'Lover Come Back', the Instant Van Classic for me off Keep It Simple, was a powerhouse performance. The new material was very well received, but this one got the biggest applause, in my estimation.

    'St. Dominic's Preview', 'a faithful-sounding 'Moondance' (which eventually became predictable band showcase for a series of solos), 'Wavelength'---all were played with a great deal of gusto. For some reason, perhaps his age, I had foolishly assumed that The Voice would not be all I hoped it would be, so when I finally heard the famed Morrison pipes in a live setting I was completely floored by the crispness and power with which he sang. It was something to hear his voice as a living, breathing instrument right in front of me.

    I got to see Van play harp, sax, electric and acoustic guitar. His acoustic playing was endearingly Vannish, full of the sharp, aggressive/percussive cuts at the strings which so memorably textured songs like 'Almost Independence Day.'
    This guitar thwacking continued in 'Ballerina', which was marred only by Van's mea culpa that he had forgotten the last verse (to his credit, he sang this admission:laugh: , which, although it broke the mystical reverie he had been creating, also displayed a wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humour).

    When it came time for 'And the Healing Has Begun' I sensed we were nearing the end. I shall go to my grave happy in the knowledge that I got to see and hear Van Morrison use the phrase "Back street jelly roll" during the spoken-word seduction section. Van name checked Ronnie Hawkins during this bit, which was nice, and during the finale 'Gloria,' he even went into a bit of The Hawk's signature song, 'Who Do You Love,' which was a rather touching tip of the hat, I thought.

    In ways that are far too personal to explain here, this concert experience constitutes the apotheosis of Van's influence in my life, encompassing memories of times both good and bad over the last twenty years, through every significant event in my life.

    I could never have dreamed of a more fitting way to end this thread.
     
  4. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter



    You're ending the thread???? Since you got Ballerina live, something curb and myself have never experienced and a song from so way back... I think you need to cover the Bang! stuff as the ending, so we can go out with a bang....:angel: and 1000 posts!
     
  5. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    wow, this always happens, people really treat rock shows like their own private idaho, in and out, eating drinking, talking, texting, i thought in an exotic locale like canada this would not happen, but alas, a ssholes are everywhere from mars to canada arent they?
     
  6. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    No, not ending it or my participation in it, but it's been a long road from Astral Weeks to Keep It Simple, is all I meant.

    And big thanks to DJWILBUR for pushing me to go to the show.
    They were all rather privileged looking oldsters, if you know what I mean.

    Some 19-year-old kid behind me had been gifted the tickets; he wasn't even a fan. I had been waiting for longer than this kid has been alive to see Van, and to him it was just a free ticket to see some guy whose music his parents play all the time.
     
  7. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    who else can afford his ticket prices??? thank god they got Moondance and what not or they would have talked their privileged way through the entire show anyway.
     
  8. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Nice review Tom. Sounds like it was a great show.
     
  9. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Thanks. Yes, it was for me. Although he didn't really communicate much, I did have the sense Van had a blast too. During 'Gloria' something happened onstage amongst the musicians which made him cough out the lyrics in a fit of laughter.
     
  10. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    wow, you even got a laugh! is hell freezing over?
     
  11. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Oh, he was convulsed in laughter. I thought he was going to plotz.
     
  12. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I would just like to see him perform Gloria. Seeing him laugh is out of the question.

    Actually, he seems to love comedy, and used to take around Fawlty Towers videos to unwind before shows. He just hides that sense of humor really well.
     
  13. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    I'm reasonably certain that anyone who has ever played in a band has at some point jammed on 'Gloria.' In my experience, no one ever knows when to go back into/out of the staccato (?) main riff to end the song, and indeed, this was the case night. After Van left the stage ("Mr. Van Morrison..."---just like William said; old-time showbiz till the end:laugh: ), the band members tried to sync up to end the song, but had a bit of difficulty...just as I remember the jams of my youth.
    Consequently, they all started laughing too. Very relaxed ending to the night; loose in the best way.
     
  14. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    he came back out during "gloria" ??? :eek: ...usually they keep that thing going for a good five minutes after van leaves the stage allowing Van to leave the premises completely before the song ends and the lights come up.

    you surely got a rare night last night...i guess cause it was Canada....and the big 4-0-0 or something.....cause last i heard hell still hasnt' frozen....

    so anyone in chicago or detroit seeing him today or tomorrow?
     
  15. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    No, sorry, I was unclear. Once he was gone in the latter stages of 'Gloria' he was gone. While I was still cheering in vain for an encore, Van was probably at the Four Seasons having a steak and kidney pie with The Hawk. The band were cracking up after he'd gone.
    At that point I was still thinking there was a chance he might do one more song. Such naivete, huh?
     
  16. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    yeah i figured. he leaves the building before the band stops...god forbid he have to pose for a picture with a fan....

    when I saw him at Jones Beach a couple of summers ago, the band was gloria-ing it up forever, its a long walk from behind that stage, under a tunnel where the long island sound is, you have to walk through a tunnel to get from the stage which is in the water sort of back to dry land...and I could see the limo parked from where i was sitting and i said to my friend, watch, there he'll be and when that car drives away the music will stop.

    there he was, then someone signals, car gone, band done...lights on....G-L-O-R-I-A-G-O-N-E
     
  17. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    I still cannot believe you got Wavelength!
     
  18. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    He never let me down, no
    He never let me down, no.;)

    Even did the intro bit, "This is a song about your wavelength and my wavelength" and all that, which I figured he'd skip for a more abridged arrangement.
     
  19. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    its no fave of mine to be sure, but i woulda been psyched to hear it live, knowing its a song he's refused to sing for decades...that and comfortably numb, are you sure it wasn't a holograph projection of him doing this show? its almost shocking when i think about it!

    almost makes me want to schlep to atlantic city to see him on saturday but after 5 shows in a row, he's bound to be the crank i always see....
     
  20. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Really, he refused? Wow, I can't imagine why. Even though that's not among my faves, when it kicks into the chorus it's unstoppable, even if he can't hit those wa-eeeeeeeeee-ayeeeeee-ve-length notes anymore. To tell you the truth, those notes always sounded a bit off to me, so the lower register actually helps the song.

    And 'Comfortably Numb,' he was so embarrassed about it, as if he were apologizing for playing it! Had to keep looking at his music stand for the lyrics and he still missed his cue. :laugh: Still, hearing that first blast of the chorus was a Vanscendental (TM) moment.
    I'm thinking the record company asked him to trot that one out for the At the Movies collection. Just a guess. However it happened, I'm glad I was there.
     
  21. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid Thread Starter

    "refused" might be the wrong word....he certainly "ignored" that song as I've not seen a set list or heard a live tape with that tune on it for as long as I've been paying attention to that sort of thing....i wonder if there is a set list data base out there on this artist...or maybe he had that shut down too....

    Van does nothing for any record company ever! the stories are legendary....
     
  22. Clarkophile

    Clarkophile Through the Morning, Through the Night

    Location:
    Oakville, ON
    Then I really do feel honoured. Maybe he likes Canucks. We're a good lot, you know.
     
  23. mrbillswildride

    mrbillswildride Internet Asylum Escapee 2010, 2012, 2014

    :righton:

    A slight bit more civilized, sane, and socialized then their neigbors to the south....:shh:


    cheers,
    :cheers:
    mrbill

    NP: Beautiful Vision
     
  24. tfarney

    tfarney Active Member

    Location:
    Charlotte,NC
    The Man knows a doodyhead when he sees one.

    Tim
     
  25. tfarney

    tfarney Active Member

    Location:
    Charlotte,NC
    Tom, everybody likes canooks.

    I covered Gloria through a dozen bands over 25 years. I always loved to rap through the middle...she's walkin' down my street, she's comin' up my stairs, she's knockin' on my door, she's callin' out my name...gonna make me feel alright!

    Probably got lucky more often for that than anything else in my life. Well, "Lyin' Eys" always worked for the girls in Bloomington, Illinois. Which just goes to show to what lengths a young man will go...

    Tim
     
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