No more results on this page
With a catalog of songs that reaches back 50 years, Van Morrison always delivers a concert that’s impossible to predict for his many ticket buyers. The iconic Northern Ireland native has, of course, recorded classic albums like Moondance and Astral Weeks, and timeless singles like "Brown Eyed Girl," "Domino," and "Wild Night." But he's released well over 30 albums during the course of his career, building a repertoire that veers from Celtic music to folk to blues to covers of standards. His focus on any given night could switch on the dime as he follows his muse wherever it takes him. From Madison Square Garden to Arizona Federal Theatre, fans fill seats to see Van Morrison on tour because the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is a master of making his own whatever genre or song he tackles. His unmistakable voice is a reedy and expressive growl, and his delivery -- which is constantly evolving -- conjures elements of jazz, blues and gospel. His latest album, 2012's Born to Sing: No Plan B, marked his first batch of original songs in five years and was hailed by many critics as recalling his much-heralded recordings of the late '60s and early '70s. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Hadn't seen Van since 1990- really excited although somewhat shocked by ticket prices. used to his style of ignoring audience but his play list was disappointing; the show was pretty short; and no encore.
Ok - disclaimer upfront. I went with my husband who is a HUGE Van Morrison fan. Me - not so much. The music was beautiful - the violin player, the pianist & the guy playing the horns were awesome. I couldn't hardly understand a word Mr. Morrison said in any of the songs, which is what I usually complain to my husband about anyway, so I really wasn't expecting clear vocals. But the thing that got me was ----HE NEVER SAID A WORD TO THE AUDIENCE!!! We all paid between $95 & $350 to see the man and the place was packed --- and not even ONE WORD came from his mouth to the audience. Would it kill the man to say thanks for coming?? Now granted, he did sing for almost 2 hours straight, so I guess we got our money's worth. No encore, either......but again the almost 2 hours straight, so I'll not complain too loudly. My husband was blown away & loved every minute. I love my husband enough to say, ok, I'm glad I went, but I'm not sure I'd go again.
I knew before I purchased the tickets that most of the songs were going to be from the astral weeks which would not be my favorite live concert set list. I had seen van live 4 previous times and they were all great, so any van is better than none. It seems between the venue and him possibly not feeling great is why the show was not what us van fans expect. Hopefully he will be feeling better for tonights show, although I dont know about the sound system/venue. also he was his typical 90 minute show length.
The musicians were phenomenal. I paid a lot of money to see Van Morrison. I was disappointed that there was no encore and with all the drama on stage. It was clear he had numerous issues with the stage set up, sound, etc. He repeatedly beckoned a stage hand to address this issue or that issue. It was distracting and created an unpleasant environment. I recently saw ColdPlay. At that performance, the band members were clearly having as good a time as the audience. That aspect provided a sense of unity and joy. This was decidely absent in Morrison's concert.
Van Morrison's voice is clear as ever and his band is amazing, but, I'm guessing he was either not interested in performing on Thursday nights or not feeling too well. Guess I was expecting to be on my feet the whole time, not just for two songs, Gloria and Brown Eyed Girl.
Disappointing. Expected VM to play more of his classic songs, but played only 2.
After an hour, during the song Gloria, Van the man walked off stage never to return. I thought it was a joke. No Moondance, no Wild Night, no Tupelo Honey etc. Astral Weeks portion was great, although it was obvious Van was unhappy with acoustics, band and the crowd. Reallly expected a lot more than 1 hour for $150.
Well, the band was fabulous, Van Morrison was amazing, and he stormed off after having played only 1 hour and 36 minutes. I paid 2 weeks of grocery money to see him - it was my treat to myself for the year, and it seemed he was angry about some feedback that kept happening, so no encores, and far less than a 2 hour show - just poof, gone after 1.5 hours. He kept vigorously and humorlessly motioning the roadie onto the stage to move something 6 inches this way or that, never cracked a smile, and just left the stage - zip. I heard from people who apparently have the money to have seen him on this tour repeatedly, even for the exorbitant prices, (and I could only pay the middle tier seats - I could never afford the good seats - that was double my car payment!) that this is unusual - that normally he does quite a few more songs. Oh well. Probably tonight, the second show, that I can't afford to go see also, he will grant the audience his presence for a bit longer. I suspected he might be a bit of a male version of a diva when I saw the gold microphones with his initials, but it never occurred to me he would so disregard the unbelievable prices people paid to come and see him and just diss the audience by storming off. Even the DAR workers were blown away by both the shortness of the concert and the information about how much people had paid to get in, and kept going on about how Tori Amos had played the night before and played for hours. I have seen Clapton and many others of Van Morrison's caliber over the years, and never was I charged this much, and never have a had a performer totally disregard the fact that people had paid for the privilege of seeing him and just disappear. If I had not stood around in disbelief with most other patrons, waiting for the band to return, and could have caught him as he exited the hall, I would have given him a piece of my mind.
I expected the Van Morrison concert to be a once in a lifetime event- and it will be! I won't waste my time again. The concert was tremendously disappointing. He sang a total of 2 songs that I was familiar with and that was at the end of the concert. He never acknowledged or spoke at all to the audience. He actually seemed aggravated to be there. I've never been to a performance that made you feel like you were an inconvenience. He cursed a stage hand at one point and didnt make any bones about it. I was almost glad when the concert was over. The tickets were expensive and the show was a big disappointment. My sister and I had planned taking my brother to this concert as an event to take his mind off of personal problems. In the past year he as been diagnosed with stage III colon cancer at the age of 46. He also suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm this year. But he is still with us! He loves Van Morrison and had never been to a concert. So this was to be a celebration of sorts. He didn't complain about anything- he actually made excuses for Van Morrison's behaviour. All in all I was left wishing that we had heard the famous songs that Van Morrison is known for and that he had at least pretended to appreciate his fans.
We went to last night's Van Morrison concert in DC, and he's definitely showing his age and dislike for performance. He didn't shout out to the crowd once during the two hours we were there. I was so excited to hear three of my favorite songs from him - Domino, Moon Dance, and Crazy Love. These are some of his best songs, and he didn't play them. The last song he played was Gloria and he didn't even stay on stage through the end of the song. Most of the crowd stood up at the end clapping to try to get him to come back on stage, but he didn't. The songs he did were pretty good, but overall, it was pretty disappointing!
I was really disappointed in the show. There was something wrong with the sound. For the first 30 minutes of the show, some sound guy was running around the stage, the musicians were being moved around and it was distracting. Van seemed to be p***ed off, too. The concert started late, ended early. Although Astral Weeks music was good, he only played 2 oldies but goodies. I regret that I paid so much for the concert.
I am a huge Van Morrison fan but the show last night in DC stunk! Joyless, lifeless, unprofessional. Just because Van was unhappy with the stage manager doesn't mean he should take it out on the audience by cutting the show short. Waste of $150. Never again.
The show was just too short, period. The venue, DAR Consitution Hall, definitely performs it's part in creating the 'every-seat-is-a-good-seat' romantic setting, but I ended up leaving feeling let down. This is the second time I have bought tickets to see someone who I feel won't be around too much longer, and didn't hesitate to pay the price. The overall vibe, energy, just wasn't there. I feel that it (energy) is extemely a good part responsible of the entertainer, not just the crowd. Maybe DAR just doesn't do it for me, or maybe I caught Van just too late in his career. I'll still carry the many life memories associated with his music, but this one won't be there. Leaving the show feeling like that was like being given a flat beer and feeling obligated to drink it.
Overall he is very talented but he only played 2 of his big hits and did not come back for an encore. No Moondance, Tupelo Honey, Domino!!!!!!!!!!! He does not connect with his audience. the band was great but......................
If you go to see Van Morrison do not expect him to talk. He goes on stage to play and he did just that. His music was spot on. The price of the tickets was steep, but the venue was perfect.
For various reasons I had never been to a Van Morrison concert; he doesn't come around a lot, I was out of town, and so on. This put him number one on my must see concert list before it's too late. To prepare I ran out and bought his "Astral Weeks" CD to add to my Morrison collection, knowing he would be playing a lot of music from it in his concert. I was excited because there's not a bad seat at DAR Constitution Hall. Too bad the concert ever began. I had no idea he would force feed an hour and twenty minutes of Astral and other tunes the crowd did not come to hear before finally playing 'Brown Eyed Girl.' Next he mailed in 'Gloria' and after finally getting the crowd to their feet the legend walked off stage with no thank you or good-bye. No 'Moondance,' 'Domino,' 'Wavelength,' or 'Wild Night.' I've read the story of how Morrison is bitter about his early music ownership being "stolen" but to keep loyal fans he may want to rise above the issue. Throughout the concert he pouted and argued about the sound to the helpless crew, never once acknowledging his loyal audience. Well, I'm one loyal fan he's lost. Take me to a John Prine concert over Van Morrison any day of the week.
Band was great - Van sounded pretty good - only issue - zero interaction with the crowd, no "hello Washington" or "Good night", no nothing- still wouldn't have missed it for the world. Venue was perfect
While the old guy still can play, he failed to reach the audience by playing an hour and half of obscure songs few knew and hitting only two standards -- Browned Girl and Gloria -- at the end of his 1:45 hour set. For the price he is charging, $150 for the back row, upper deck, he should be more approachable to his audience and give them what they came to hear -- some of the highlights of a fabulous career.
No encore, no crowd interaction, had to signal to his band when to end songs. He still has the voice but he does not deserve your money.
Saw Van Morrison last night in DC, he is a powerful artist with a still stunning voice, but... no encore!!!!!! WHo doesn't do an encore???? I hope this is not a new pattern for concerts, the encore is like the artist's tribute to his audience. Still and all I would recommend seeing him he is an extraordinary artist, unfortuantely with an ego to match.
