The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Forum / ATM: Van in Hull – should I stay or should I go?

ATM: Van in Hull – should I stay or should I go?

by 36 Comments

In a Natalie Imbruglia stylee, I’m torn – torn, I tells ya!
It’s just been announced that the prestigious opening act at the new Hull Venue will be Van the Man. This is something of a coup, and as a long-standing fan I should be really excited that he has deigned to grace us with his presence for the first time in 30-odd years. However, my fan-dom is markedly lapsed, in that I don’t think he’s actually done anything truly great since the early 90s. I’ve seen him give some truly outstanding, transcendent performances up until around the same time, but over the years the new material and live shows I’ve seen on screen have all been a real disappointment. I think the main problem I have is that the voice which was once a thing of beauty is now just a horrible bark, and the idiosyncratic mannerisms and stagecraft I once found endearing I now just find rather irritating. Adding to this the legion of stories about his perfunctory approach to performing (the clocks, etc.) I just don’t get the feeling that renewing my live acquaintance with the fella would be a rewarding experience. And yet, and yet…the residue of my admiration of his past work still has a strong pull.

So my question to the Massive is, has anyone had recent experience of the Van Morrison live experience? Was it as disappointing as I have imagined it…or has it confounded expectations and been as good as ever? Does he actually do any nuanced singing rather than staccato barking? Advice or insights would be very welcome, as the purchase of tickets would be a considerable investment. Cheers.

0

Comments

  1. I have seen him 25 times, the last one was 2 years ago where I paid about $25 to see him (in a festival) and it was very good. I would say go it the ticket price is reasonable. If it is a ridiculous 80 or 100 quid then the possibility of getting value for money is low.

  2. Sitting here at the bottom of the southern hemisphere where Van has appeared once and reputedly performed his worst ever concert, which I attended, the notion of deciding whether to attend a Van concert seems somewhat err indulgent. Fortunately, I saw him in Reading during the Celtic stuff so so far it is 1:1.

    My advice -by your ticket and hope for the best.

  3. Coming to Hull should cheer him right up…

    I’m almost tempted, but the tix will be either astronomical or long gone to BBC and local bigwig types. And anyway, you know, going out.

    “The smell of the patties from the fish shop got in my nose….”

  4. Seen Van about a dozen times – even in the golden years it was always a lottery, either transcendental magnificence or Van muttering “When can I get out of here, where’s me money?”.
    I was at one of the Too Late To Stop Now concerts where I honestly thought I would explode with joy. A few years later in Shepherds Bush the sound was awful and he left the stage after thirty five minutes never to return.
    Next a blistering set in Dublin and then somewhere around 2000 a country park in Norfolk: you know the kind of thing, pay thirty quid, bring your picnic table, hamper and plenty of wine. Five thousand or so happy punters looking for a fun evening of booze and Have I Told You Lately. A small figure dressed in black came on stage and for the next hour or so played either his harmonica (I hope he washed it beforehand) or his sax. Nary a hit was played, jazzy-type introspective waffle interrupted in virtually every song by the small man in black stopping in mid-flow and haranguing whichever band member had played a bum note or farted or whatever. No amount of booze could wash away the audience’s disappointment – did Van acknowledge any of the mutterings of discontent or the shouts of “Play Brown Eyed Girl”? Did he fuck.
    Somebody close to the organisers told me Van was paid 60 grand that night, me and 4999 others were robbed blind.

    • The following night he’s playing a country house an hour from me with the Waterboys + Hothouse Flowers as support.

      We go there often as the gardens are lovely and they have a fantastic craft fair.

      £64 per ticket means £260 for the family, no food or drink to be taken in (I’m on a medically-restricted diet so won’t be able to eat anything) – and the risk he might grumpy and/or shit.

      I had a lovely night out in my local music pub on Wednesday, 3 great acts for £5.50, and nobody blew a harmonica.

      • Not necessarily bothered by harmonicas (as long as it’s not Dylan blowing ’em) but I’m with you on the getting of kicks cheaply, when possible.
        Hank Wangford & The Lost Cowboys last Sunday lunchtime for a tenner at the Half Moon.
        She Makes War, Garance & the Mitochondries, Chaouche and Deerful at Daylight Music tomorrow lunchtime for “pay what you can, but please make it a fiver”.
        Jazz at The Chandos Arms on Sunday evening for £7.50.

        I saw Van perform one sunny afternoon at Glasto in the early ’80s and he was pretty good, despite looking like he didn’t really want to be there. The fact he had a great band is probably what swung it for me. I can’t really summon up any enthusiasm for him these days.

    • I think what really surprised me about that night in Norfolk was that Van surely knew what kind of audience he was playing to – mainly middle-aged middle-class most of whom had probably never heard of Them but proudly owned a Greatest Hits and all looking for One Fine Summer Evening vibes. And what did they get – nothing that’s what.
      I guess some will say Van is a tortured genius who plays what he wants to play and certainly anybody who has Astral Weeks, Veedon Fleece etc in his canon deserves the ultimate respect. But that night he was nothing but a grumpy, selfish bastard. I hope someone payed special attention to his harmonica before going on stage

      • Well he clearly hates Brown Eyed Girl, but has been singing it through gritted teeth most nights for about the last decade or so. So regarding audience expectation he may have a slightly better idea. I seem to remember that at one point he (or his management) did some sort of research as to what the audience expectations were. He then adjusted his setlist somewhat and ticket prices went up accordingly.

  7. I’d go and watch him again…He has always been quite hit and miss…Free Trade Hall Manchester early 70’s magnificent…Ex Stadium Toronto 80’s effortlessly good…Carling Centre Toronto late 70’s a rush through the hits, arrogant and fucking rubbish really, the only bonus was Rockpile were the support and did 40 magnificent minutes of pure rock and roll, Lowe Edmunds and Bremner laid a trap for the miserable git that night……oh and why doesn’t he ditch those bloody awful boxy Blues Brothers outfits he’s been wearing for the past one hundred years?….but I’d still say he’s worth a shot

  8. …..the residue of my admiration… along the viaducts of your dreams….in the slipstream….

    Give it the slip: worst case kick yourself for missing a belter, maybe the last chance you’ll get.
    Stump up: worst case kick yourself for wasting the sovs, and resolve never to invest again.

    I’d go.

  9. Saw him last year in Liverpool with the Baron and he was brilliant. Also seeing Jim at Wrest park in August g just with The Waterboys and Hothouse Flowers.

  10. Saw him at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham in November twenty five years since I last saw him. I was so high up in the gods I could see why he wears the hat these days – any bald patch would have been glaringly obvious (and glaring!) – but he played all the “hits” and minimal “new”. A really enjoyable show, and yes he was off stage almost on the dot of the advertised finish time but given that I had a train to catch on a work night I was fine with that – and importantly he appeared on stage on the dot of the advertised start time. His only spoken utterances were the names of his band members but no-one ever went too a Van concert for the sparkling repartee and witty, revealing anecdotes. All in all it was a pretty good night. I’d go if I were you.

    • I saw him once in New York. Advertised time on ticket was 730 PROMPT. I think he actually came on at 725, There were lots of people wandering into the auditorium at about 830 with drinks in their hands, and confused looks on their faces, who got precisely 25 minutes for their $150, because at 8.55 it was over. Time for another gig same evening if you wanted to do that.

    • I’m not one for doing down other people’s enthusiasms but Morrison must be the overrated load of guff ever. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of my attendance.

  13. Seen him a good dozen times, starting with the Rainbow on “It’s Too Late..” tour. Have been lucky every time, though clearly some gigs have been better than others, but never seen a duff one. Last time was two years ago at Glasto Abbey and a great gig. Everybody dancing and having a ball. He even smiled when Joss Stone (guesting) have him a hug (who wouldn’t?) though he may have been breaking wind. I get the feeling that he’s a “bit” more professional these days and delivers a consistently top standard set. That may be because he’s got a settled band who he can totally rely on and can second guess him. Be prepared for the Gloria jam at the end though when he’s tucked up in bed by the time they finish!!! I could, of course, be totally wrong and it could be a stinker!!!!

  15. I recall putting up a Van biographer during his researches, several years ago, and he uttered the memorable phrase, ‘The obituaries have already been written’. Even then, Van’s best was behind him. If spending a load of money for nostalgic reasons is okay with you, go. If not, find a chippy and a pub band and have change out of £20 for a fun night out.

    For an alternative Van in Hull experience, try this:

  16. I still have plenty of time for further procrastination before pre-sale, but I’m leaning more towards the ‘stay’ option. I have some treasured memories of great shows past, and I can’t imagine that anything he might do now is going to come close. Thanks for the (variable) advice, everyone!
    By the way, in the time I’ve been deliberating/dithering on this, I’ve managed to snap up tickets for Hamilton (never thought I’d get the chance to say that, ever!).

  17. Postscript: In addition to acquiring the Hamilton tickets, I managed to persuade Mrs Type that it was an excellent idea to use the money we would have gambled on the Van Morrison tickets to buy ones for the universally acclaimed David Byrne ‘American Utopia’ show instead! Now that is a much more enticing prospect…

Leave a Reply