Van the Man

Van Morrison's website wants to charge me for reading a review of Saturday at Battle Abbey, so harrumph to them and here's my take on it:

The weather was horrible until just before the start and again in the car park afterwards, however for the visit of himself it dried up. First up was Chris Farlowe, a blast from the same era as Van himself, who churned out some solid blues stuff, plus a version of Handbags and Gladrags (written for him by Mike d'Abo) which wasn't at all bad, and of course Out of Time, a classic Jagger/Richards tune which gave him his only hit. Next time Chris, just don't say anything in between ("this one's for the ladies").
The expert at non communication with the crowd was fairly briskly on stage shortly after this, with an excellent band who appeared, however, not to have spent much time with Van at all. The lack of input from the artiste was made up for by his occasional frustrated shouts to the band ("Wake up!" and "Solo.........SOLO!"). I was too far back to identify anyone, but I think it may have been the great Mick Green on guitar, also Geraint Watkins on keys. We were treated to quite a few of the great songs, including a lengthy version of Moondance as the sun went down, also Here comes the night, Bright side of the road, Gloria with Chris Farlowe joining in, and of course Brown Eyed Girl, relayed to Joel in Chatham down the phone. We also had old faves Crazy Love and Wild Night, and more recent offerings, Precious Time and Back on Top, plus the tribute to his former occupation, Cleaning Windows. The evening ended with a great version of Walking the Dog and fireworks, by which time Van was probably halfway to Dublin. A great artist and a great show; it's a pity he isn't more interested in the people who come to listen to him.