In Van We Trust? 28 March 2015

One can never be sure quite what to expect from a Van Morrison performance. Will it be the Blues Van? The Celtic soul Van? The mystic Van? More crucially, will it be the committed Van - or, as has often been the case in recent years - the perfunctory one? Or just plain old grumpy Van !! One thing that can usually be safely predicted is a self-absorption, a reluctance to acknowledge the audience on any level as befits a performer who in one of his most recent songs expressed the sentiment that "Sartre said hell was other people/I believe that most of them are". For this concert, there are two additional elements that might inform the tone of the show. First, this is part of this year’s run of Teenage Cancer Trust shows; a cause that obliges the artist to ensure they’re at their best. Secondly, this show convenient falls close to the release date of his new and 35th(!!) album, 'Duets: Reworking The Catalogue,' and there is in all likelihood an imperative to support that writes Wrinkly The Silver in his review here.