Saw Van play at Cadogan House (I think) near Chelsea about 6 years ago. All very good musicianship and voice still upto it but somehow a soulless night. I felt he was just going through the motions, doing a job he’d been doing for many years and had grown bored of.
Yeah, I think it depends on his mood. We saw him at the Roundhouse a couple of years ago and, whilst his voice and the band were great, he didn't interact with his audience at all and just ****ed off at the end without an encore. Chris Farlowe was performing with him as a backing singer and did all the communication with the audience. He was excellent.
I’ve seen him 5 or 6 times from the mid 80s on. Seen the full range, from one of the best gigs I’ve seen, full of beauty and emotion (with Georgie Fame on keyboards) to total dross where he couldn’t be bothered and played barely 30 minutes. More recently everything has been a bit more professional and frankly a bit duller. Haven’t seen him for six or seven years though.
Having booked to see Van Morrison at the Shepherd's Bush Empire and not been able to go, I got tickets for The Van Morrison Alumni Band at the London Coliseum last night as a kind of second best option. It was anything but second best, though - I can't imagine enjoying the man himself any more than I did last night's show. This is a collection of musicians who've accompanied Van over the years playing their own choice of Van's best songs, some of which he no longer plays himself, and fronted by several excellent singers. It was sensational, and I found myself with the involuntary grin on my face for most of it, which is the ultimate sign of quality for me. I even found tears rolling down my cheeks at times. If I'd chosen the set list from my own personal favourites, I don't think I'd I have come up with anything they didn't actually play..... And The healing Has Begun St. Dominic's Preview Days Like This Wild Night Brightside Of The Road Sometimes We Cry Queen Of The Slipstream Have I Told You Lately Into The Mystic Caravan And It Stoned Me I've Been Working I Forgot That Love Existed Brown Eyed Girl Tupelo Honey The Philosopher's Stone Real Real Gone Domino Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You're Smiling) I Will Be There Moondance Someone Like You Carrying A Torch Crazy Love Wonderful Remark Dweller On The Threshold Ancient Highway Astral Weeks You Make Me Feel So Free The Healing Game In The Garden/No Guru Gloria A three-hour set, with a short intermission, and £35 a ticket! Fantastic.
That’s what a gig night is all about Strolls. Some of the ticket prices now are crazy. I know costs have gone up for touring bands but it’s madness sometimes.
On the way back from Lisbon. What a great town, very lively and as Friday was a public holiday really busy with locals enjoying a long weekend. Had some epic meals, must be half a stone heavier. Belcanto - 2 Michelin starred full tasting menu with wine pairing experience, utterly brilliant, devastatingly expensive but for a once in a lifetime experience (well, if I get invited back….) and it was the wife’s birthday. Tapisco - an old style tapas/petiscos bar with a few tables and counter service. We walked in because it looked good, sat at the counter watched the chefs at work and chatted with them and feasted - it also has a Michelin guide recommendation which we didn’t know but much more reasonable equally great in a different way Largo do Carmo - a lovely little square with a couple of bars and tables outside. It has been so warm that sat out in shirtsleeves until gone midnight listening to a couple of excellent bands which set up and busked. I haven’t been here for a few years and the last time was for work. Really highly recommended even if the foody stuff isn’t your thing. Cigars roughly half the price of the UK as well.
We've been to Lagos with them a few times as they have an apartment there...it's great when he's ordering all the meals and drinks in the bars as you don't get the ****e that they dish out to tourists, and some of the restaurants away from the main drag are amazing. Must look in to a weekend away to Lisbon with them...
Avoid easyJet though. Just been told of ten hour delay to flight back because of ‘weather’. It’s drizzling. You will definitely eat better with local help. The only downside of our trip was that we stayed in a decent hotel in the Baixa zone, which is tourist central, loads of restaurants with waiters hassling you to eat there and flashing laminated menus with photos of food, all of which yells avoid at all costs. So we did.
Bilbao. Another great town, not touristy, very lively. Spent a long time in Txiriboga Taberna, a good old fashioned tapas bar last night in an area called Casco Viejo, full of bars and pubs, really rocking. All prices very reasonable - drinks and tapas for 3 in the market €30. Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid this afternoon, up the coast to San Sebastián tomorrow for Real Sociedad v Real Betis. Tickets really expensive for these games but the return flights were only £50 so balanced out.
Small gift to myself which I am forced to share with a couple of Foxes. Great game today in a fantastic stadium with leg and circulation space. Back in the Txiriboga now.
The Raparees, a Pogues tribute band, at the London Irish Centre in Camden... Great fun, and I even had the honour of shaking the hand of Mick Lynch.
Currently watching ‘Leave The World Behind’ on Netflix with Julia Roberts, Ethan Roberts and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Not sure why, though, as it’s boring as ****.
