A heavy wave of nostalgia passed over the massive crowd upon the very sight of Van Morrison as he took to the Telus Stage under another perfect night sky at CityFolk Fest on Friday. Legions of fans of all ages turned out to pay tribute to the man and his legacy of music that has wrapped around our hearts and become part of the songbook of our lives. This year, Morrison celebrated his 70th birthday, received the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award, and was knighted by the Queen…a busy year indeed for Sir George Ivan Morrison.
Morrison’s sensational 5-piece band serenaded us with a jazzy “Celtic Swing” intro, as he donned his sax and joined in on “Close Enough For Jazz“, garnering the first of many bursts of applause. It quickly veered into the luscious tones of “Moondance”, and “Days Like This”, which showed off his natural scatting ability, vocal control, and that signature sharp yet buttery colour of his voice, which was amazingly intact.
I was impressed by backing vocalist, Dana Masters, who added her power-packed gospel-flavoured vocals to all the material, and was given tidbit moments to shine, as in the lively, “When God Shines His Light”. By this time, Van the Man was building up his wonderful swagger on stage, and kept the energy going as the band took a retro turn into “Baby Please Don’t Go”, featuring some great guitar and keyboard work by Dave Keary and Paul Moran. The blues shuffle beat pressed on while Morrison jumped on a vocal effects mic to deliver some radio edit frills to “Parchment Farm”, followed by a rippin’ rockabilly guitar solo in “Don’t Start Cryin’ Now”.
Crowd shot of the great lawn during Van Morrison.
The audience bobbed around to the great pace of “Wild Night”, with its iconic bassline groove, laid down by Paul Moore, then took a sudden swerve to the left with Don Gibson’s epic heartbreak country song, “I Can’t Stop Loving You”. I enjoyed the band’s very soulful rendition, and Morrison’s natural R&B croon, while couples locked themselves together in a slow dance churn.
The band didn’t seem to come up for air as the generous repetoire of songs moved seamlessly from one to the next. More favourites came with the great funky blues number, “Cleaning Windows”, that highlighted another stellar keyboard segment; “Brown Eyed Girl”, which featured the crowd on vocals; and the vibrant, “Domino”, that showcased Morrison back on sax. The night came to a close with an all out epic rendition of “Gloria”, that spurned on a merry-go-round of solos, ending in some drum madness by Bobby Ruggiero. Morrison popped out for a final wave goodbye, as the crowd began to make their slow exit off the great lawn, still surrounded by the lingering nostalgic vibe of the night.
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