Van Morrison at Kelvingrove Bandstand

Near the end - with my brother Ross down the front

Talk about a game of two halves!

The first half of Van Morrison's set in the stunning setting of the Kelvingrove Bandstand in Glasgow was a little.....bland. Think jazzy lounge band.

He might have opened with Moondance but it was far from marvellous. It was all a bit...well a bit boring and a bit like they were going through the motions.

The Glasgow crowd was polite and seated....that didn't last for long. A few people got up to dance and Van the Man looked noticeably upset, bringing someone on stage to usher the crowd to remain seated.

 Walking in just in time for Moondance opening the show

It was a Thursday night, the start of the weekend, an outdoor gig, drinks were flowing, a legend was playing....people were not going to remain seated all night long!

Things changed, a raucous Baby Please Don't Go ignited a previously bog standard set where the band and Van going through the motions. Van and the band kicked on to segue into Don't Start Crying Now and an utterly sensational Here Comes The Night.

The band were all session musicians, as tight as you wanted, but it was later on that they came into their own; cutting loose on some great tracks. The drummer looked like he was 18 or 19, imagine cutting your teeth with a bonfide musical legend!

People started to dance - drunk, stoned or just enjoying the music, the Glasgow crowd started to exert themselves on Van and his band. There was no way on earth they were going to sit down through his show. Sometimes We Cry was a real highlight at this point.

There was also no way on earth that Van was going to smile or remotely look like he was enjoying himself. But he gave us some clues. Brown Eyed Girl is a wedding staple and one of his most famous songs but he rarely plays it live.

After a few words with his band it was trotted out. Van didn't seem to know all the words but it didn't matter, everyone else did! The place erupted. Suddenly everyone was on their feet. Previously it had been a drunken few, now it was the whole amphitheatre and it transformed the show.

Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) followed and the place was going crazy. I can't imagine Van and his band having a reception like this in a long, long time. The space at the front was filled with people dancing, singing and taking selfies in front of the legend.

Arms were in the air, people were hugging, dancing and singing. This was heaven and we were all smiling!

Real Real Gone followed with Van Morrison singing his heart out. We couldn't see behind his shades but he must have been enjoying the reaction from the Glasgow crowd.

Gloria was the last song of the night. Van Morrison walked off stage still singing and playing his harmonica. The band jammed on......and on......and on......

The crowd kept singing GLORIA and the band kept on playing. Van was long gone but the band responded to the crowd and played their hearts out. Unlike Van, they were smiling! They jammed and raised it, dropped it and gave everyone solo's. It was a great moment.

So yeah, Van Morrison at Kelvingrove Park - memorable. but the second half when Van, band and crowd cut loose was what made it.

Van Morrison at Celtic Connections

Van was definitely the man in Glasgow.

It is under an hour since Van Morrison left the stage at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall, leaving his band to jam on for a good 5-10 minutes. He's not one for chit chat between songs, or even allowing time for applause between songs, and he left the stage twice whilst still singing, but Van the Man led his band through an incredible performance tonight.

Van Morrison was playing as part of Celtic Connections 2015 and I have my brother to thank for buying me a ticket for tonight. I was excited yet nervous ahead of the show, not knowing what he would play and also having heard rumours about him being a tad grumpy at times.

I needn't have worried, I'm still under the spell he magically wove tonight. It was a truly majestic performance - vocally and musically. 

Our seats were high, only a few from the back, centre stage and we captured the beautiful Concert Hall acoustics in all their glory. 

Van's band took to the stage all dressed in black - guitar, bass/double bass, drums, piano/organ/keys/trumpet and a backing singer. They launched into an instrumental jazz number and then on strode Van Morrison to jam along on saxophone. They were in sensational form from the off.

Dropping in an Please Don't Go early on, which led into Parchman and Don't Stop was a wise move, the audience seemed spellbound at the vocal delivery and the tightness of the band. Van was on his mouth organ at this point and he also played guitar at times.

Dressed in black, with hat and shades, there was no doubt who was the boss as Van conducted and instructed the band through the performance - letting them to know when to up the pace, bring it down, extend the jam, even change instruments or to bring it to a close.

This led to a stunning run of songs with the band playing beautiful dreamy music at times, allowing Van Morrison to sing his poetic love songs over the top. Moondance was gorgeous, Sometimes We Cry was packed with soul, In The Garden was quite simply breathtaking as the lights dimmed and Van brought the music right down before letting rip with his vocals and the band came crashing back in.

Ending with the beautiful Into the Mystic and Ballerina, Van Morrison walked slowly off the stage whilst still singing to rapturous applause, leaving the band to jam on and take turns in the spotlight before a note was handed to the organ/piano player telling him to bring things to a close.

I've seen many legends grace stages in Glasgow in my 21-years of gig-going but tonight was possibly the best of the lot, certainly the best I have seen in a long, long time. Van Morrison's voice was effortless from the off - gentle when required, soaring and soulful throughout, his backing band were just exceptional - capable of reacting to his needs and producing moments of truly beautiful and dreamy music that you could get lost in.

What a show!

Tips for 2013

The end of year 'best of' lists are barely over before magazines, radio shows and bloggers launch feet first into their 'tips for 2013'.

I decided to investigate 5 of the bands being highlighted in these lists (many of which have top PR people working for them to get them there) to discover if I would be falling for any of them in the year ahead.

Palma Violets are receiving huge support from the likes of the NME. They look like they wanna be The Libertines, however they look far too clean cut to inspire the kind of devotion that Doherty and Barrat did.

The first song of theirs I listened to was 'Tom the Drum' via the BBC website and I thought it was so shite that I wouldn't bother listening to anything else they had to offer.

I did persist though and checked out 'Best of Friends' via their website. The chorus is admittedly pretty good. I just get the feeling that they are trying too hard for their look and sound. It was natural for The Libertines, this just seems pretty fake to me.

VERDICT - I won't be wasting much time on Palma Violets.They will probably release one moment of punky guitar pop genious but depsite being on the brilliant Rough Trade, I won't be holding my breath,

Haim are number one in the celebrated BBC Sound of 2013 list and have also been widely tipped across the music press. I discovered them towards the end of 2012 when I downloaded 'Forever' after a friend was tweeting about it. 

The song flows superbly and I do love the refrain at the end;

Go, go, go get out, get out of my memory

No, no, no not tonight I don't have the energy

'Don't Save Me' is more of the same, clever and catchy pop with echoes of Fleetwood Mac.

VERDICT - Definitely worth checking out. The album could soundtrack a sunny summer.

The Strypes are freshly signed to Mercury Records and are so fresh faced that they look like they would struggle to get served in my local pub(well they are all 14-16!)

When you google the band one of the items near the top is 'Elton John checks out RADAR band The Strypes at tiny Brighton pub gig'. That's when the cynic in me thinks - jeez they must have some good connections.

The Strypes play raw rock'n'roll, Van Morrison's days with Them seem to be an immediate stand out amongst their many influences; they have some choice covers from the likes of Bo Didley and the Stones on their YouTube channel.

VERDICT - A spectacular year including every festival imaginable but can the youngsters keep up the pace or will they crash and burn? Will they produce material of their own to match their great choice of covers? Kudos to their folks for introducing them to some great music.

Peace - are another band whose name seems to be cropping up in all the right places at the right time. My initial reaction to them was 'cool website'. I chose to check out their song and video 'Bloodshake'. The guitar melody is quite Vampire Weekend-y, the video comes across as being a bit like The Word (cult 90's TV show on Channel 4) and the band look like they aren't really a band - as in they are all a bit different. I didn't last until the end of the song.

I checked out their song 'Follow Baby' and it seems to be strange melting pot of Northside, Jesus Jones and Senseless Things. For those of you not as old as me - this ain't good.

VERDICT - Particularly poor. 

Next up I opted to check out some futuristic R&B courtesy of AlunaGeorge who made the final 5 on the BBC Sound of list. 'Just A Touch' is the song featured on the Beeb website and it had me hooked immediately with a catchy riff, gorgeous vocals and melody with a shift in pace at all the right times.

Next up I checked out 'Your Drums, Your Love' on YouTube and thought that the phrase 'futuristic R&B' describes them perfectly. This is not the kind of music that features heavily in my record collection but when I stumble across something like this then I do get into it. The chorus is uplifting, the production is sublime and the vocals are once again gorgeous.

VERDICT - A critically acclaimed album that gets to the Mercury shortlist.

So there you have it - pass marks for AlunaGeorge and Haim, a definitely maybe for The Strypes and a thanks but no thanks for Palma Violets and Peace,