Saw Van last night in Detroit at a beautiful venue... the Masonic Theatre... about 2000 seats (I think), and absolutely beautiful acoustics.
Van rarely tours, and is known for lackluster performances on occasion, or strange song choices, etc. Not last night! He seemed very excited to be in Detroit (one of the few stops on this mini-tour). He mentioned his father lived here way back in the day.
It was old school bliss... probably among the greatest performances I've ever seen. The bassist was playing some sort of old Gibson or Guild.... shaped like a Gibson335 guiter... it was 'old flatwound' warm, tubby bliss. I typically hate that tone, but man, it just sat in the mix... you could hear every note. I didn't catch the guys name, but he also seemed to serve as musical director.
Great young female pedal steel player, smokin' trio of background singers, two wonderful guitarists (335 and strat), beautiful sounding 'fiddle' player, and a B3 player that smoked.... I'm talking good old 'old school' playing and grooves.... dynamics, precise musicianship... but loose enough that Van would cue solo's and bridges, etc. from stage.... very refreshing!
The performance was very similar to the wonderful 'One night in San Francisco' live disc..... tons of material from his last 4 or 5 CD's (Days Like This, etc.), some jazz, blues and country tunes sprinkled in, and then, surprisingly (since Van is known for not enjoying doing his classics), he went into a long sequence of hits... Wild Night, Crazy Love, a mercifully short take on Moondance, Gloria, and.... Brown Eyed Girl (I know... but hearing the Van Man do it is a totally fresh and amazing thing).
All in all, I had low expectations, given his reputation. It was really, really amazing... felt like seeing Elvis or something. The audience went nuts for most of the night.... totally pleasant experience, and amazing sound (especially the bass tone).
Just had to share
Edit: I just realized this is in the wrong area of the site... sorry mods... put it where you will.
