All Photos: Laura Muraska-Ross
Van Morrison, or should I say Sir Van Morrison, is arguably one of the greatest musicians and singer-songwriters of our time. With hits like Brown-Eyed Girl, Days Like this, and Someone like you (which you might remember from Bridget Jones Diary: The Movie), it’s easy to see why. His soulful voice is one that can instantly soothe the soul. So, to say I was both grateful and excited when I got confirmed to photograph and review the Edinburgh show of his current tour would be an understatement.
Arriving at the sold-out Usher Hall, I could already see queues of people lined up at every door. I was pleasantly surprised to see people of all ages in attendance. After picking up my pass from the box office, I headed inside. I had already been told by his management that I would only be able to shoot for the first two songs, but due to the lack of a pit and the audience all being seated, I was happy enough that two songs would be more than enough time to capture the icon on stage.
I could tell people were excited for him to perform, and due to there being no support acts, it was more like an ‘Evening with Van Morrison’ or a residency show, which was rather unique, like the Northern Irish artist himself. At 7.55pm the band took to the stage first, and started playing the opening to ‘The Skye Boat song’. To which, Van Morrison then entered from stage left. Wearing an eye-catching blue tailored suit and one of his staple round-brimmed hats and a pair of sunglasses, he was oozing cool from all angles.
It was a little tricky to get shots of him, as there were so many music stands, microphones and instruments around him, but this is testament to how many instruments he can and does play on stage. Half-way through shooting the first two songs, I was told I couldn’t shoot him from the front. It was not explained to me why (adding to his mystery and iconic nature), but I just rolled with it and captured what I could while trying to do him justice.
I then took to my seat, which was in a perfect position, almost directly centre, and was able to just sit back and enjoy the rest of the show.
It was a bit of journey. Like others, I know Morrison’s biggest hits and what song is playing as soon as the opening few chords or notes play, but with the new musical arrangements which had been made to all of them, it didn’t become obvious until further through each piece as to what you were listening to. Personally, I liked the intrigue of it all and it made more room for Morrison to showcase his many talents, especially the Sax which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My favourite track of the night was ‘Days Like This’ but maybe that is a biased choice, as I like to blast it in the car or at home whenever I need a pick me up. The lyrics just resonate with me, as I am sure they do with many.
As someone that had never seen him perform live before, it was interesting to see how he interacted with his band, almost like a conductor with an orchestra. Subtle hand signals indicated to them when to play slower, or softer, and then when to build up to a crescendo. It was amazing to me, to think that one person could have all of this in their head. He clearly likes things to be played or performed in a certain way and, is precious about his creations, but this to me, is a sign of a great artist and musician.
The band was made up of nine other musicians, and I would love to name all of the instruments that were being played, but I wouldn’t want to guess. I do know there was more brass, piano, guitar, drums and what appeared to be bongo drums. As well as two fabulous backing singers, one of whom sang whole verses to some of the songs (again, different but worked).
I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding Morrison, however, to me that has nothing to do with the fact that he is a musical genius. I think any person of his talent has some level of eccentricities, but that’s what makes them iconic right? You cannot say he is boring or mundane and you cannot say he isn’t talented. All in all, I enjoyed the evening, it was different but being able to just add ‘witnessing a legend in the flesh’ to my list is something I will treasure.
Van Morrisons new album ‘Remembering Now’ is out on 13th June, and you can pre save it on Spotify below:
https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/00vXjqnfzao926fmGbxa2Z?si=6OZwauBdTju4BYvMbh4m7w