The Who Gather Wire and Angels in New York City

September 1, 2019

NEW YORK, NY — “Thank you for not going to the seaside!” Pete Townshend told the crowd gathered at Madison Square Garden for the Labor Day Weekend show. Backed by a symphony orchestra, The Who triumphantly kicked off the night with sublime renditions of six songs from Tommy: “Overture,” “1921,” “Amazing Journey,” “Sparks,” “Pinball Wizard,” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

The acoustics in the Garden are excellent and Roger Daltrey was in great voice all night. The dazzling arrangements of conducter Keith Levenson, joining the orchestra together with the band, exalted Townshend’s inspired compositions in the big hall of MSG.

The concert included smashing performances by both Pete’s younger brother Simon on guitar and vocals, and Ringo’s son Zak Starkey, a drummer very much in the effervescent tradition of his father and Keith Moon.

September 15, 2019

WANTAGH, NY — Two weeks later, The Who were back in New York at  Jones Beach Theater, where the setting is magical but the acoustics have never been great. In fact, the concert came to a grinding halt when the power completely cut out.

But the wire was finally patched and Pete took it all in stride coming back on stage saying, "This is one of my favorite venues in all the world to play, but this is what happens when you build a theater literally in the sea!”

The concert rallied from the adversity with the highlight coming with Townshend and Daltrey alone on stage leading a spirited, acoustic singalong of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

While the Jones Beach concert, especially the Tommy songs, did not approach the pristine sound at Madison Square Garden a fortnight earlier, the show was sparked by additions to the setlist of “The Kids are Alright,” and “I Can See for Miles.” And what could be a more evocative setting for songs from Quadrophenia than a theater built literally in the sea?

With the new Who album set for release on December 6, it should be noted some of the very best Who songs, including “Real Good Looking Boy,” and “Endless Wire,” are 21st Century compositions. If you know the story of the song, “Man in a Purple Dress,” and the loyalty of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, it’s quite a joy to see them together, once again gathering wire and angels.

At the end of both New York shows when Roger’s song was sung, first violinest Katie Jacoby, every bit the ham Keith Moon is, rose and frantically sawed out the denouement of Baba O’riley with her bow, meeting Pete at center stage as he windmilled the final note, leaping high into the New York night.

Van Morrison Back on Top in New York City

September 12, 2018

QUEENS, NY - It doesn’t make sense that Van Morrison should be able to sing even better than he did fifty years ago, but tonight forty minutes into his concert in New York City, even the wind and the rain had to cease and marvel at the sound of his vocals and the playing of his brilliant band.

Surpassing his joyful stand in Queens of two years ago, Morrison’s return to Forest Hills Stadium was again partly about the best loved songs from his British Invasion group Them, including “Here Comes the Night,” “Baby Please Don’t Go,” and a resplendent rendition of “Gloria” to close the show.

The crowd jumped when the band played “Wild Nights” followed by “Moondance,” highlighted by one of a bunch of Morrison’s saxophone solos. A delightful performance of the Lester Young classic “Jumpin’ with Symphony Sid” was followed by a jazz rendering of “Brown Eyed Girl,” and the crowd did a remarkably good job of scatting along. Then again many of them have been listening to Van the Man sing for these fifty years!

But unlike his previous visit to New York City, tonight was also about Van Morrison’s signature album, Astral Weeks, heralded by critic Lester Bangs as the greatest record album ever recorded, incredibly almost fifty years ago to the day.

He played four of the most beloved songs from Astral Weeks, opening with “The Way Young Lovers Do,” and “Sweet Thing” back to back, then interspersing “Beside You” in the middle of the show. And finally when he came back on stage for an encore, Van Morrison sang “Ballerina” as the mist rolled away from the intimate old stadium.

It was a beautiful night. Wish Lester Bangs could have been there with us. He would have loved it.

Concert Review: Van Morrison at Forest Hills

October 9, 2016

QUEENS, NY - After stopping by the historic Louis Armstrong House in Corona to pay tribute to one of his great influences, Van Morrison and his brilliant band took to the stage promptly at 8 pm on a beautiful chilly night at the lovely if rickety old tennis stadium at Forest Hills and laid claim to the mantle critic Lester Bangs assigned him forty years ago as the greatest Rock & Roll artist of all time.

Morrison is almost certainly the best musician among the British Invasion legends and for the next hour and forty minutes he drew from his peerless catalogue of folk, blues, spiritual, and jazz infused rock songs to enchant the audience with a tour through the decades from his hits in the 60’s with his British Invasion band, Them, to several tunes from his brand new album, Keep Me Singing.

The sound of the new album progresses from his previous well-received release, Born to Sing, No Plan B, but Keep Me Singing is an even happier collection of melodies with high spirit.

At 71, Van Morrison still mesmerizes his audience by going places with his ageless voice that even his contemporary Mick Jagger can’t reach with his impressive prancing up and down the catwalk.

Drawing no songs from either his most popular album Moondance nor from Bangs’ beloved Astral Weeks, Morrison still delighted the crowd with a night of musical gems ranging from his Them song, “Here Come’s the Night,” to an inspired re-working of “Brown Eyed Girl” to one of his most moving spiritual tunes, “In the Garden.”

He played the saxophone, sang a jazz duet with his daughter Shana, closed the fantabulous night with a rollicking rendition of his 1964 hit “Gloria,” and when his song was sung he abruptly walked off the stage in his signature style as the band played on for another ten minutes.

Van Morrison never returned to the stage. Maybe he’ll come back next year. What more could we ask for?