Wang Theatre, Boston
August 4, 2009

Setlist :
Northern Muse
Fair Play
The Mystery
Hard Nose the Highway
Streets of Arklow>You Don’t Pull No Punches, But You Don’t Push the River
In the Garden
Astral Weeks
Slim Slow Slider
Beside You
Sweet Thing
Cyprus Avenue
Young Lovers Do
Ballerina
Madame George
On Hynford Street
Mystic Eyes>Gloria

The band, beginning stage right:
Paul Moran, trumpet, organ; Tony Fitzgibbon, violin; Richie Buckley, saxophone, clarinet, flute; Michael Graham and Terry Adams, cello; Bobby Ruggiero, drums; David Hayes, bass; Jay Berliner, guitar; Rick Schlosser, percussion

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
This had to be one of if not the most beautiful live performances of anything I have ever heard. I kid you not. It was one of those nights you couldn’t have seen coming. But getting blindsided by the music is not a bad thing at all. It wasn’t just the setlist – although, if you take a look at it, it’s a thing to behold – it was the level that Van chose to perform it, from Northern Muse to On Hynford Street. It was as though he set the dial to “beautiful” and never let it stray from that mark throughout the performance. The set was about an hour and 45 minutes, but whether it was one hour, two hours, or five hours, it would never have been enough.

I’ll have to give you all the gory details tomorrow – the birds are going to be chirping soon, and I need to get some shut eye.

I’ll leave you with Bob Croll’s concise synopsis of tonight’s main event:

Van the man, the artist
Van the man, the genius
Van the man, the alchemist

Yes, Bernard, it was a daring night.