Van Morrison at The Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL

Van Morrison impressed the crowd as he performed at the iconic Chicago Theatre for the first of three sold-out shows.

The legendary Van Morrison transformed The Chicago Theatre into an intimate jazz club on Tuesday evening. Despite the ample-sized stage, the 7-piece band huddled in close to the singer. From there, they could easily see the hand gestures and glances indicating the sometimes whimsical changes to the music, subtly conducting the band members to let them know it was their turn for an impromptu solo.

At 73 years old, the Northern Irish is still going strong. He was straight down to business as he rattled through his copious back catalog, not wasting any time on chit chat between the songs. Mind you, with more than 50 years in the industry, he had plenty of songs to choose between for the 22-song set. 

Dressed in his sharp pin-striped suit, sunglasses, and fedora, he looked every bit the star you would imagine. Whilst the fans had paid the costly ticket price to catch a rare glimpse of the legend, he was sure to step out of the spotlight from time to time and gave the talented band members their time to shine. Dana Masters particularly stood out as she duetted with Morrison on “Sometimes We Cry” as she received loud cheers from the impressed crowd.

The crowd took to their feet at numerous times throughout the night, whether it be by way of an ovation at the end of a popular song, or to dance along as they did to “Wild Night.” The setlist may change each night, but Morrison was sure to include heavy hitters such as a swing-infused “Have I Told You Lately” and “Gloria,” which rounded out the night. It wouldn’t be a Van Morrison set without “Brown Eyed Girl” was saved to towards the end of the hit-filled night. It’s incredible to think that song was released back in 1967, yet every word is known and sang whole-heartedly by all age groups in attendance.  

As you would expect of someone of Van Morrison’s caliber, he left the crowd with smiles on their faces as they left happy in the fact that they’d managed to be the lucky ones to secure tickets for such an event. He’s not the kind of guy who comes to town very often, so when he does you have to make sure you snap up those tickets. With three sold-out nights, he clearly has a pull that’s as strong as ever. The crooner let the music do the talking, and what it said was clearly very pleasing to the ear.