Van Morrison
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There’s a concert we’ve been working hard to bring to Toronto, and now we can tell you that it has just been announced: Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks Live is coming to Massey Hall, and is set for Wednesday, September 30 at 8p.m.
Never before has Morrison set out to perform so many of the tunes that so clearly characterise his celebrated career. This time he will bring to Massey Hall a performance of his iconic 1968 masterpiece, Astral Weeks, performed in its entirely, followed by a set of what he refers to as his “classic songs.”
Rolling Stone ranks Astral Weeks at #19 in their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time and MOJO has listed it at #2 on their top 100 Best Albums list. Four decades have passed since these tracks were first laid down, and the album in many ways has as much, if not more impact today than it did when it first landed in record stores. Elvis Costello sums it up pretty well when he said that Astral Weeks is “still the most adventurous record made in the rock medium, and there hasn’t been a record with that amount of daring made since.”
It’s always seemed a little strange that Van didn’t really tour in support of the record when it was released in 1968, and hard to believe that the album was not a major commercial success despite great critical acclaim. But that’s all in the past — what matters now is that we will get the rare chance to see the original artist (and many of the original musicians from the record) performing this masterpiece live at Massey Hall on September 30.
Tickets go on sale to the public Monday, August 10th.
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