Review of The Van Morrison Alumni Band: “Crazy-love tribute act is a sweet thing, but it’s no tupelo honey”

Following its tour across the UK, the group lands on London’s newly opened Emerald Theatre, regaling long-time fans and newcomers with an extensive musical homage to the band’s legacy. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show to let us know if this journey into the mystic feels as fresh as the way young lovers do.

And it stoned me. Then again, I easily get caught up in anything musical. And that would be the only part that really did it for me — and for everyone. If there’s something the Van Morrison Alumni Band can confidently brag about, it’s that their players can play and their singers can sing. You would argue that that is enough when it comes to tribute groups, but that would mean looking too blindly on the bright side of the road. And not everything about this show screams gloria.

You will be entertained. There’s no doubt about it. I would question, however, how long your amusement will last. There’s a severe lack of organisation pervading this act — that is, if there’s any. You may be given a set list, and by all means, they will follow it to the letter. No exceptions, no cuts, no jumps, and no rearrangements. You’ve come for Van Morrison, and you will get Van Morrison. And that will be the only thing, too.

Despite both acts being broken down into a couple of scenes, there’s no narrative sense throughout the performance. Of course, this is just a concert paying homage to an iconic group, but even this type of genre requires proper storytelling — especially if you want to build a connection.

It doesn’t matter who your audience is — all kinds appreciate it. Old fans will relish nostalgia while newcomers will have the chance to experience that journey and appreciate its relevance. A few remarks are made during the rendition, but none of them are prominent, serving as random fillers designed to give the vocalists a short break.

Consequently, the show comes across as a humdrum of tunes with no real order or meaning. By the time one number has finished, the next one takes over immediately, like a full-force gale. Nothing helps pace things down. And it’s an overwhelming situation — there are too many songs and too little space between them, both physically and emotionally. It’s just too much. And when the interval starts, we can already feel the saturation.

There’s also trouble in terms of preparation. Overall, it’s an underhearsed spectacle. We can only hope (and expect) that things will get better after its first night, but these are crucial aspects that should have been honed from the very beginning. The blocking is confusing, even for the performers. Many times, it seems like they actually don’t know where to go or where to stand.

In all fairness, the production’s confusing illumination might be partly responsible for that rambling. Whoever was behind the control board really wanted God to shine his light and did every possible effort to summon it. Ultimately, it looked childish — trying every effect, hue, and transition available for no other reason than doing so. There was no cadence or style to it. As a result, it didn’t display professionalism.

Despite the general flawlessness of the cast’s vocals (excluding a couple of slightly out-of-tune moments), their execution still comes off unprepared. Maybe demanding they know the lyrics by heart is asking too much, but there’s a difference between using a tablet as a subtle visual aid and spending half of the rendition just reading.

Simultaneously, there’s not enough internalization, and that has a direct repercussion on their ability to draw audiences in. There’s a sense of distance permeating their interpretation that they can never separate themselves from. It might be happening right before us, but it feels like a glass wall is keeping us apart from the artists. And they never manage to crack it.

It’s a wild night every Tuesday at the Emerald, but that doesn’t exempt them from some savage criticism. Although days like these at the theatre are fairly enjoyable, there’s a lot missing in a show that regales us with a caravan of musical prowess but whose many unpolished elements create a domino effect on its appeal. It’s not too late to put it through the healing game, but there’s more to do apart from cleaning a few windows.

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All pictures credit to Justin Sutcliffe.

Van Morrison Alumni Band plays at London’s Emerald Theatre on every Tuesday until 28 April. Ticket are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara