AFTER the shenanigans of the past week, it was back to "Van Morrison in a three part harmony romp" last night in Dublin, when the Belfast cowboy joined up with soul mate Ray; for a double header at the Point.
Neither the Ray Charles legend nor Van's new found tabloid notoriety was sufficient to fill the venue on a balmy summer evening. But those who did come were rewarded with two fine performances, by the end of the which the mature audience was letting down what it, still had of its hair.
It a long week for Van. Seedy press stories about Michelle Rocca, seedier stories about him, an OBE from Buckingham Palace, and more headlines about his confessional ramblings during a concert on Wembley at the weekend.
But anybody who was hoping for another episode of the soap opera last night would have been disappointed. The new darling of the gossip columns stuck mostly to what he does best singing. And insofar ash one could judge, he was in sparkling humour.
A mixture of the Point's uneven sound system and Van's gruff east Belfast accent made it difficult to hear what he was saying anyway. He might have been muttering "I'm to blame for the whole thing", or "Let's hear it for Georgie Fame on the organ, for all anyone knew.
But he seemed in a good mood, and the band didn't even look nervous. Confessions were left to the songs last night. "I was headed for a fall/when I looked up and saw the writing on the wall/... and I was lifted up again by the Lord," he sang.
"She's as sweet as Tupelo Honey/She's an angel of the first degree," was delivered with special feeling, as was the chorus of the old soul standard: "It's a man's world, but it wouldn't be nothing without a woman.
The confessional note continued in "Why must I always explain?" But unlike at Wembley, he didn't, and we all knew who he meant when he crooned "It's too good to stop now."
Ray Charles couldn't quite compete on the score of romantic suspense, but the old master delivered a value performance, albeit in a quieter vein than what had gone, before.
The big disappointment of the night was the failure of the two legends to get together, for even an encore. Charles's band leader wound up the audience to a standing ovation for his man, but before anyone could shout a single "more" the house lights were up and the piped music was on.
Had Van gone home early?
Had he gone somewhere to drown his sorrows?
Had Michelle turned up backstage?
Perhaps we'll read about it in the gossip columns.
