Classic concert: Van Morrison Capitol Theatre Oct 6 1979

The Capitol Theatre was an entertainment venue located at the intersection of Monroe Street and Central Avenue in Passaic, New Jersey. Built in 1926 as a vaudeville house, the Capitol later served as a movie theater (in its later years a XXX movie theatre) and (after John Scher bought the property) a venue for rock concerts.

Throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, the 3,200 seat theatre was a popular stop on nearly every major rock artist’s tour. The venue was known for its in house video system which resulted in a number of good quality, black and white video bootlegs. After it closed, the building fell into disrepair and it was demolished in April 1991.

This concert from 1979, came from the period of albums like Wavelength, and Into The Music. We also get some of his hits from earlier albums.

His band, sounding great, is on fire this evening. Many of the band members have played with Morrison for several years, and it shows.

Highlights: Into The Mystic, Full Force Gale, Moondance and a great version of I’ve Been Working. Oh and I also have to mention when Wavelength seques into Tupelo Honey, wow, what a moment!

This is a “must see/hear”.

Van Morrison – lead vocals, guitar
Katie Kissoon – vocals
Herbie Armstrong – guitar, vocals
John Platania – guitar
David Hayes – bass
Pete Wingfield – keyboards
Mark Isham – trumpet
Tony Marcus – violin, keyboards
Pee Wee Ellis – saxophone
Peter Van Hooke – drums

Set List:

0:00:00 – Kingdom Hall
0:03:30 – Bright Side Of The Road
0:07:21 – Here Comes The Night
0:11:33 – Into The Mystic
0:14:45 – You Make Me Feel So Free
0:19:12 – Warm Love
0:22:09 – Call Me Up In Dreamland
0:26:27 – It’s All In The Game
0:33:08 – Ain’t Nothing You Can Do
0:37:18 – Angeliou
0:46:21 – Full Force Gale
0:49:15 – Moondance
0:53:39 – Moonshine Whiskey (Incomplete)
0:57:44 – Wavelength / Tupelo Honey
1:11:20 – I’ve Been Working
1:15:04 – Troubadours
1:20:16 – Brown Eyed Girl
1:24:35 – Gloria

-Hallgeir