By Chris Samson
Van Morrison sailed into Petaluma's Mystic Theater Tuesday night, delivering two hours of solid rock 'n' roll to a standing-room-only crowd of more than 600.
It was a rare chance for local residents to see one of rock's most talented and enduring figures. The show may have been a tune-up for four shows by Morrison and his band this week at San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium, but they were in top form. And Morrison, his distinctive soulful voice as strong as ever, was clearly enjoying himself.
Morrison, now 47, a stocky, balding, bespectacled man, still sings with an urgency and passion undiminished by time. His voice is a soulful instrument that can build from a controlled whisper to a scatty growl to a lung-bursting wail, all within the space of one song.
Although he has a reputation for being brooding, introspective and turning his back on the audience while singing, Morrison was as outgoing and gregarious as he's ever been. At one point, he even announced to the crowd that he was taking requests, although it was probably his own private joke.
After a shouted cacophony of ''Gloria'' and ''Brown Eyed Girl'' requests from the audience, Morrison said he couldn't hear them and quickly launched into John Lee Hooker's ''Boom Boom Boom Boom.''
Morrison, who has been making music for more than a quarter-century and recorded 26 albums, reached into his past and present repertoire with an emphasis on more recent material.
On various songs, Morrison augmented his seven-piece band by playing guitar, saxophone and harmonica. But it's his voice that's his greatest instrument and what the people came to hear.
It's a voice that first roared ''Gloria,'' ''Here Comes the Night'' and other songs in the early 1960s as the lead singer for the Belfast band Them. Morrison's prolific album production over the years -- including ''Astral Weeks'' in 1969, ''Saint Dominic's Preview'' in 1972, ''Moondance'' in 1977 and his recent ''Hymn to the Silence'' -- have enjoyed critical acclaim, but he's never had a sustained commercial breakthrough.
The show recalled an earlier time in a sense for both Morrison and many in the audience, who ranged from their 20s to 60s. The Belfast native, who has returned to Ireland after living for many years in Marin County, was a frequent performer at Cotati's now-defunct Inn of the Beginning and other area venues during the 1970s.
His Petaluma and San Francisco shows, Morrison's first Bay Area appearances in more than a year, are reportedly the only concerts he's doing before returning to Ireland.
Morrison freely mixes his musical styles -- R&B, down-and-dirty blues, jazz, traditional Celtic melodies and hymns -- but stamps each song with his own sound. It's an odd mix at times, but he makes it work through the sheer power of his voice and the force of his spirit. He is one of rock's unique talents.
Opening the show was Petaluma resident John Allair, longtime keyboardist for Morrison.
(Published Dec. 18, 1992)
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