Van Morrison - Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, Texas, January 12, 1974

Van Morrison - Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, Texas, January 12, 1974Get in the Van — we’re headed back in time to Austin, TX, to check out the Caledonia Soul Orchestra at Armadillo World Headquarters! This previously uncirculated soundboard of Van Morrison and his big band at the legendary Lone Star State music hall/beer garden is an hour-and-a-half of pure good times. Van and the Orchestra had spent much of the previous year touring all over, performances that resulted in the classic It’s Too Late To Stop Now live LP. In 1974, they took a victory lap, and the chemistry these musicians shared is ever present everywhere, whether it’s on churning boogies like “Domino” and “I’ve Been Working,” or extended mystic trips like “Listen to the Lion” and “Cyprus Avenue.” Morrison may be renowned as a grouch, but this era feels positively joyous and open — at the end he even asks for the house lights to be turned on so he can gaze into the Eyes of Texas, honky-tonk angels all gathered…