Please Be Sober For Van
May, 19 2010
In our culture, a night out at an entertainment event usually includes the option to indulge in a little alcoholic refreshment. Depending on your viewpoint, a couple of drinks is either a pleasant lubricant to the enjoyment of an evening out, or a bothersome catalyst to bad behavior. Legendary Northern Irish singer Van Morrison is firmly of the latter view: so much so, in fact, that he recently refused to perform in Houston, Texas, unless the bar was closed for the evening.
Jerry MacDonald, president of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, told the Houston Chronicle: “We didn't know his feelings about alcohol sales when the show was booked. Van Morrison hadn't performed in Houston for 20 years, so we were thrilled to get him.” Van Morrison’s anti-alcohol policy, which he has imposed sporadically over the last two years, comes from a distaste for audience members leaving to visit the bar or toilets during the show.
But beer sales are also an important part of a music venue’s income. “We were negotiating right up to the day before the show,” MacDonald said. “We asked if we could sell beer in the plaza area, away from the stage. But he wouldn't budge, and it was a deal breaker. If we insisted on selling beer, there wouldn't have been a show.” Readers who contacted the Houston Chronicle after the show were split 50-50 on whether the beer ban was a good or bad thing; but all agreed that the gig itself was a little shorter than it should’ve been.
Permalink