"I believe I've transcended," Van Morrison repeatedly incanted toward
the end of the title track from his 1968 album, Astral Weeks, during
the second night of a brief November stint at the Hollywood Bowl.
Indeed, frequently over the course of those two nights, the famously
mercurial, 63-year-old Irish singer-songwriter seemed to transcend age,
time, and whatever other ballasts turn some veteran performers into wan
caricatures of themselves better suited to halls of fame than halls of
music. All
