Cyprus Avenue - Live Performances

Live Performances

Morrison often performed "Cyprus Avenue" in the 1970s, using it to close his concerts in many instances. Jon Landau wrote a Rolling Stone review in 1971 describing a performance at a concert he had attended: "For an encore Van offered 'Cyprus Avenue'. Working his way up to a ferocious conclusion, he stood before the audience shaking his head back and forth, hair falling about him, looking like a man insane. Finally, with tension mounting, he ran across the stage, ran back again, jumped over a microphone chord, held the mike up to his face and screamed, 'It’s too late to stop now', and was gone." The intense live performances were said to be "clearly influenced by James Brown's stage theatrics" and in turn "influenced Bruce Springsteen, who used similar dynamics with his E Street Band shows." A live version of it as performed in concert in the summer of 1973 is included on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now. A live performance was again featured on Morrison's first video Van Morrison in Ireland, released in 1981. Forty years after it was first recorded, "Cyprus Avenue" was featured on Morrison's 2009 album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl. On this live album, the song was placed as the sixth song instead of the fourth with some new additions in content entitled "You Came Waking Down".