Van Morrison.

Van Morrison is giving his fans on both coasts an early Christmas present with a series of concerts in San Francisco and New York this month. He will play Masonic Hall in the Bay Area on the 22nd and 23rd, followed by a stop at The Theater in Madison Square Garden on the 25th and The Beacon Theater on the 26th.

His daughter Shana Morrison, a formidable talent in her own right, is his special guest.

Van the Man has done a series of themed tours, such as the "Astral Weeks" re-creation a few years back. He is a man of many whims, with set lists subject to change at the drop of the hat. He just finished a U.K. tour and there are some hints on what fans in the States can expect.

Mick Brown of the U.K. Guardian caught his show at Royal Albert Hall and wrote, “With a repertoire of more than 50 years to draw upon, this performance included relatively few of his own songs, and most of those lesser known ones. Instead we had the blues, standards torn from the Las Vegas songbook, tributes to his favorite singers, and a couple of Morrison classics, all superbly crafted by an eight-piece band.”

For those of you looking to buy something special for that Van fan in your life, you can’t go wrong with the expansive box set of "Moondance" which was recently released. It includes rare tracks and demos of the classic songs on that album.