DATE: Saturday 4th December 2010
VENUE: SECC, Glasgow
COST: a small fortune but well worth it!
RATING: That WAS Entertainment
(Just The Beeb reporting on this one)
The last time I saw Paul Weller was in 1977, when The Jam played their first ever gig in Glasgow. That was in a tiny little club where the band had to stop playing a few times because the P.A. system kept threatening to topple over because the crowd was so energetic and up-close. 33 years later, having followed and enjoyed his oeuvre, I got to see him for the first time since. Strangely enough, back in Glasgow again. This time it was in the rather larger venue of the 12,000 capacity SECC.
It was funny seeing all those people, many of whom I’d imagine would have been safety-pin faces teenagers the last time I saw him, strolling into the SECC looking so middle aged. I bet lots of them also went to see Michael Buble recently too!
The fact that the gig was actually ON in the first place was a bit of a relief, because the next night’s gig in Aberdeen had already been called off due to the worst weather in Scotland for 50 years.
Paul took to the stage looking his usual cool self and started off the set with the title track from his new album, “Wake Up The Nation.” Straight away we knew this was a band that were going to enjoy what they were going to play. This was the case as they proceeded to play the title track from the LAST album, “22 Dreams.”
His new songs are amongst the best he’s ever done, but the excitement level did rise when he then went into the old Jam classic, “Eton Rifles.” After a further mixture of Jam and solo songs, including “Strange Town” and “From The Floorboards Up,” we were treated to the real psychedelic experience of a five track suite from “22 Dreams.” This was just amazing. What a masterpiece this is, and to hear it being done live brought home how good Paul’s band are. Steve Craddock and Paul both work really well together on guitars, and I enjoyed being geeky and taking in all the guitar changes they both made.
After a nod to the very under-rated Style Council (Shout To The Top) a few more new songs then led into “Pretty Green” and “Start” from The Jam. “Echoes Round The Sun” finished the first set.
When the band came back they went into more psychedelic magic in the shape of “Andromeda.” I just LOVE this stuff! A couple more songs and then we had the second encore.
This was to take us right back to the very start of his career with a powerful version of “Art School,” and the very last song was an electric version of “That’s Entertainment.” I was quite pleased with the whole gig, but my daughter was up in arms because he didn’t do “A Town Called Malice.” I had to remind her he had hundreds of songs to choose from, and he had to leave a load of classics out.
On the way out I couldn’t believe crowds of people were singing “We are the Mods.” Well it made us laugh! A top gig from a top bloke live.
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