City Hall, Sheffield. Where better to witness the legendary raconteur that is Mr Paul Weller than in this stunning grade II listed building in the heart of S1. The auditorium bursting with glorious grandeur and style, oozing a performative essence that cleanses your soul as you enter this very special room in what promises to be a very special performance.
At exactly eight forty five, Weller and his band grace the stage, the excitement is almost palpable as the two thousand plus sell out capacity crowd erupts with joyous applause as he leads into ‘Rip Up The Pages’ from his 22 dreams album followed by ‘Nova’ and ‘Cosmic Fringes’. Having honed this clean cut sound for almost fifty years, it’s no surprise that he has perfected the art with a degree of clarity that is completely unmatched.
‘Soul Wandering’ is up next, aptly named as I’m meandering through thoughts of past memories of personal struggle and how thankful I am to be sat here listening to a bonefide icon, this track has lashings of gospel thrown in teamed with straight cut funk, soul and RnB, taken from his upcoming release ‘66’, if this is anything to go by, this record will be a masterpiece.
Cult fan favourite ‘A Man Of Great Promise’ ignites a cluster of the eagerly nostalgic crowd into dance at the pick of a chord sending them down memory lane with this iconic Style Council hit from 1984. Weller is obviously conscious of the fact that the audience want the big hits, but as he rightly points out ‘These new ones, will soon be the old classics’ and this is Paul fucking Weller, his set has no filler as exampled by ‘Village’ and ‘Fat Pop’, two brilliant tracks miles apart from each other in genre, but equally fantastic, highlighting the unequivocal dynamic shift in direction that he isn’t afraid to explore. It’s a testament to his work and this is what makes him revered and respected. A true master.
Of course, he has fairy dust to sprinkle as and when he sees fit as he casually drifts over to the piano for the timeless classic love song ‘You Do Something To Me’, followed by the biggest sing-along of the night in ‘That’s Entertainment’ and ending the first set with the swaggering style in ‘Peacock Suit’. Impeccable.
Weller has such an air of comftorabilty when he has an acoustic in his grasp as he serenades us with ‘Wild Wood’ and it would be ignorant not to mention his wonderful band that has delighted us tonight, another guitar hero in Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) right by his side to crack open those electric riffs with affluent style and energy. Jacko Peake on sax puts the debate to bed, executed the right way, sax is fucking cool and this man knows how to do it right. Two drummers? Cool. It’s Paul Weller, if he wants two drummers and a super styling saxophonist in his band, then you abide and the youth bassist bringing it all together. Perfection.
Closing the night with ‘The Changingman’ and ‘My Ever Changing Moods’, these two hours of wonderment have gone in a flash, we’ve witnessed Weller on top top form, the best he’s ever sounded, a fully loaded set of songs past and present. A night that no one in this auditorium will ever forget.
