What a show! What a night!
Paul Weller rocked into Glasgow for a couple of nights at the Barrowland Ballroom. Reports from his show at Dundee Caird Hall on the Sunday night were unanimously rapturous. Friends who went to the Monday night at the Barrowland agreed and assured me I was in for a real treat.
How right they were!
The Barrowland Ballroom was awash with anticipation, Weller haircuts, Fred Perry polos, Harrington jackets, desert boots and boxfresh Adidas. Punks, skinheads, mods, Britpop kids, parents with their kids ... Weller united people from all walks of life last night.
Weller bounded on to the stage at 8.45pm sharp and after a warm welcome he warned us that he had a lot of songs to get through. He wasn't wrong! With his crack band, Weller blitzed the Barrowland with a 26-song set over 2-hours, only paused to change guitars (very quickly thanks to a top class roadie/guitar tech) or walk over to his keyboard.
Looking suitably sharp, fit, energetic and healthy, Weller's voice was rich and soulful, his guitar playing was exceptional and his band were as good as any I have seen.
Paul Weller has been releasing music since April 1977 when he brought In The City out with his seminal mod/punk/new wave band The Jam. The Modfather shows no signs of slowing down with his latest album 66 being his 13th solo album this century, his 17th overall. In addition, Weller released 6 studio albums with The Jam and 5 with The Style Council - quite the catalogue.
With his discography, status and fanbase, Weller is at the age and stage in life where he can pick and choose where he wants to play, when and what he wants to release. He could play larger venues than the Caird Hall in Dundee or the the Barrowland Ballroom, but Weller and his crack band thrive on relatively intimate shows where they can see the whites of their audiences eyes.
Steve Cradock, in almost obligatory shades, was sensational on guitar, while Weller had 2 drummers driving the beats and percussion, bass, horns and keys to assist with his delivery of songs from across his catalogue.
I can't confess to being up to date with Weller's output, but every single song was excellent. I have to confess to being a little confused about how to capture how good this show was .... I am just going to spew my thoughts out ...... here goes!
Song wise, there was plenty from Weller's impeccable 'comeback' in the 90's, the era I discovered him as a teenager and still the period of his career I enjoy the most. We had sprinkles from his eponymous debut solo album; a dreamy Above The Clouds relatively early on, the band easing effortlessly into the stoned soul groove, the crowd helping with backing vocals. Later on there was a charged Into Tomorrow.
From Wild Wood we had the pastoral title track, impassioned All The Pictures On The Wall, acoustic and electric guitars sounding sublime. Hung Up is one of my favourite Weller solo songs and it sounded truly impeccable at the Barrowland. It's a gem!
Stanley Road was released in 1995, almost 20-years after Weller's debut with The Jam. There can't have been many artists through history that have released albums of this quality so far into their career!
The title track, a gorgeous Broken Stones, an outstanding Out Of The Sinking (one of my favourites from the set), an electric Changing Man into Porcelain Gods with a dash of I Walk on Gilded Splinters and the sheer beauty of You Do Something To Me.
Will Weller play some Stanley Road 30th anniversary shows in 2025? Tickets would be snapped up!
I'd have been pretty happy with that set, but there was so much more!
'You might not know this one, but I'm gonna f**king play it anyway' was how Weller introduced Fat Pop, while he opened the show with Cosmic Fringes followed by That Pleasure from the same album. The former was a superb choice to set the energy for the entire show.
Shout From The Top from The Style Council years was another real highlight, a total crowd pleaser, a joyful soul stomp. My Ever Changing Moods was dropped early, swiftly followed by Have You Ever Had It Blue?
As for The Jam, Start! was funky and cool, played halfway through the set, Weller was on fire by this point. The song lifted the crowd and the band responded.
The night ended with a romp through That's Entertainment with Weller spitting out the lyrics and then a blast through Town Called Malice with the Barrowland jumping.
As I said at the Start!
What a show! What a night!
I'll add - what an artist! What a songwriter! What a voice! What a band!
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