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Paul Weller
could be doing the nostalgia circuit right now, along with the Eagles, the
Rolling Stones and countless others, churning out the same twelve 30-year-old
songs for audiences lusting after their distant youth. The kind of stasis that
comes with that sort of gig, though, is completely at odds with the restless
and creative man that broke up The Jam at their peak.
Burning with
the kind of energy that’s sorely lacking in many contemporary songwriters,
Weller still commits every ounce of himself to every chord. His latest album,
the explosive Wake Up The Nation
, was a
furious testament to this, and that record’s thunderous rock shaped tonight’s
set – each song, regardless of its earlier form, was delivered with
room-levelling force. Even 'Shout to the Top'
, the original glossy and fey even for a Style
Council track, was thick and bombastic, the saccharine strings replaced by
tough guitar stabs.
From the
slashing intro of 'From the Floorboards Up'
,
Weller led the assault with a cool charisma that suggested the NME might have
been remiss in placing him as low as 6th on their 2010 Cool List. To
steal a line from a make-up campaign, Weller doesn’t so much deny his age as
defy it, throwing himself bodily into each song with the energy of a much
younger man.
The top half
of the set flew by without pause or hesitation, slamming from a muscular
version of '22 Dreams'
, through 'Andromeda'
and 'Into Tomorrow'
to the steely
'7 & 3 Is The Striker’s
Name'
. After the aforementioned Style
Council track, Weller introduced the next song as one “written some time in the
1800s” before striking up the immortal opening of 'That’s
Entertainment', and at this point, your
correspondent was concerned plaster would start falling from the ceiling, so
mighty was the cry from the audience.
Working
through a crowded set list (the show would ultimately go for two hours), Weller
smashed out Jam, Style Council and solo tracks with unflagging enthusiasm.
During the brighter numbers, like the insistent 'Pretty Green'
, Weller shuffled and danced, and though he might not
challenge Justin Timberlake for grace, his joy was obvious to all.
After waving
goodbye at the close of 'Echoes Round the Sun', Weller and Co. made us wait for the first encore, but the slightly
prolonged delay was more than worth it for the live-wire 'Fast
Cars/Slow Traffic'. A few more tracks, and
Weller ducked off again, but the audience wasn’t ready to let the night end.
Thankfully, neither was Paul, and the band returned for another three song
encore.
If he’d ended
it there, no one would’ve been disappointed. Weller, clearly keen to repay the
avid audience for their enthusiasm, returned one last time and, without a word,
bassist Andy Lewis struck up the iconic bass intro for 'A Town Called Malice'
. Well, if the Enmore’s structural integrity was in
doubt earlier, that was nothing compared to the wall-shaking roar that erupted.
Those in the balcony leapt to their feet, dancing and shouting along to this,
one of the best songs of the 20th century.
If there’s a
textbook on how to run a gig, this forms the chapter entitled ‘How To End A
Show’. Paul Weller, you’re a legend for a very good reason.
