Skip to main content

Paul Weller At Connock Chase - Review & Pics!

Weller Delights Wild Wood Chase Crowd
Expressandstar.com

Lets get the basics out of the way first. This is Paul Weller; sincerity, sweat and songwriting come as standard.

So, for that matter, do sell-out crowds rain or shine. And amid the wild wood setting of Cannock Chase the Modfather delighted the hordes with a stunning run of hits from the last 30 years.

Opening with Peacock Suit, the Brit award winner showed off his latest album 22 Dreams and the title track was soon rapturously received as the clouds parted, probably out of respect.

As ever, it was a rare pick from his Jam days which really lit the blue touchpaper as class struggle rabble rouser Eton Rifles had the 40-something crowd churning up the venue faster than a farmer’s plough. (Note to Sugababes fans: Forget the stillettos tonight. Seriously.)

But Weller was in playful mood, joking about backstage jacuzzis, the weather and handing out tambourines to roadies. Truly, the angry young man is long gone.

In his place is a 50-something acknowledged as one of Britain’s greatest living songwriters, now free of the insecurity which restricted his set lists in years gone by.

His solo catalogue has almost - almost - achieved the impossible by surpassing his output with The Jam. Changing Man, From the Floorboards Up and You Do Something To Me were as rapturously received as his early work.

Weller now has the confidence to let them stand alongside his Jam tracks, where they hold their own to ecstatic cheers and word-perfect singalongs.

In the past, he has frustrated with his choice but last night only the cloying Porcelain Gods dragged the set down and the near two-hour celebration peaked perfectly with an encore of the brilliant Broken Stones, an electric That’s Entertainment and bittersweet battler Town Called Malice.

Even the weather held off; right up to the point in Wild Wood where the Modfather sang ‘golden rain will bring you justice’ and - bang on cue - a few drops feathered down on the mass of misty-eyed fathers and their setting sons.

It seems even Mother Nature’s a Weller fan these days.










Photos Courtesy Of Tony Dixon!!
Cheers!!








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Paul Weller At Westonbirt Arboretum - Set List & Pics!

Courtesy Of Little Miss Funky Soul! Cheers!!

New Unofficial Forum

A new Unofficial Weller chat forum has been created in place of the recently-closed Official Forum. Click below to visit. Have a good week!

Short "22 Dreams" Album Preview At Rolling Stone.com!

Album Preview: Paul Weller Recruits Noel Gallagher, Thunderstorms to Share His “22 Dreams” “You get to this stage in life where you say ‘I’ve done everything that I can do,’” says Paul Weller. As he passes the half-century mark, Weller easily could have returned to his old stomping grounds, whether it was the mod-punk of his first band the Jam or the pop leanings of the Style Council. But rather than reliving past glory, Weller spent the last year recording 22 Dreams, the most expansive and experimental album of his career. “I was conscious when I walked into the studio that I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to make As Is Now Part 2,” Weller tells Rock Daily. “There was this mentality where it was like, ‘Let’s try anything that comes into your mind.’” Weller sequestered himself in his country studio, recruited some famous Britpop friends like Oasis‘ Noel Gallagher and Blur’s Graham Coxon and spent hours improvising with his band. The result was 22 Dreams, a genre-leapin