Paul Weller plays Philly!

At last Paul Weller has come to Philadelphia!  And it was worth the wait.  You see, Weller has had a very long career in his native England.  As a teenage superstar in the UK with The Jam and then as a seasoned musician in The Style Council, Weller made it known that he doesn't like touring the US very much.  When his solo career launched in 1990, Weller only played major US cities and not all that often.  The last time he played Philadelphia prior to last night's show was in 1994.  So fans in the area have been starved to see the Modfather live and last night they finally got the chance at the Trocadero.  Weller did not disappoint, as he was as fierce and focused as ever.

Weller has a five piece band on this current tour, in support of his new double album "22 Dreams" (Yep Roc).  The current band lineup is Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene) on guitar, Andy Lewis on bass, Andy Crofts (The Moons, The On Offs) on keys and Steve Pilgrim (The Stands) on drums.  Cradock has played with Weller since 1992, but the rest of the band is relatively new to the Weller touring camp.  Long time Weller drummer Steve White was absent behind the kit, no doubt busy with his side project Trio Valore.  While we missed Whitey (we've seen Whitey drum live with Weller on three occasions), Steve Pilgrim was definitely fresh blood to energize much of the quieter material that is found on "22 Dreams".

The show opened with an acoustic grouping of songs which had Weller and band sitting on stools, and they wowed the crowd early with new material as well as a Jam classic, "The Butterfly Collector".  Weller was looking lean and tan, and it was obvious that the heat of the Troc wasn't going to get in his way.  Unusually chatty and jovial, Weller spoke to the crowd often and commented not only on how nice it was to be in Philly but how lovely he found the venue.  While drinking a combination of red wine and water, Weller was then ready to break loose from his stool after several songs to bust out his famous Gibson and electrify the room.  Among many guitar changes, Weller played almost two hours of new songs from "22 Dreams" along with classic favorites, many being from his 1995 autobiographical album "Stanley Road".  The band supplemented several songs with extended jams ("Shadow of the Sun" was amazing with a delay on the vocals, as was "Porcelain Gods").  Weller played keys for several songs, proving his incredible musicianship and versatility as an artist.  Overall the show was fantastic, rivaling the shows of recent years in New York City when Weller played a good deal of his back catalog.  In some respects the performance was a lot more intimate than those shows, and do we dare say the final song "A Town Called Malice" was the best live version of that song that we have seen, perhaps due to the younger and more enthusiastic lineup.  Let's just hope now that Paul Weller will come back to Philly much sooner than another 14 years.

Set list:
Light Nights (from 22 Dreams)
Butterfly Collector (The Jam)
All On a Misty Morning (from As Is Now) into Magic Bus
Brand New Start (from Modern Classics)
Out of the Sinking (from Stanley Road)
Shadow of the Sun (from Wild Wood)
22 Dreams (from 22 Dreams)
All I Wanna Do (from 22 Dreams)
From the Floorboards Up (from As Is Now)
Sea Spray (from 22 Dreams)
Picking Up Sticks (from Heliocentric)
Wishing On a Star / Broken Stones (from Studio 150 / Stanley Road)
Have You Made Up Your Mind (from 22 Dreams)
Porcelain Gods (from Stanley Road)
Wild Wood (from Wild Wood)
Echoes Round the Sun (from 22 Dreams)
Come On (from As Is Now)

Encore:
The Changingman (Stanley Road) into O Happy Day
Town Called Malice (The Jam)

Note: Girl About Town acquired the set list after the show and we noticed that several songs sadly weren't played that were listed: Style Council gem "Shout To the Top", and two encore songs "You Do Something To Me" and Jam classic "That's Entertainment".  However, we can't be too upset since the band played "A Town Called Malice" which was a hige crowd pleaser sing-along.  We would have liked to have seen "Shout To the Top" but oh well, another time.

Paul Weller - band site / yep roc / myspace

Comments

[Donna]

Nice review - UNBELIEVABLE show! Weller's my drug of choice and ALWAYS worth the wait. I'm still pinching myself that he came to a small venue like the Troc where I could be right in front of him even chat with him a bit. Just like the old days. I gave him a book and told him not to make it so long next time!!

and love, love, LOVE Steve Craddock. he does it for me every time I hear him play. Believe he's coming out with a solo album soon. Would love to see Ocean Colour Scene tour.

The Rifles who opened up were really good and looking forward to their new CD.

Keeping the faith in Philly!