It’s jokingly suggested that you need a UK passport to get in to a Paul Weller gig in Australia and like most good jokes, it’s not far from the truth. The crowd is predominantly overweight balding English geezers, expats who’ve come straight from their jobs at merchant banks in pinstripe suits or have their sharply pressed Fred Perry and Ralph Lauren shirts looking just so.
You wonder just who is the five o’ clock hero? Weller toured Australia for the first time in 20 years back in 2008 to a rapturous welcome and this year’s tour, promoting his excellent Wake Up The Nation album has managed to sell out multiple dates. With a crack band backing him – who ironically feature Steve Craddock of 90s Weller-aping Brummies Ocean Colour Scene on guitar, Weller is in fine form.
Although you could jest that the guitarist and bassist were selected for their matching receding hairlines and slightly off kilter backing vocals, their dexterity kicks in on a superb rendition of ‘Strange Town’ and the lager flying out of the bars in the venue to the likely lads seems to finally kick in with the until then subdued crowd. Ever the showman, a one-two kick of The Style Council’s ‘Shout To The Top’ and The Jam’s ‘That’s Entertainment’ lift the mood considerably.
Oddly, Weller’s solo material sits well amongst the inclusion of Jam songs such as ‘This Is The Modern World’ and a soulful rendition of James Taylor’s ‘How Sweet It Is’. Most noticeable about his performance is his strut on stage and you can draw a direct line to the artful mooch of The Stone Roses’ Ian Brown and Oasis’ Liam Gallagher.
An encore delivers a pumping ‘Changingman’ but the crowd’s hopes of a second encore remain just that – oddly, the set’s end coincided with a massive pizza order arriving in the building and heading back stage. It’s good to see that after 35 years in the music biz Weller’s diet hasn’t changed.
Jim Murray
