Paul Weller

There’s an expectancy in the air that Paul could play a few Jam numbers tonight, and as he takes the stage there’s the largest Guilfest crowd I’ve ever seen there to welcome him. Paul opens with Stanley Road’s ‘Out of The Sinking’ and it’s amazing and heartening to hear how many of the crowd know the words.

After playing his new single ‘From the Floorboards Up’ Paul’s ready to talk to us, explaining that for him this is the closest thing to a homecoming. Before breaking into the fantastic ‘Hung Up’ from my personal favourite album ‘Wild Wood’ and it also gives us a chance to notice how good a band he’s assembled as the sun begins to dip below the trees behind us.

By the time he’s bathed in the lights for ‘Amongst Butterflies’ this is rapidly approaching a glorious performance and there’s still so much time to go and so much he can select to play. The band soon spiral into a tremendous jam with the rhythm and lead merging into a glorious wall of melodies. As it closes Paul moves towards the microphone, and dedicates the next song to those lost in the London bombings, saying the people who carried the attacks out were worse than animals, and ‘Savages’ springs forth. I don’t know where the song comes from but it’s a moving moment and Paul’s vitriol spills out with passion. I think Paul says it’s a new song from the forthcoming album. More new material follows as a sea of glo sticks and flashing objects start to appear.

And then it happens, the first strains of the intro to ‘In The Crowd’ is met with delight, it’s a Jam number, he is playing Jam songs! The song blossoms into another ‘jam’ on stage with powerful drumming and it’s clear tonight Paul is enjoying himself.

I didn’t buy Paul’s album of covers ‘Studio 150’ and so was unaware he’d done a cover of the Rose Royce classic ‘Wishing on a Star’ Paul has strapped on an acoustic guitar and reclines on a stool and his soulful voice makes it his own as night falls over a crowd who are now in the palm of Weller’s hand.

We’re all swaying in time with the music, the crowd illuminated more by the glowing lights around them cast from children’s glo sticks, flashing lights and the like rather than the stage lights, but suddenly they’re thrown into bright relief as Paul springs the surprise ‘That’s Entertainment’ upon a happy crowd who sing and dance along.

An apt line from the next song sums it up for me, “You know that summer’s here when it hits you hard!” and this barmy night and a wonderful headliner is perfectly captured. I thought it couldn’t get any better but the heart warming ‘You Do Something to Me’ takes the night to new heights and it’s a magical moment. ‘Can you Help us Holy Man’, ‘Peacock Suit’ and ‘Foot of the Mountain’ all follow rapidly and end in another extended jam session.

We catch our breath for only a moment before another huge cheer erupts for ‘Changing Man’ followed by an even louder appreciation for ‘Shout To the Top’ as Paul dips into his Style Council era, it’s wonderful and possibly the highlight of the evening.

‘Broken Stones’, ‘Sunflower’ and an amazing ‘Town Called Malace’ draw the night to a close, Paul would love to go on all night I can tell, but the curfew prevents it. In fact he tells us such, saying if we’d voted differently perhaps council regulations wouldn’t be so strict.

What a fantastic headliner, the whole crowd wandered away happy and because Paul had started early we’d had nearly two hours of class tracks. The expense of a ticket to Guilfest was worth it to see Paul alone without all the other acts I’d enjoyed so far and ‘Town Called Malace’ too - what a result!

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