Paul Weller - Westonbirt Arboretum

Sunday 21st June 2009

This is a Crackerjack review of Paul Weller. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.

Crackerjack rating: 9 / 10.

A warm but subdued crowd greeted Paul Weller as he took to the stage at Westonbirt Arboretum.

Everyone had seemed content to sit on their folding chairs and enjoy a picnic in the sunshine.

Despite the efforts of the support band Twisted Wheel, the music seemed like a secondary attraction for a while.

The Modfather got everyone to their feet though as he opened with the rocking single Peacock Suit and followed it with Out Of The Sinking  - a favourite from his seminal Nineties album Stanley Road.

The sell-out crowd appreciated the title track of the new album 22 Dreams too although Weller commented on how quiet everyone was.

But then something changed – as the midsummer sun fell behind the arboretum’s beautiful trees, Weller launched in to Eton Rifles.

Taking the crowd back to 1979 when The Jam were showing signs of becoming a real musical force, the 51-year-old rolled back the years for himself and the majority of his fans.

Suddenly accountants with bad backs were on the shoulders of chartered surveyors with arthritis in their knees.

Couples who might have seen Weller belt out the tune the first time round wrapped their arms around each other as the whole arena bounced.

From then on there was chanting of his name between each song and the crowd joined in every word as he mixed new songs with his back catalogue.

Highlights as always were Broken Stones, You Do Something To Me and Wild Wood.

He saved the rocking numbers from his 2005 release As Is Now for the end of the show.

From The Floorboards Up and Come On / Let’s Go signalled that the concert was reaching its climax.

But with the crowd in full voice there was only one way to bring the curtain down – an encore all the way from 1982 and a Town Called Malice.

Daniel Pountney

This is a Crackerjack review of Paul Weller. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.