Concert Review & Photos
By Robert Burns Baird, Guest Correspondent

Bands: Paul Weller (no opening act)
Location: The Avalon Theatre, Hollywood, California
Date: 2/4/07

On a Sunday Superbowl Night in LA, there was little if any discussion of the game amongst the attendees at Paul Weller's 2nd night show at the historic Avalon Theatre in seedy downtown Hollywood. The focus was on Paul Weller, his music, his style, his vocal power, and the vast range of songs that have spanned his career.

Paul and his longtime supporting musicians took the stage promptly after 8:00 p.m. to cheers and opening with what seemed a quiet version of his song 'Science'. Maybe it was planned, maybe it was spontaneous, but it focused the audience to listen and as the song progressed it built and built showing off the prowess of Weller and the other musicians in his band.

Steve Craddock formerly of Ocean Colour Scene plays guitar in Paul Weller's band, and is a guitarist that hasn't received the accolades that are due to him. Not only does he recreate many of the original Weller guitar recordings, he also plays with great flair and physical movement to express each song and add his physical expression to each song.

Damon Minchella on bass also plays in the UK band The Players - which was formed with Mick Talbot and Steve White, both original members of The Style Council. I had a chance to speak with Damon before they went on stage and he said that The Players are definitely coming to the States this year.

Paul Weller has been supported from the time of the Style Council through the present by Steve White on drums. "Whitey" as his fans call him proved once again the importance of rhythmn in Paul Weller's songs and played spectacularly.

The set list for the February 4th Show contains songs from Paul's days with The Jam, The Style Council, and solo works:

1. Science
2. Peacock Suit
3. Into Tomorrow
4. From The Floorboards Up
5. Paper Smile
6. All The Pictures On The Wall
7. Above The Clouds
8. Thick As Thieves
9. Savages> Fly Little Bird
10. Wild Wood
11. Up In Suze's Room
12. My Ever Changing Moods
13. Running On The Spot
14. Porcelain Gods> Splinters
15. All On A Misty Morning
16. Wishing On A Star
17. The Butterfly Collector
18. It's A Very Deep Sea
19. Long Hot summer
20. Shout To The Top
21. The Changing Man
22. Foot Of The Mountain
23. Come On, Let's Go
24. I Wanna Make It Alright

Encore:
1. Broken Stones/Oh Happy Day
2. Town Called Malice

Throughout the entire show, Weller not only proved his prowess as a songwriter and powerful singer, he also played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, acoustic 12 string guitar, and shined on the 10 foot white Baby Grand piano that seemed out of place on stage with him.

The crowd was a mix of young and old, original fans of The Jam and Style Council, faux and real Mods, as well as a few regular Hollywood Hipsters. Applause was genuine but didn't linger between songs because the audience just wanted more.

Weller and his band were dressed very smartly and proved once again that Weller doesn't follow trends, he starts them. Draped over the roadcase under his vintage Marshall Bluesbreaker amplifier was a Union Jack flag to which some fan had added the words "Fire and Skill". If I had been the creator of that gift to Paul Weller I would have added the words "Style and Substance."

Review & Photographs by:
Robert Burns Baird
Band: Silly Bunny
Website: myspace.com/ludwigandhammond