Paul Weller played Nokia Theatre (setlist) & Highline (pics)

Kelly Jones is Ace!

no "A Town Called Malice"?

If by 'Ace' you mean 'tosser' - yes he is!

anyone have the Highline setlist?

Liam jumped on stage last night @ Highline, said a few words then swaggered off. Made me bummed that the Oasis show is off tonight!

so Liam was onstage but couldn't be bothered playing with Paul?

How silly.

I also heard that Noel was in the audience. At least he has an excuse.

gem came on for a song on guitar.

liam and gem were at the side of the stage...liam came on and said something like 'fookin respect paul weller, you're nyc for fooks sake'...

i love oasis but he's a straight cunt.

great show at highline though...even if i only new 1/3 of the songs.

does paul weller wear a toupee?

LIAM GALLAGHER > THOM YORKE

ace bar later?

Paul Weller, now nicknamed The Modfather iniitially emerged in the 70's as the leader of the Mod/Punk group The Jam. I still remember the day I heard "A Town Called Malice". Loved The Jam ever since. Along with The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Talking Heads, The Ramones, and others they redifined Rock & Roll that had grown stale and boring. Paul Weller's easily definable British accent was irresistable. The Jam's political diatribe's against the Thatcher Governement, as well as other things added depth to their energetic peppy songs.

Later Weller formed the funkier Style Council, and had many solo albums. He is still huge in England filling large venues regularly.

Last night's crowd was mostly British. Mostly in their 30's and 40's. The Highline Ballroom is small with great acoustics and sightlines. Before the show I noticed a few booths to the side reserved for the band. I kidded my friend Kelly that Oasis was on the placard and was going to sit in that booth since they were in town the next night. She loves Oasis. Of course I was full of shit. Their name was not there, and it was a wild guess.

The warm up band were The Rifles. A British power pop band that has been touring with Paul. They played 45 minutes of terrific peppy songs. Loved them. Sounded a little like The Strokes and The Killer's except for the singers thick British accent. You can listen to The Rifles for free on myspace.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=22854299

After a short break, Paul Weller took the stage. At 50, he looked dapper, thin, and Mod. Middle aged like the crowd. He performed two hours of a mixture of fast and slow songs. Playing the guitar, singing, and the Keyboards, he was a seasoned master of all. It was loud. Wished I had brought my ear plugs because my ears were ringing thus signaling the death a few more hearing receptors. Every song was great. i was so happy to see this living icon perform. Towards the end of the show, he started lighting up cigarette after cigarette. Drinking as well. During his band solo activity, he would puff away, drink, and dance a bit. It was kind of a throwback to the Ronny Wood/Keith Richards type behavior. Loved seeing that type of freedom. He was enjoying himself so much, you couldn't help joining in.

During one particular song an incident occrured. Some fairly tall jerk just pushed me out the way, and stood right in front of me. With him was fireplug of a man who in a British accent said "sorry mate" in an a apologetic tone. I thought about fighting back , but the 1st guy looked kind of crazy. He had his arms raised to the ceiling and spread out as to pay homage to Paul Weller. Thought they could be soccor hooligans who were looking to pick a fight. So I let them be. They left after 5 minutes, and I took back my space (behind a short woman). It turned out the tall jerk was in fact Liam Gallagher from Oasis, who was in fact sitting in the booth I had bullshitted Kelly about. Liam later came on stage during the final song to applaud his friend and mentor Paul Weller. The 2nd guy was in fact his bodyguard. Just a few days ago Oasis was attacked onstage.

holy crap thats a great story, guy should have brought his camera to document that brush with liam

holy christ, kyle needs to learn to crop!

yeah paul was on last night bigtime, sound was great, lights were a little to bright between songs though

Nice.
I like the bands mentioned but cannot leave out the wonderful Dead Boys, Blondie and Richard Hell and the Voidoids as being influential too, especially in NYC.

liam pushed you and you didnt do anything? where's yr street cred?

no "A Town Called Malice"?

he never plays any stuff from The Jam

There are 3 Jam songs on that setlist.

NEGATIVE SPACE!

What do you mean he never plays any stuff from the Jam?! Last year he played three nights in NYC with one night dedicated to mostly Jam songs, one to mostly Style Council songs, and the third to mostly his solo stuff.

And c'mon, Town Called Malice? Could you pick a more obvious one to play?!

Those 2 shows were a lot of fun. After seeing Paul Weller in action, other performers will seem dull.

yeah paul was on last night bigtime, sound was great, lights were a little to bright between songs though

That is just classic. I moved here from England over 10 years ago, we're force fed that you guys are hip and turned on to things. Sometimes I think that's true, then I go to a gig, a good gig, and realize you just don't know how to let yourselves go - for the main. The reason the second night was better was more to do with the fact Weller responds to the crowds response. Last night's crowd was mostly expats and more into it. Nokia was mostly New Yorkers, so hip, so cool, so scared to have fun. Us expats were dotted around and made up a smaller percentage of the crowd.

Complaining about the in between song lighting just about some New York audiences up.

Thank fuck Weller still gets his arse over here and never gives less than 100%. A true performer. If life were fair he'd be playing MSG.

well, maybe british people seem more into it and responsive - is because they are more drunk.

So, 'some' is the Queen's English for 'sums'?

hey local 3 IBEW
most people use this forum to have fun and share their thoughts about music. what's the point of starting nonsensical generalizations about new yorkers vs. expats? lighten up, "mate. everybody was enjoying PW in their own way.

For what it's worth, I was at both shows and I felt the Nokia show was the better of the two - more energy from the crowd and Weller was amazing both nights, as usual. The Nokia crowd was positively electric for Eton Rifles, and many other tunes. Can't say I took much notice of who was British or American or whatever - who cares?

To sum up: if life were fair you expats would go home, so fuck off already.

I agree with you 12:05. I thought the 1st night was excellent - while the 2nd - while fun, could not compare. First - the sound at NOkia was excellent - can't say this about Highline (too loud, distorted, etc. it just didn't sound so good there.). 2nd - the band really seemed to be playing and presenting the songs at Nokia on a really different, and more virtuosic level than Highline. Highline was enjoyable since it felt like seeing the band at the local pub close up and having a fun night - though things really did seem very energized for the last third of the show.

Renee, agreed about the sound at both venues. Nokia was excellent: clean and full; Highline was way too loud. I've had the same experience there in the past - if you don't want to damage your hearing, bring your earplugs to Highline shows.

Took in the paul weller show at nokia ,first time there. sound was excellent, crowd and the band energetic.Can't beat the price for a night of great music.Anybody check out "From the jam" w/ Rick butler ?

I havent been to Nokia yet. I regret not getting Weller tickets. Any other good shows at Nokia?

To sum up: if life were fair you expats would go home, so fuck off already.

Shall we take Weller with us?

Racist fuck