On a cold Monday night, the Modfather himself Paul Weller had the Liverpool Olympia singing, clapping, and dancing from the first note. Performing a twenty-six song set of tunes from his days fronting punk band The Jam, to the tracks made famous by his pop duo The Style Council intertwining these with his solo works, the Olympia set the scene for a perfect show for him and his six piece band.
Photo Credit: Nicole Nodland
Opening the show was singer-songwriter Liam Bailey who blended Reggae and Soul into modern Pop tunes. Liam's energetic performance was infatuating as he bounded across the stage bringing the microphone with him.
In a room as grand as Liverpool Olympia, Paul Weller still managed to create an intimate atmosphere, casually sharing anecdotes between songs of musical friends that he has co-written newer tracks with (Noel Gallagher and Suggs).
Pausing before performing The Style Council hit ‘My Ever Changing Moods’, Paul dedicated the song to those in Gaza and Palestine gesturing to the latter’s flag hung across the front of the upright piano to his right on stage earning a huge applause from the crowd. A small gesture that was followed up with fund for Gaza donation buckets at the exits of the venue after the show.
Walking back on stage for the second and final encore, Paul closed out the show with two hits from The Jam. Donning an acoustic guitar and stating that “this song has a lot of verses”, he strummed the opening chords to ‘That’s Entertainment’. Aware of how to keep an audience happy, Paul closed out the show with ‘Town Called Malice’ starting a sea of middle-aged men jumping in time with him on stage as they sing the lyrics louder than Paul himself.
Paul Weller crafted the perfect setlist showcasing a bit of everything from his career of more than five decades. Bringing in an audience of young and older generations, Weller held the attention of the room the entire time crafting the perfect setlist and a night that no one will forget anytime soon.
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