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Swaggering on stage to a Northern Soul compilation, Paul Weller and his Merry Men open with ‘Aim High’, an energetic and soulful ballad from his latest record, Wake Up the Nation, which, along with its predecessor 22 Dreams, is universally considered a return to form for The Modfather. His streamlined band effortlessly injects so much rhythm and soul into the track without overloading on backup singers and additional percussionists that it’s hard to believe that there are only five musicians on stage. From ‘Aim High’ right through to live staples ‘The Changing Man’, The Jam’s ‘That’s Entertainment’ and The Style Council’s ‘Shout to the Top!’ is a groove of songs that are ferocious and exhilarating, rendering Weller and his band as a force of nature. Weller moves from guitar to piano for the Dr. John-esque ‘Trees’ and the wary, late night feel of ‘Invisible’, which brings the tempo right down as the band take a breather.

What then follows is a cluster of songs that are a revision of Weller’s punk roots. Recent additions to his songbook, ‘Fast Car/Slow Traffic’, the state of the nation address of ‘Wake Up the Nation’ and ‘Come On, Let’s Go!’ fuse effectively with The Jam’s ‘Start!’ and, most notably, ‘Pretty Green’, The Jam’s angry, vitriolic riposte against consumerism, which more than strikes a chord with this Dublin audience.

An encore of the deep, lilting ‘Broken Stones’, from 1995’s Stanley Road and the jazzy and chaotic ‘Pieces of a Dream’ offer respite and have the crowd swaying to Weller’s gentle and fluid playing on mellotron and piano, respectively. Weller returns to guitar for The Jam’s ‘Art School’, followed by an impressive version of The Jam’s ‘Scrape Away’. Its post-punk darkness and intensity feel like a summary of the encore. During the 2nd Encore, the archetypal solo-Weller song ‘Peacock Suit’ is followed by a sprawling and heady ‘Whirpool’s End’, a song which encapsulates Weller’s at times gruff, at times angry, at times soulful voice as the band harmonize, take advantage of the space to jam, tune in, tune out and elevate the show to unprecedented heights with a seemingly endless crescendo.

What becomes most apparent, tonight is what Weller does so well live: he shows you that anything he’s written recently can sit beside his previous work with The Jam and The Style Council, regarding style and, sometimes, regarding quality. Recent songs are meticulously placed against his wealth of previous material to reflect each other. Not only does he show you that, of late, he has written jazz-structured pop, not unlike The Style Council, but that Weller is as angry on Wake Up the Nation as he was on In the City, Sound Effects or Setting Sons. Weller’s most impressive live achievement (topped only by Neil Young) is his ability to start working with the conventions of a song’s verse-chorus-verse structure, only to abandon those conventions mid-flow, disappear into a jam, loosen up the feel of the song, add interesting dimensions that may not be there on record, only to return full circle to the song as if nothing happened. That, unquestionably, is Paul Weller’s 23rd Dream.

Originally published by State.ie

Set List for Paul Weller – Live at The Olympia Theatre, Dublin, November 16th, 2010

Aim High
Into Tomorrow
Changing Man
Porcelain Gods
Moonshine
Andromeda
All I Wanna Do (is be with you)
That’s Entertainment
No Tears to Cry
Shout to the Top!
Trees
22 Dreams
Invisible
Empty Ring
Fast Car/Slow Traffic
Pretty Green
Start!
Wake Up the Nation
Come On, Let’s Go

Encore
Broken Stones
Pieces of a Dream
Art School
Scrape Away

2nd Encore
Peacock Suit
Whirpool’s End

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Without any effort, Crawdaddy, for one night only, is transformed into a dive bar in Nashville. Former Wallflowers frontman, Jakob Dylan, shuffles onstage with band members that wouldn’t look out of place on father Bob’s Rolling Thunder Revue tour of ’75. The audience comprises of three strands: a) Bob Dylan fanatics, a.k.a Dylanologists, who are there for obvious reasons, b) those that were among the many millions who bought a copy of The Wallflowers’ Bringing Down the Horse, and finally, c) Alt. Country devotees, charmed by his current foray into country music. His 2008 debut solo album, Seeing Things produced by Rick Rubin, hinted at a talent that was maturing and convincingly tapping into the sound and tradition of American roots music, which came to fruition with this year’s T-Bone Burnett produced Women and Country. On both albums, Dylan achieved a tempo and a sound that works as one piece and this, ultimately, is what goes against him in a live setting.

He immediately launches into ‘Nothin’ But the Whole Wide World’ followed by ‘Everybody’s Hurting’, both of which are contemplative mid-tempo country songs, the latter using his backup singers to full effect. Unfortunately, Dylan and his band never really stray far from this form, and the result is a set that is one-dimensional, lacking in surprise and anything but dynamic. Even performances of Wallflowers songs, ‘God Says Nothing Back’, ‘Three Malenas’ and ‘6th Avenue Heartache’, aren’t enough to add momentum. What forces him into an even darker hole is that he either isn’t playing his guitar, or his guitar is so low in the mix that no-one can hear it.

Add to this his refusal to take any risks and deviate from a formulated set list, and one finds a performer and a band that gets too comfortable. One immediately thinks of what Dylan could have done to turn the format of the evening upside down and inject a sense of the unpredictable. He could have, for example, thrown in an interesting cover version or banished his band from the stage and performed a short set of songs, solo, without amplification, to this small, devoted and intimate audience. Dylan has no doubt learned how to craft a set of songs for an album but he has yet to find a way to perform his songs in a way that truly engages.

Originally published by State.ie

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“Play the hits!” shouts an uninitiated punter. Tortoise, of course, doesn’t do hits. Almost 15 years on from their defining masterpiece, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Tortoise’s post- rock credentials are still intact. Initially, the crowd appears to be a convention for all the children of Sonic Youth’s band members. In time, however, they become audience members at a jazz concert: if they aren’t chin-scratching, they’re nodding to drum solos and swinging wildly to melody-laden pieces of meticulously crafted music.

On a small stage crammed full of xylophones, guitars, and synthesizers, two drum kits are pitted against each other. It is clear from the outset that while Tortoise operates as a democratic unit, all band members take their cues from Jeff Parker. The remaining band members look to Parker, the only member of the band with a set list, to initiate the night’s proceedings. He hits a key on his Moog synthesizer and, gradually, all of the remaining band members find their way into -High-Class Slim Came Floating In’, the opening track from their latest full- length LP, Beacons of Ancestorship.

What becomes more and more apparent as the show progresses is that, as a jazz or classical concert, one can easily follow the direction that the band decides to take on that particular night. By the time the band shifts into -Charteroak Foundation’, the final song of the evening, it’s clear that Tortoise, like Mogwai, effortlessly bleed all of their songs into one, continuously flowing mood-piece. What’s so generous and giving this approach to a live show is that it provides both first-time and long-time listeners alike a single point of entry into what the band is all about, which the stop-start approach of most rock concerts doesn’t allow. All the more impressive is Tortoise’s refusal to reduce their show to art-rock gimmicks and pretentions: at no point do the band members play into the crowd by donning ‘quirky’ outfits or throwing a bass drum in the air only to catch it without missing a beat. Tortoise is simply too focused on leading their audience into the next vibe, and we’re all the better for it.

“Play the hits!”, shouts an uninitiated punter. Tortoise, of course, doesn’t do hits. Almost 15 years on from their defining masterpiece, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Tortoise’s post- rock credentials are still intact. Initially, the crowd appears to be a convention for all the children of Sonic Youth’s band members. In time, however, they become audience members at a jazz concert: if they aren’t chin-scratching, they’re nodding to drum solos and swinging wildly to melody-laden pieces of meticulously crafted music.

On a small stage crammed full of xylophones, guitars, and synthesizers, two drum kits are pitted against each other. It is clear from the outset that while Tortoise operates as a democratic unit, all band members take their cues from Jeff Parker. The remaining band members look to Parker, the only member of the band with a set list, to initiate the night’s proceedings. He hits a key on his Moog synthesizer and, gradually, all of the remaining band members find their way into -High-Class Slim Came Floating In’, the opening track from their latest full- length LP, Beacons of Ancestorship.

What becomes more and more apparent as the show progresses is that, as a jazz or classical concert, one can easily follow the direction that the band decides to take on that particular night. By the time the band shifts into -Charteroak Foundation’, the final song of the evening, it’s clear that Tortoise, like Mogwai, effortlessly bleed all of their songs into one, continuously flowing mood-piece. What’s so generous and giving this approach to a live show is that it provides both first-time and long-time listeners alike a single point of entry into what the band is all about, which the stop-start approach of most rock concerts doesn’t allow. All the more impressive is Tortoise’s refusal to reduce their show to art-rock gimmicks and pretentions: at no point do the band members play into the crowd by donning ‘quirky’ outfits or throwing a bass drum in the air only to catch it without missing a beat. Tortoise is simply too focused on leading their audience into the next vibe, and we’re all the better for it.

Originally published by State.ie

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Paul McCartney likes to get back: Mark Ronson- esque remixes of Beatles songs keep his audience content in anticipation of the main attraction, and an homage of Beatles memorabilia adorns stage screens. That McCartney dresses in a Sullivan suit and Chelsea boots as he strides on stage with a simple, stripped-down band, is no coincidence. There are even lava lamps atop the keyboard player’s stack.

Homage and nostalgia inform the show throughout: ‘Let Me Roll It’ ends with a coda of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’ and before beginning ‘The Long and Winding Road’, McCartney recounts the time that he “ran into Hendrix in the ’60s…he was a very, very humble guy”. Add to this a version of George Harrison’s ‘Something’ on ukulele and a heartbreaking ‘Here Today’, with McCartney’s falsetto echoing that of Thom Yorke’s, and the mood of the night is both elegiac and certainly one of veiled melancholy. McCartney’s preamble to ‘Here Today’ is in keeping with the tone of the show and he advises audience members to “say what you mean to say to someone; don’t wait until it’s too late” and dedicates the song to “The Lennon boy”.

The obligatory Paddywhackery and banter ensue throughout with McCartney introducing himself “Is mise Paul McCartney, go raibh maith agat!” What follows, however, is a thunderous, faithful rendition of “All My Loving”, complete with images of the Fab Four from the “A Hard Days Night” movie. It’s so convincing that it could have easily been a disc from the recent Beatles reissues.

The nostalgic tone occasionally breaks, and we’re treated to ‘Highway’ and ‘Sing the Changes’, both taken from The Fireman’s Electronic Arguments, McCartney’s criminally overlooked 2008 album, which he co- wrote and co- produced with artist/producer Youth. During ‘Sing the Changes’, digital images of U.S. President Barack Obama are projected on- screen. Having played at The White House for President Obama prior to his Dublin date- during which he serenaded First Lady Michelle Obama with ‘Michelle’- McCartney claims that “it’s fitting that the gig after The White House should be Dublin”.

Some may find that McCartney’s set is too standard: there is an opening set of rock songs, followed by mid- tempo piano- rock songs, followed by an acoustic set and ending on rock songs though matters little. What is most evident by the night’s conclusion is that McCartney’s versatility as a songwriter equals that of his role as a performer. He can let loose, make noise and explore his more bombastic side (‘Live and Let Die’, ‘Helter Skelter’) or effortlessly have a stadium in the palm of his hand (‘Blackbird’, ‘Here Today’).

Most telling of all is a sobering performance of ‘Yesterday’. One line, in particular, stands out: ‘I’m not half the man I used to be’. As 67 year- old Paul McCartney leaves the stage after a set that clocks in at 2hrs 45mins, a near- capacity RDS begs to differ.

Setlist for Paul McCartney, Live at RDS, Dublin, June 12, 2010 

1. Venus and Mars / Rockshow
2. Jet
3. All My Loving
4. Letting Go
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Highway
7. Let Me Roll It
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
10. Let -Em In
11. My Love
12. I’m Looking Through You
13. Two Of Us
14. Blackbird
15. Here Today
16. Dance Tonight
17. Mrs Vandebilt
18. Eleanor Rigby
19. Something
20. Sing The Changes
21. Band On The Run
22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
23. Back In The USSR
24. I’ve Got A Feeling
25. Paperback Writer
26. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
27. Let It Be
28. Live And Let Die
29. Hey Jude

Encore
30. Day Tripper
31. Lady Madonna
32. Get Back

2nd Encore
33. Yesterday
34. Helter Skelter
35. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

Originally published on State.ie