On Sunday night, British music legend Paul Weller took the stage in Chicago for the first time in seven years. That gap was the biggest U.S. touring gap since his solo career began in 1991.
While The Vic Theater wasn’t sold out, there was a large and very appreciative crowd on hand as well got us all caught up on what he’s been up to since his 2017 appearance at the House of Blues.
Weller has never performed as a solo artist, nor as a member of The Style Council. The Jam did perform once at Bunky’s in Madison in 1978. He explains why in this 2010 interview.
“In the seven years we’ve been away,” he said (and I’m paraphrasing), “we’ve released seven or eight records. It’s going to be a long night. We’ve got a lot of songs to get through. But I think you’ll enjoy it.”
There were actually four LPs in that time – “True Meanings,” “On Sunset,” “Fat Pop (Volume 1)” and “66.” But we got his point.
Weller nodded, of course, to his still-beloved band The Jam – one of the greatest British bands of all time – playing “Start!” and “Town Called Malice,” and to The Style Council, whose best work was woefully underrated and underappreciated. From the TSC era we heard “Have You Ever Had It Blue,” “Shout ot the Top,” “My Ever Changing Moods” and “Headstart for Happiness.”
Of course some of the key solo-era hits were on display, too, including “You Do Something to Me,” “Above The Clouds,” “Hung Up” and his solo debut, “Into Tomorrow.”
I was especially pleased that he played one of my favorites, “All the Pictures on the Wall,” from “Wild Wood” (he played the title track from that 1993 LP, too).
But, he really did focus on the records since his last appearance, with three from “66,” released in May, but also four from 2021’s “Fat Pop” and three from 2020’s “On Sunset.” There wasn’t anything on the set list from 2018’s “True Meanings,” but some of that material was in the set at the 2017 gig.
The band – most of which has been with Weller for a long time now, with the exception of a new bassist and the return of reedsman Jacko Peake who had been playing with Weller at the inception of his solo career – was top-notch as always, adept at both the rockier material and the more soulful stuff.
Personally, I’m a fan of all it, and during the show, as I stood near what appeared to be a tween, I had the realization that the kid was about the age I was when I first heard Weller, whose career I have followed since I was a 12- or 13-year-old seventh grader.
That’s about 46 years. That’s longer than pretty much any friend I have, except one (shoutout, Mark B!). I can only hope that the youngster at Sunday night’s show gets as much joy out of the music as I have over all those years.
Donegal singer/songwriter George Houston opened the show with a set full of quirky, funny, melodic tunes augmented by his unique voice, energetic acoustic guitar playing and charming between-song banter.
Setlist
- Nova
- Cosmic Fringes
- Soul Wandering
- My Ever Changing Moods
- That Pleasure
- All the Pictures on the Wall
- Shout to the Top!
- Headstart for Happiness
- Stanley Road
- Glad Times
- Have You Ever Had It Blue
- Village
- Fat Pop
- More
- Broken Stones
- Hung Up
- Above The Clouds
- Nothing
- Start!
- Jumble Queen
- Into Tomorrow
- Peacock Suit
Encore:
- The Changingman
- Porcelain Gods
- Wild Wood
- Rockets
Second encore:
- You Do Something to Me
- Town Called Malice
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
