The Jam-Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL 5/26/82

One Sunday morning while in college eating breakfast at Ladyman's Cafe in Bloomington, IN, I was reading the Chicago Tribune and came across an ad for a live performance by The Jam, and attending this event was probably the singular defining moment of my life up to that point. This concert taught to me the power of live music and is most likely the reason I have been involved in the music business to this day.

I was 19 years old and managed to borrow my mother's car for the 6 hour drive from Evansville, IN up Highway 41 North to Chicago. After spending the early part of the day researching some family business history with the Sear's historian at the Sear's Tower in downtown Chicago, I ate some lunch in a diner on Michigan Avenue, and then made my way up to the north side to find the Aragon. Of course, it being 3 or 4 O'clock in the afternoon I had arrived way too early for the show, but none-the-less found a parking space for the car and made my way on foot to find the venue. Much to my surprise when I arrived there was already quite a line of people in front of the Aragon waiting to get in, and because it was starting to rain and I did not want to spend several hours getting wet, I decided to walk around to the rear of the venue to see what I could see. What I discovered was The Jam's touring bus and all the band's gear laying out on the ground with the crew hurriedly hauling it inside before it gets drenched. As I stood by watching this scene, one of the crew who I now assume was Kenny Wheeler looked at me and said "Are you just gonna stand about or are you gonna lend a hand?". The gear nearest to me happened to be a pile of guitar cases so I picked a couple up and made a few trips back and forth, carrying in some catering food as well, and then decided to stay out of the rain and to watch the goings on inside.

The Aragon is laid out on two levels with a dance floor on a lower level and then an elevated balcony and after milling around a bit downstairs I decided to wander up to the balcony to stand above the stage and watch the crew finishing up the set up of the stage. I am thrilled to see Paul, Bruce and Rick walk out on stage to do their sound check, and at the conclusion of the sound check I am approached by a squarely built man with a gray pompadour who sticks out his hand for a shake and says "Goodaye Bruce." I must of been quite the site as I stood in front of John Weller with a confused look on my face, and visions of the Monty Python "Bruce" skit dancing thru my head. After a few seconds John Weller asks "You are Bruce the promoter, aren't you?", to which I respond "No, I am just here for the show", as I finally reach out to shake his hand. After a few moments of conversing with John Weller, during which I figured out he was both Paul's father and The Jam's manager, John went of in search of Bruce the promoter.

By now The Jam had finished their sound check and are starting to wander up to the balcony where the dressing rooms are located and where their pre-gig meal will be served. First up was Bruce, with whom I had a very relaxed conversation, talking about the tour so far and its high points and low points. Next up was Paul with whom I exchanged the briefest of greetings. Finally the band and crew sit down to their meal and I decide to make my way out front to buy a ticket, which obviously at this point I do not need but wanted anyway for a souvenir. The same crew person who I assume to be Kenny Wheeler was informing the Aragon staff they could start letting the audience in, and as I was unsure of how to make my way out to the box office I approached him and asked where it was located. Naturally, he appeared slightly confused as to why I would want to buy a ticket when I was already inside and after explaining my reason he escorted me to the entrance and I thanked him. One of the Aragon staff took note of me trying to make my way out against the audience now coming in, and proceeded to take offense at the fact I did not have a ticket attempting to "throw me out" at which point Kenny exchanged some words with him telling the Aragon staffer to let me out.

After purchasing my ticket and making my way back in, I visited the merchandising stand and purchased a copy of the "Trans Global Unity Express" tour program and an "Absolute Beginners" t-shirt and then descended again to the main room of the Aragon awaiting The Jam's arrival onstage. I was recently reminded of the incredible power of The Jam's performance this evening when I picked up a copy of the show on a live tape from a fellow listee from the Paul Weller Mailing List. The band kicked off their set with "Running On the Spot" and "Happy Together", and Paul, Bruce and Rick performed an amazing hour long show to an ecstatic crowd and thunderous response. To my recollection the highlights of the show were "Happy Together", "Ghosts", "Precious", "Little Boy Soldiers", "In the Crowd", "Move on Up", and my first hearing of the new song "The Great Depression". After leaving the stage The Jam returned for two encores and at this point my mind was fixed on getting back out front to meet up with the band again as they leave in order to get my program autographed. As the crowd finally started to give up on a third encore I started making my way out with them up the stairs at the rear of the main room. Then a truly amazing thing happened. Everybody, including myself turned around and walked back down into the main room and the cheer went up until The Jam returned for a third encore. The power of this evening's music was confirmed in my mind when in the liner notes to "Dig the New Breed", Paul Weller remarked "Chicago gig, brilliant!".

After waiting for the band quite a while in front of the Aragon, Kenny Wheeler came out and did his usual "Oh, you lot are waiting on the band, they already left" routine. But we were not to be disappointed as Paul, Bruce, and Rick emerged to spend a half hour talking to the fans and signing autographs. I first got Bruce's signature, then moved on to get Rick's and having a nice 5 minute conversation with him, finally moving on to get Paul's signature. Last but not least, I approached John Weller who was watching over the scene standing in the open door of the tour bus. A brief conversation ensued and I explained to John that I would like his autograph as he obviously was an important part of it all, but he modestly declined saying it was "just about the boys". Finally the band boarded their bus and I set off to make my way back to my car and to locate my hotel.
A few things in particular have stuck with me from this evening. First, the potential of live music- to aspire to that cathartic moment where band and audience are joined, each inspiring the other to a higher level. Second, that this moment in time was created by a group of individuals who struck me from our interaction as very sincere and down to earth. From this evening on, I became a devoted and diehard music fan generally, and Jam, then later Style Council, and now Paul Weller fan in particular. In a lot of ways, it feels like we have grown up together!! That's music with impact...

Peace.

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick
Evansville, IN 2/5/98
joyshout@evansville.net

Paul Weller Live in New York City 1991-1994

I recently heard from Paul’s offices that there were no plans for a US tour at the moment. All this time without seeing him in concert has had me thinking about his five solo appearances in New York between 1991 and 1994, all of which I have seen.

December 12, 1991 The Ritz

Nobody really knew what to expect from this one, so the anticipation was running high with a basically sold out audience in attendance. It was a really great show although the sound was not too good with Steve's double bass drums booming over everything else (however, the bootleg tape of the show sounds better than I remember the show sounding!). We got to hear versions of The Jam songs "Tales From the Riverbank", "Man in the Corner Shop", "Carnation" and "That's Entertainment" as well as new songs like "Uh Huh Oh Yeh", "Amongst Butterflies", "Round & Round", "Clues", "Into Tomorrow", "Bitterness Rising", "Kosmos", and "Here's A New Thing". Let's not forget the many Style Council numbers: "My Ever Changing Moods", The Cost of Loving", "Long Hot Summer", The Piccadilly Trail" and "Head Start for Happiness". Overall, a very impressive return to form.

July 25, 1992 The Ritz

It was quite a shock to see only 200-300 people in attendance after December's show. It was an okay show, but as would be expected, the band had trouble keeping up the energy with a virtually empty club. We got to hear the early electric version of "Wild Wood" and other new songs like "Bull-Rush", "Arrival Time", "Above the Clouds", "Ends of the Earth" and "I Didn't Mean to Hurt You", along side The Jam classic "Man In The Corner Shop". The ironic thing about this show is that everyone there was rewarded by being immortalized when "All Year 'Round", recorded live at this show, was included on the "Above the Clouds" single as a b side!! I even hung out for a while afterwards waiting to get an autograph only for Kenny to come out and do his usual "Oh nice of you to wait, but Paul's already gone" routine, just like he always does.

November 25, 1992 Irving Plaza

Of the first three New York shows this was the one which really shook me to the core and placed right up there with having seen The Jam at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1982. The venue was much smaller than The Ritz, holding maybe 600-700 people, presumably because of the lack of a crowd at the last show. It was the last night for the group of a month long US Tour and I think they played 24 songs that night:"(When You) Call Me";"Uh Huh Oh Yeh"; "Round & Round"; "Man In the Corner Shop"; "Bull-Rush"; "Long Hot Summer"; "Tales From the Riverbank"; "Arrival Time"; "Above the Clouds"; "Clues"; "everything Has A Price To Pay"; "Town Called Malice"; "The Cost of Loving"; "end of the Earth"; "Love of the Loved"; "Amongst Butterflies"; "Head Start for Happiness"; "Ohio"; "Into Tomorrow"; "I Didn't Mean To Hurt You'; "All Year 'Round"; "Kosmos" and "Bitterness Rising". Truly spectacular, with Dee C. Lee coming on for an encore to sing on "Kosmos". A very special evening!!

December 11, 1993 The Academy

This was the day of the first major winter snowstorm of the season in New York City and I walk into The Academy expecting to find no audience again like July '92, but was pleasantly surprised to find a mostly full house. Once again the anticipation was high with a new record out (which no one had heard because it still was not released in the States). The first thing i noticed was that there was an actual light show with smoke and everything, along with a great sound system (the loudest concert I have ever heard). The concert began with the familiar "Amongst Butterflies", "Into Tomorrow" and a rousing "Bull-Rush", and then came the first new song "This Is No Time"- pretty mellow. The Weller step out in front of his mike and starts to play a bluesy whole note guitar solo, bringing expected shouts of delight from the crowd...then...then...then...he reaches for the volume knob and blam...a real live rock guitar solo. Unbelievable, after 12 years of seeing him perform live I am finally at a rock concert!!! The band roared through the rest of the show with Mostly "Wild Wood" material and what can I say- I finally saw a show which exceeded The Jam in Chicago in '82!!

May 5, 1994 Town Hall

This one would be special no matter what, because after the disaster at The Ritz and then a gig at the small Irving Plaza, to be in Town Hall was unbelievable!! It was kind of strange too because instead of the typical Weller crowd there were all these "normal" people in the house. The show started with "The Weaver" straight into a storming "Bull-Rush" through mostly "Wild Wood" material, and we got the (for my ears) first airing of the now classic "Out Of the Sinking". The sound wasn't quite as good as the last show because the stage is so large that the PA system is spread out too far. Another nice show, although slightly less intense that The Academy.

After the success of Town Hall no one could have imagined that there would be no US "Stanley Road" tour or that two years later Paul still hasn't returned to New York City, or the USA.

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick
Evansville, IN Spring 1996

joyshout@evansville.net

Paul Weller Live at Crystal Palace, London August 2, 1997

After an almost 3 1/2 year absence from seeing Paul Weller perform live, due to his lack of touring in the States, I managed to finagle a business trip to London to meet with the manager of Rolling Stone Charlie Watts regarding mutual interest in a certain project, the day before the "Day at the Races" festival headlined by Paul. Of course just the day that I left came firm confirmation of Paul's Fall US tour, but by then the die was cast and I was on an intercontinental mission!!

I flew in on Friday previous, checked into the wonderful Mostyn Hotel in Marble Arch and then immediately went around the corner to the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in Marble Arch to pick up the just that day released new single "Brushed". Then caught an hours sleep, showered and headed out via cab to my meeting, then late afternoon back into Chelsea via cab to catch a nice meal at a subdued little Italian place called Presto. Then a nice long stroll down the length of Oxford Street making a little diversion to enjoys a little window shopping on Carnaby Street, and back to the Mostyn for a good nights sleep before the big show on Saturday.

I was fortunate enough to be able to connect for the first time with some of the folks from the Little Splinters online Paul Weller Mailing List, especially Ian Hepworth and his crowd, who were kind enough to give me a lift out to Crystal Palace and back again after the show. Along with Ian was his friend Paul, and fellow Yanks Dave Beasley and his girlfriend Jen, and at the show we joined up with Chris Conroy, and more fellow Yanks in the form of Sherry and her husband from the Carolina's if my memory serves me correctly.

This was actually my first attendance of a large scale music festival, at least as a member of the audience, and I quite enjoyed it, though none of the supporting bands were particularly interesting, so I was quite pleased by the time John Weller came out to introduce "yours and mine favorite act- Paul Weller!!" As Paul and the band burst into The Changingman, honestly I was MOVED practically to the point of tears to finally be hearing Paul perform again LIVE!! I continue to be impressed by Paul's tight bands, and he was in fine Weller form himself clearly enjoying himself with his jumper tied around his waste. Next up was I Walk On Guilded Splinters, and with this show I got to hear a healthy dose of the material I has missed out on due to the lack of a US Stanley Road tour, and with Peacock Suit up next also a good hearing of the newer Heavy Soul material. Paul and the band seemingly plowed thru the first half of the set Brushed, Out Of The Sinking, Foot of the Mountain, Porcelain Gods, Science, Friday Street and into the piano/acoustic portion of the set with Broken Stones, Stanley Road, Driving Nowhere, You Do Something to Me, and the wonderful Up In Suze's Room. Then they resumed the electric set with a blazing Sunflower, Into Mermaids, I Didn't Mean To Hurt You, Into Tomorrow, and ending the set with Heavy Soul.

It all seemed to pass so quickly, but we were treated to an encore starting off with The Weaver, and then Paul introduced a familiar face in Mick Talbot out to lend piano on Woodcutter's Son, and as Mick was performing his piano solo, Paul drank his beer much to everyone¹s amusement!! I managed to make it up to the touring concessions and walked away with a bundle of new Paul Weller merchandise, including my much beloved and never used Heavy Soul Œ97 Coffee Mug!!

I meandered about with Ian and his crew while the crowd thinned out so we wouldn¹t have to spend so much time sitting in the car waiting to get of the grounds, and already we were sharing reminiscences of a WONDERFUL show. I have heard so much about how these shows can be touch and go as far as the overall experience, but as always Paul and band were in great form, it was a bright sun shiny day, we had a GREAT vantage point from off of Paul's side of the stage, and what good company as well!!

Finally Ian was dropping me off back in Marble Arch and I caught a few hours sleep before arising, eating breakfast, putting my stuff back in my suitcase, and meeting my car which took me back to Heathrow where I had arrived just 48 hours earlier, and back to the USA!! But finally and joyfully the 3 1/2 year Weller absence was removed and in just a few short weeks I was able to catch four shows from the Fall North American Heavy Soul tour making for a total of five shows in about 2 months. 1997 was a GREAT Weller year for me, and since Paul hasn't made it back to the States since then, more than a year now I as well as a lot of other North American Weller fans are hoping that 1999 will be a GREAT Weller year for us all!!

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick

Evansville, IN 12/29/98
joyshout@evansville.net

Paul Weller Live In North America 1997

Hey Everybody!!
What a great time seeing Paul Weller perform recently at the Crystal Palace gig in London in front of 15,000 fans and then coming back home to four performances in a week's time in more intimate surroundings after a three-and-a-half year absence from touring in North America!! Here’s my thoughts on each of the shows:

September 27, 1997 Roseland Ballroom, NYC, NY

Weller and band were in top form putting on a good show, but I did not like the venue which was very boomy with lots of air above the stage making the sound difficult on stage. You could see Paul's obvious annoyance at not being able to hear properly, and it was a typical NYC crowd too-kind of unmoved just standing there with heads craned to see like they were watching television or a movie!! The set opened with a rousing version of Sunflower, then Walk on Guilded Splinters and included more Wild Wood material and less Heavy Soul material than the Crystal Palace show. The remainder of the set included Peacock Suit, Brushed, Foot of the Mountain, Friday Street, Porcelain Gods, Science, Shadow of the Sun, the acoustic set including All the Pictures on the Wall, You Do Something To Me, Wild Wood, on to the piano and Broken Stones and Stanley Road, and back to electric on The Changingman, Into Tomorrow, I Didn't Mean To Hurt You, Heavy Soul and two encores with Woodcutter's Son and then The Weaver.
Ended up arriving right before the show so I missed out on meeting up with some friends from the Splinters Online list, Lisa Coffman and David Beasley. However I brought a young lady friend to the show who had only briefly heard Paul on a tape I made for her and otherwise had never heard of him. She was impressed by Paul's performance saying every song moved her and amusingly enough from the tape I made she had thought Paul was black!! She particularly loved Yolanda too!! I think my lady friend will learn to play the guitar now!!

October 1, 1997 Royal Oak Music Theater,Detroit, MI

I am back home in Indiana and looking forward to catching several Midwestern shows!! The ride up to Detroit is 8 hours and I arrive at my hotel around 6:30 PM, shower and change, head out for the Royal Oak and find a little dinner on the way. I had missed the opening act in NYC and heard her here for the first time and boy she sure sucks!! Nice venue though, small stage, more intimate, and great sound. Nice crowd for Paul here tonight, took a while to get into it, but when they did they were very appreciative. After the opening act I made my way down in front of Paul's mike tonight 6 feet away and right in front of the PA. Man, my right ear was ringing loudly for days afterwards!! Though I did not know it until days later, I spoke with Scott Moskowitz of the Paul Weller Fanzine Soul Museum who had a photographer's pass tonight, and ended up standing next to Dan Mueller and Andrew from Birmingham both of whom are from the Splinters Online list. Paul was completely on FIRE tonight, and for me this night definitely ranks with one of the best Weller shows I have ever seen. Paul played for about 1 1/2 hours in the main set, opening with The Weaver, and then into Sunflower, Peacock Suit, Foot of the Mountain, Walk on Guilded Splinters, Friday Street, Science, Porcelain Gods, to the piano on Broken Stones and Stanley Road, then the acoustic set with As You Lean Into the Light, All the Pictures on the Wall, Wild Wood, and the wonderful Up In Suze’s Room, then back to raging electric on The Changingman, Mermaids, I Didn't Mean To Hurt You, Into Tomorrow, Heavy Soul, and an encore of Out of the Sinking and Woodcutter's Son. Paul was dressed sharp tonight in pinstripe trousers, red shirt with large button down collar and mod target cuff links!!

Weller should have made lots of fans in Detroit with this performance!! During Mermaids, Dan Mueller and I threw our hands in the air during the Sha-la-la-la-la parts bringing a glance from Paul and a big, big smile from Yolanda who then proceeded to sing along!! Wonderful!! And having seen the new band three times now I am left wondering if Matt owns only one shirt!!

At this point I am REALLY looking forward to Chicago and Minneapolis!!

October 3, 1997 The Vic Theater, Chicago, IL

Well, after working half a day then driving to Detroit and then being up at 5:30 the morning after so I can drive back home and work another half day, and then working a half day before driving up to Chicago, I am having fun but starting to get a little tired. The drive from Evansville up Highway 41 to Chicago isn't the most exciting drive in the world either. But I get in to the hotel around 6 PM, go across the street to my fave rave Italian restaurant in Chicago (Valentino's), and then head down to the Vic. Though I liked tonight’s show slightly less than Detroit, none-the-less Weller rocked Chicago!! I ended up about 8 rows from the front in line with Paul's mike in a seemingly full house and a very, very, very enthusiastic crowd. Even screaming and clapping to acknowledge Paul's guitar solos!! Once again I thought the sound could have been a bit better with it being kind of boomy and at the beginning the guitars not cutting through that well. As he did in Detroit during one of the songs up front Paul leaned out to hear the PA and instantly told the sound guy to turn him up after which the sound was improved. A surprise opening was Walk on Guilded Splinters into The Changingman, Peacock Suit, Foot of the Mountain, with the rest of the set in no particular order including Friday Street, Heavy Soul, Up In Suze's Room, Science, As You Lean Into the Light, Mermaids, Porcelain Gods, You Do Something to Me, Broken Stones, Stanley Road, Sunflower, All the Pictures on the Wall, Shadow of the Sun, Into Tomorrow, I Didn't Mean To Hurt You and an encore of Out of the Sinking and Woodcutter's Son.
Matt wore a different shirt tonight!! And Yolanda was clearly into it, perhaps being moved by the big audience response!!
Was great FINALLY meeting several folks from the Splinters Online list after the show including Lisa Coffman and hubby, Cappuccino Kip, and Andrew from Birmingham who was kind enough to drive me to pick up my car after it had been towed from across the street from the Vic. Honest, I DID wonder what those signs said as I was driving into that lot!!
Andrew from Birmingham who is now living and working in Chicago and who has caught 80 shows between The Jam/TSC/Weller, asks if I will be going to the show in Minneapolis and whether I have to drive past Chicago again going back to Indiana, which I do!! So Andrew will be making the trip up to Minneapolis with me!!

One more night of Weller for me!!

October 4, 1997 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

Well, this is the last night of the Weller North American tour for me. I made the ride up from Chicago with Andrew from Birmingham, trading Weller stories (Andrew has lots more than I do!!) which helped to keep me awake through the 6 hour drive!! Per Andrew's request, we went straight to the venue to catch Paul and the band as they showed up for the sound check. As Andrew knows all the road crew, we find out that the Weller crew had a difficult day as the crew's bus broke down again about three hours out of Chicago. They ended up renting two vans to shuttle the crew and all the baggage to Minneapolis, but were not very excited about being at this venue which they also played on the Wild Wood tour. Tonight they ended up with a huge hum through Paul's amps, and though you could tell Paul was affected by all the days events, and probably the events of the night before after the Chicago show, Paul and band were champs though putting on another barn burner of a show. I once again ended up directly in front of Paul's mike and as in Detroit, the crowd was slow to respond, but finally getting into it and showing their appreciation. The set opened with Weaver into Walk on Guilded Splinters, Peacock Suit, Foot of the Mountain, Out of the Sinking, Friday Street, Porcelain Gods, Science, Shadow of the Sun, into the acoustic set with As You Lean Into the Light, You Do Something To Me, Driving Nowhere, Up In Suze’s Room, to the piano on Broken Stones and Stanley Road, then back to electric with Mermaids, The Changingman, I Didn’t Mean To Hurt You, Into Tomorrow, and Heavy Soul, with an encore of Woodcutter's Son.

Tonight I had the pleasure of finally knowing I had met Scott Moskowitz of Soul Museum and meeting another nice lady from the Splinters Online list, Cee Cee from Milwaukee.

Probably the most amusing moment of all my Weller shows is when the band arrives for their sound check and Andrew greets Paul and has a brief conversation with him, as I stand two feet away with Andrew's camera which he has specifically given to me so that I can snap he and Paul. They are talking quite low and I am straining to make out what is being said until a few moments pass and Paul leaves to enter the venue, and Andrew turns to me saying "Just snapping away at me and Paul were you?". Which of course I wasn't, as I had understood that Andrew was going to ask Paul to pose for a photo with him, and I missed most of what they said together anyway. Boy was I embarrassed!!

So, after this evening's show I faced a 12 hour drive home made much easier by Andrew's company on the Minneapolis to Chicago leg of my journey. Between these shows and Crystal Palace back at the beginning of August, in the past two months I have doubled the number of Weller performances I have seen from 5 to 10!! Very much worth the effort, and to anyone who has the opportunity to catch Weller several nights in a row, I wholeheartedly recommend it. And, I sincerely hope we all have this opportunity to catch Paul Weller on tour in North America again VERY SOON!!!!

NO MORE THREE-AND-A-HALF YEAR ABSENCES!!!!

Thanks.

Peace.

Keep the Faith.

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick
October 1997 Evansville, IN

July 25, 2001 Town Hall, New York, NY

I had planned to catch all five dates on the US Solo tour, but unfortunately the press of work and other trips kept me away from the LA House of Blues shows, but after a 4 year absence I was TOTALLY psyched to make this show at Town Hall in NYC, and an awesome show it was. It was obvious that the audience was feeling the glee of having Paul back after yet another long absence, and NYC gave Paul got a standing ovation as soon as he walked on stage. Paul seemed pleased and even a bit taken aback at the MAD LOVE poured out by the Town Hall audience, and even remarked on what a casual affair it was, "having a few drinks, a smoke, and playing some tunes". The show started of with Above the Clouds, and the set list was as follows: Foot of the Mountain, All the Pictures on the Wall, The Loved, Brand New Start, English Rose, Clues, Loveless, There's No Drinking After Your Dead, Amongst Butterflies, Science, Back in the Fire, Out of the Sinking, Butterfly Collector, That's Entertainment, You Do Something To Me, Everything Has A Price to Pay 1st
Encore:
Wildwood, Head Start for Happiness 2nd Encore: Town Called Malice. The banter with the audience started early and lasted all night long. Paul was given flowers by a lady in the audience three or four numbers in and he came to the foot of the stage to accept them and giving her a kiss and then spent a moment or two arranging them in front of his place on the stage. Paul apologized for last year's tour having been cancelled, and later on in the evening remarked that he was looking forward to coming back, and "bringing a few more folks." Throughout the course of the evening, Paul made various remarks about the audience "not knowing these songs because they aren't played on the radio every day", and "this is a song off my debut solo album, which charted at 127 I think here in the States", and about performing a couple of songs from Heliocentric "which wasn't released here in the States". But I think he was surprised at the reception each song got, clearly showing that THIS audience knew HIS music. It was a VERY relaxed performance-at one point he even bummed a cig off of somebody- and PW was clearly enjoying himself. His kids and dad were off to the side of the stage, and after the main part of the set, Paul picked up the flowers which had been presented to him and gave them to and a blonde lady who was with the kids. PW performed two encores, with the crowd standing thru both of them, and I can tell you, for a New York audience which can oftentimes be kind of wooden, the LOVE was flowing for PW this evening!! I was looking forward to the next evening's show in Boston for sure!!

July 26, 2001 Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA

PW's show at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston was another blazing performance. I came to the show straight from a meeting with our publicist and our booking agent (who oddly enough is the bass player for Buffalo Tom who performed "Going Underground" on The Jam tribute album). Paul was maybe a little tired from all the traveling to Japan and from West to East Coasts on this solo tour, so not quite as relaxed as last night's show in NYC, but none the less brilliant!! He made it through 2/3's of the main set without a cigarette, and then Clive lit one up for him, and Paul joked "I am gonna have a smoke, just give me 4 or 5 minutes, chit chat amongst yourselves." The set list was as follows: Brand New Start, The Loved, Above the Clouds, Foot of the Mountain, All the Pictures on the Wall, Clues, English Rose, Loveless, There's No Drinking After Your Dead, Amongst Butterflies, Science, Back in the Fire, Out of the Sinking, That's Entertainment, You Do Something To Me, Everything Has A Price To Pay
1st Encore:
Wildwood, Head Start or Happiness 2nd Encore: Town Called Malice. Paul's energy seemed a little lower than last night, but he was in fine form and good voice and once again the banter with the audience flowed all evening long. After Loveless someone cried out, "We love you Paul", and Paul said "Yes, but that song's about God". Then he immediately mentioned "Trying to kill this fucking fly that's up here". Again apologized for the cancelled tour last year, saying it "came down to the money." Paul dedicated That's Entertainment to 6 lads who had driven all the way from Toronto for the show, and I have a feeling we might be familiar with some of that crew from the Splinters list!!

Now, I am really sorry to have missed the LA House of Blues shops, and I find myself as is often the case feeling like I cannot wait for PW to return to the States again!! Seems like every time I write these reviews I find myself saying, "Please no more long absences". And we can all only hope that this time, it will REALLY be the case. And to repeat something else I have said before, to catch PW performing one evening is AWESOME, but to be able to catch several nights in a row is a MIND-BLOWING blessing for sure!! If you haven't ever managed to do that, I HIGHLY recommend it!!

Bring it on, Paul!! And come back soon!!

Thanks.

Peace.

Keep the Faith.

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick
July 2001 Evansville, IN

Paul Weller Winter 2003 North American Tour

February 21, 2003 Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, NY

Well- what is a long-time American Paul Weller fan to think with a year that starts out with an American label, Yep Roc, releasing PW's Illumination album followed fast and furious by the news that PW would be doing a North American tour with his full band AND in the course of this tour making an appearance on network TV on Late Night with Conan O'Brien??!!??!!! Perhaps 2003 will be a cracker of a year for PW in the US, but it starts off badly for me when a HUGE ice storm prevents me from making the trip to Chicago to catch PW's show at the Vic Theater!!

Fortunately, for me, I am planning on catching PW's NYC and Boston shows, and it is with eager anticipation that I am in NYC the night before his show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, secured away in my hotel room to watch PW and his band perform Leafy Mysteries on Conan. Turns out I am running late for the show and miss the opener Out Of The Sinking (which sucks because it is one of my FAVE RAVE PW songs, but I am there for Porcelain Gods (another of my FAVE RAVE PW songs)!! It's a GREAT night with an appreciative NYC audience which is up for a GREAT show as PW and his band launch into Bullet for Everyone, which is especially poignant in light of our country's soon to be launched war in the Middle East. PW and band hit their stride and tear thru Hung Up, Going Places, Leafy Mysteries, Up in Suzy's Room, peaking the early part of the set with a ROUSING version of The Jam's In The Crowd. PW moves to the keys for a moving rendition of Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On, and my hand is in the air singing along with the line "War is not the answer" which brings up a cheer from the audience!! The keyboard section of the set continues with Broken Stones, Long Hot Summer and Picking Up Sticks during which Steve White takes a SLAMMING drum solo cheered along by the audience and with PW dancing along with a smoke to the side of the stage. Next comes the acoustic guitar part of the set with Bagman and Who Brings Joy, and then a couple of golden oldies are broken out with Head Start for Happiness and a rousing That's Entertainment!! PW is back to the piano for the crowd favorite You Do Something to Me and then into (Can You Heal Us) Holy Man with Damon giving us a bass workout. The set is finished off with a flurry with PW returning to guitar and plowing thru a blazing Into Tomorrow, Foot of the Mountain, Peacock Suit, The Changingman, and finishing off with Town Called Malice!! PW and company leave the stage for a minute until the audience cheering and clapping brings them back to the stage for an encore which includes Wild Wood, Woodcutter's Son, and Sunflower. It was REALLY a GREAT night with a band which has gelled quite well and the interaction of the musicians on the stage only heightens a BRILLIANT performance!!

I am out of the Hammerstein in a flash and back to my hotel as I am up and at them early in the morning to catch a shuttle flight to Boston, and the next evening's PW performance there!! YAY YAY, PW two nights in a row!! And will 2003 be a cracker of a year for PW in the States??!!??!! Read on!!

February 22, 2003 Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA

Turns out this show is the last one on PW's North American tour as the announced show in Philly the next evening has been cancelled!! I have been fortunate enough to catch several of PW's North American tour closing shows and they always have a special energy to them. Upon reaching the venue, I am a little disappointed to find out it is a seated venue, just like the last show I caught in Boston, what is it with Boston and seated venues, ARGH!! I am QUITE relieved when PW and band hit the stage and launch into Going Places when the whole audience stands up and remains standing most of the night!! It's clear THAT special energy is in the air as PW launches into Leafy Mysteries and next up I am pleased to hear a live rendition of It's Written In the Stars which is SLAMMING!! I don't know what it was, the energy of the last show of the tour, or what, but tonight the guitars seem louder, the band seems tighter, and here comes the NOW with Out of the Sinking into Porcelain Gods into Bullet for Everyone into Up In Suzy's Room into Friday Street and into another ROUSING RAWKIN' rendition of The Jam's In the Crowd!! PERFECTION!! If you don't have the live boot from this show, GET IT!! Next up PW is at the keys with Marvin's What's Going On, and the crowd seems a little hipper and is with PW on the "War is not the answer" line, into Broken Stones, Long Hot Summer, and Picking Up Sticks with another AWESOME Steve White drum solo!! Next up is the acoustic guitar on Bagman and Who Brings Joy, and another ROUSING That's Entertainment. Back to the keys for You Do Something and (Can You Heal Us) Holy Man which again gets a work out from Damon on bass. The rest of the set is a BLUR of ENERGY with PW back on guitar for Into Tomorrow, Foot of the Mountain, Peacock Suit, The Changingman, and Town Called Malice. PW and company leave and return to a roar from the audience, and it's into Wild Wood, my first live hearing of the GREAT Standing Out in the Universe, and closing with Woodcutter's Son!!

Of course, I am sorry to have been waylaid from catching PW's Chicago show at The Vic, but the two nights of PW in a row are WONDERFUL!! I wish I had the chance to do THAT more often!! So I am gleeful as I am walking out of the venue and the first person I run into outside is my old buddy Andrew Kapusto from the Heavy Soul '97 North American tour!! Andrew and I catch up and chat for a bit until PW and crew pull out in the bus, and then we head back to my hotel around the corner from the venue to share a beer and PW stories!! I give Andrew a copy of Chico's newest album which contains a swing arrangement of PW's Bull-Rush and front him a couple of $$ to help him get back home to Chicago as he's broke and then turn in for the evening.

And, as I drift off to sleep in my hotel room that evening, after two AWESOME shows from PW, as always I find myself wondering how long it will be until PW returns to the USA!!

But this is 2003- a cracker of a year?? Stay tuned!!

Thanks.

Peace.

Keep the Faith.

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick
March 2003 Evansville, IN

Paul Weller Fall 2003 North American Acoustic Tour

October 19, 2003 House of Blues, Chicago, IL

Definitely, a cracker of a year is 2003 for PW fans in America as his second tour of the States is announced in the early Fall, this time an acoustic tour with Gem Archer of Oasis backing Paul up. And this tour bring the second network late night TV show appearance as Paul performs Going Places on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and seemingly they've given all the audience tickets away to rabid PW fans who overwhelm that evening's festivities, which includes interviews with Ted Danzen and Daryll Hannah by going berserk every time Kilborn mentions Paul's name!!

As I am flying into Chicago from a family reunion in Pittsburgh, and riding in the cab from the airport to my hotel, I start to ponder and become amazed at the fact that it was 21 years ago I first saw PW performing with The Jam in Chicago at the Aragon Ballroom!! 21 YEARS AGO!! AMAZING!!

This evening's House Of Blues set brings a nice gathering of folks from the Splinters Online Mailing List out, and the first person I connect with is Lisa Coffman when she returns to the HOB Hotel from shopping. While I am wait- ing for Lisa's return, first a cab pulls up and out hops John Weller, Kenny Wheeler, Nicky Weller, and Gem Archer, followed about 10 minutes later by a second cab with Paul and his son Nat, who are met at the door to the HOB by Cindy from Michigan with her friend and daughter and Scott Moskowitz. After Lisa arrives, we join Cindy & Co. and Scott and wander into the HOB and wait downstairs where we are able to hear PW's sound check. As I've been under the weather and it's colder than I had expected, I returned to my hotel to put on more clothes and eat, and then return to the HOB and meet up with Lisa again and by old buddy Andrew Kapusto!!

It's a GREAT evening and a GREAT set, and while the HOB is rather too much of a corporate vibe for my inclinations, the simple fact of the matter is that the whole Splinters crowd was able to stand very close to the stage, so close in fact that Lisa even gets a wink from PW at one point during the set. Paul is met with rapturous applause as he takes to the stage for the first two songs, Love of the Loved and Illumination alone, and then is joined onstage by Gem for Going Places. Next up I considered a REAL treat as PW performs He's the Keeper, a song dedicated to the late Ronnie Lane with Gem backing him up on electric, and then tears into Tales from the Riverbank!! The next treat for me is one of my FAVE RAVE songs from the Wild Wood album, Country, with both Paul and Gem on acoustic. The chemistry between PW and Gem is clear, these two REALLY gelled performing together on this tour!! Next up is the acoustic set from the Winter tour, Bagman and Who Brings Joy, followed by Amongst Butterflies with the audience signing along on the WONDERFUL ooooo ooooo parts. While PW was clearly unhappy with what was going on with the onstage monitor mix, commenting on how good it had been at the sound check, and at one point cupping his hands around the mic and mimicking "Now arriving on track nine", clearly he was energized by the crowd, enjoying the interaction with Gem, and having a good time!! Next up came Clues, Brand New Start, PW moving to the piano for You Do Something to Me and a rousing Head Start for Happiness where he bowed out of the last verse (I don't remember the words) for the audience to lend it's voice to his words!! PW went solo again for English Rose, with Gem returning for a RAWKIN' Foot of the Mountain and finishing off the main part of the set with a stomping Town Called Malice. Off they went until the audience cheering and clapping brought then back for another treat, A Year Late, into Wild Wood (is that my imagination or is the audience singing aloud louder than PW??!!??!!) and a rollicking finish with That's Entertainment!!

The Splinters crew milled about inside the venue for quite a while, I had promised to introduce myself to Nicky but there was always a line at the merchandise table and I didn't want to bother her, until finally the HOB security people asked us to leave, LOL!! Ended up hanging out with Andrew and Keith until finally I HAD to go back to my hotel to get at least a few hours sleep as I was up and at them at 4:30 AM the next morning for the flight home, and a full days work!! Gladly, because of work obligations and extensive traveling during this period (31 different airplanes, over 20,000 miles flown!!) I had decided against trying to stay in Chicago for Mondays night's HOB show, and it ended up being cancelled, :-< But I knew I would be catching PW one more time in 2003 at Town Hall in NYC, and I couldn not wait!!

October 27, 2003 Town Hall, New York, NY

The last time PW perform acoustic at Town Hall it was an AWESOME show, so I was REALLY looking forward to this evening's festivities!! It was also an opportunity to hip up one of my buddies, who wasn't that familiar with PW, to what an ENTHRALLING live show PW puts on. Once again PW took to the stage by himself ready to get down to business, and was greeted by a rapturous roar from the NYC audience, so much so that PW feigned surprise looking to the stage behind him as to say he wondered who everyone was clapping for!! Love of the Loved and Illumination were first up, with Gem joining PW onstage for Going Places and another stirring rendition of He's the Keeper, with Gem backing PW on electric, followed by The Jam's Tales from the Riverbank. Then PW and Gem are both on acoustic for one of my FAVE RAVES, Country, followed by Amongst Butterflies. Though the audience is VERY warm, they are not participating in this show as much as the Chicago audience, and at one point during one the parts where the audience usually sings, the half-hearted singing of the NYC crowd brings a "Pathetic, that's horrible!!" from PW!! Next up is Bagman and Who Brings Joy, followed by Clues and Brand New Start with Gem on slide on the electric. PW moves to the piano for the crowd favorite You Do Something to Me, then back to acoustic for a RAVING rendition of The Style Council's Head Start for Happiness. PW goes solo for a rendition of The Jam's English Rose, and then Gem returns for another SLAMMING rendition of Foot of the Mountain and the set is closed with The Jam's Town Called Malice!! The NYC is finally catching some energy and claps and cheers until PW and Gem return for an encore performing A Year Late, Wild Wood and That's Entertainment!! Finally the crowd is on their feet singing, and gives PW a GREAT send off!!

I have once again failed to introduce myself to Nicky as there is always a line at the merchandising table and I don't want to bother her. My buddy and I hang out for a bit outside the venue after the show, and he is impressed at how much PW is into doing what he does and what a GREAT show he puts on!! So it is back to the hotel and to sleep, and as much as I would LOVE to catch PW's NYC show the next evening at Irving Plaza, unfortunately duty calls and I have to be up and at them early in the morning to fly home and put in a full day's work :-

A cracker of a year, 2003, for a Paul Weller North American fan?? With being able to catch 4 of PW's shows this year, ABSOLUTELY!! And with the talk of Paul returning (with a full band??!!??!!), it DOES leave one wondering if 2004 will be able to match up to 2003!! I hope it does, and if it does, MAN am I looking forward to THAT!!

Thanks.

Peace.

Keep the Faith.

Jeffrey Andrew Caddick
October 2003 Evansville, IN

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