Paul Weller

To a local chorus of “Well-ahr…, Well-ahr…”, the solo Modfather strutted happily onto the stage of Tramore’s impressive new South Club, newly-shorn and puffing on a Marlboro, looking like the proverbial favourite uncle in tight beige cords and leather jacket (presumably the noughties’ answer to a skinny tie).

Without ado, he began with a slightly less funky rendition of ‘Above the Clouds’ than the 1992 original and went on to treat the surprisingly receptive audience to a stream of unplugged versions of his 20-odd year oeuvre.

Attendant punks, or those that had borrowed their dad’s Jam records in anticipation, may have been disappointed by his concentration on his post-’92 creations, but were nonetheless allowed a beautiful performance of ‘English Rose’, as well as interesting versions of ‘That’s Entertainment’ and ‘A Town Called Malice’. The covert Style Council fans in the room – yes, you with the cappuccino – bopped to ‘Down In The Seine’ from 1985’s Our Favourite Shop.

Unfortunately, there was only so much that the lone star and his geetar could do, and the teasing bass and drum beats of the studio recording were sadly missed on Stanley Road’s ‘Out of the Sinking’. Nevertheless, it was a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the legendary bard and the night did, puns aside, have an intimate jam-like feel. Weller seemed lost in his own music, only coming out of his trance with a smile as the audience crooned along with ‘Wild Wood’ and the ladies’ favourite ‘You Do Something To Me’. Paul Weller has glided from style to style over four decades as new ideas came to him, neither lamenting nor apologising for his past work. Tonight, he proved again that he still has it.