Concert Review: Paul Weller (Berklee)

Opening Act: The Rifles - Certainly one of the finest opening acts I've seen in my brief concert-attending journey. Reminiscent of The Libertines, The Cinematics, and The Jam, these guys truly rocked. Songs such as "Repeated Offender" and "Peace and Quiet" handled the group's brief act. Combining pop elements and punk riffs, these songs (and more) came out as polished as you can expect for a band that is just starting to acquire fame. The crowd seemed especially impressed by "She's Got Standards" -- a revival of post-punk that sounds more 80s than 00s. Chris dug them, too, saying, "The Rifles were fantastic. They reminded me of the Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines ( not just cause they're all British)."

Paul Weller:

Glen - They call him the Modfather (or at the least the guy behind does...after every song) and Weller couldn't be more deserving of such a title. Weller's strain of rock, dub, and soul is as alive now as it was thirty years ago. Offering tracks dating back to Weller's old Jam days, old proved to be just as good as new. "Wild Wood" and "You Do Something To Me" were awesome, but it would be a shame to forget the sheer greatness of newbies like "Sea Spray" and "From The Floorboards Up." Too, it would be a travesty to not give credit to Weller's bandmates, who along with Weller put on a hell of a show. One of the highlights was a harmonic acoustic belting of "All On A Misty Morning."

Chris - "I often hear that Weller's shows were quiet and chill, but this show displayed the contrary, well at least for most songs. He had a whole band backing him and they bashed out numerous rockers. To be honest, I don't know much about his solo career; I'm a major Jam fan though. Of course, I was ecstatic when he and his band played two Jam tunes: "Butterfly Collector" and "Town Called Malice" (the encore). All the forty somethings in the audience were dancing their arses off to that number! It was hilarious, with the exception of a few other young lads [including Adam Amoroso of Lynnfield's Mystery Tramps], Glen and I were standing amongst middle class, middle aged, Mod fanatics. I was disappointed that he didn't play "That's Entertainment," but what are you going to do, right? My favorite song from the evening was the classic "Wild Wood." You could hear the entire audience singing along; it was really serene and special. Weller displayed his talent as a singer, guitarist (damn, he and his band love their guitars; they went through at least five during the show, no lie) and pianist. It was quite humorous when he smoked cigarettes whilst performing. You couldn't even tell any difference in his vocals, his voice still sounded magnificent. I was disappointed about the admission: $39, a bit much! But, oh well. I don't regret it, it was a great show. Dozens of fans (including yours truly) tried to meet up with Weller and talk to him, sign shit, etc. But, unfortunately security claimed "the band have gone." Lol, I for one, do not believe they had two buses, one for the band and one for the crew. Bullshit, what's next? Daniel Johnston has a private jet and Wesley Willis is singing songs from the grave? Well, this is the modern world I've learned about. It's too bad cause there was a thousand things I wanted to say to him. But, I guess that's entertainment!"