Nottingham concert 5 May 2000 and more
John Raffel
Nottingham Ice Centre. Nice & new, but it seemed a bit big and not much of
an atmosphere was generated.
It was full, all seating and central floor space was used. A few "jumpers"
down the front got carried away and 3 girls got pulled over the railings and
out of the front by the security crew. The audience from what I could see
around me was mainly late 20 & 30 somethings - myself included. Why oh why
do people spend £23.50 and miss the support act and then keep getting up and
down during the main event to go and get another beer! I'm glad they weren't
in front of me or sitting on my row, 'cos I would have got really P'd off.
There was even a guy two rows in front that was sitting asleep, holding his
half drunk pint right through the support act. His mate turned up for the
start PW and slapped him round the face to wake him up. He hardly moved! He
certainly didn't spill his pint. He eventually woke, and sat there for a
while. He then left for ages & missed a large chunk of the concert - no
doubt puking his guts up somewhere. He did make it back before the end, but
I doubt he'll remember much. I feel sorry for the people sitting around him.
The guy next to him must have been worried that he was going to puke on him
at any stage! May be that's me just being a 30 something.
I was sitting in block 17 P14, which was level with the from of the stage,
but out to the left as PW looked out. A bloody annoying speaker stack with a
light on top obscured most of the view of PW, but the rest of "the band"
were all clearly visible. I could see PW's head & shoulders most of the
time, but with the speaker stack & the piano, I didn't see much of the rest
of him! When he played 2 tracks on the piano, I got the best view, but when
he later played two tracks on another keyboard (organ?) he disappeared
entirely from view! I was trying to take some pics, but I'll have to wait &
see how they came out. (using a 35mm SLR with 80mm zoom & 1600asa film to
avoid using flash which wouldn't be any use over that distance - I think I
need a 200-300 zoom to get some decent shots next time)
As for the music.... what can I say
Excellent for listening too - not too loud that it rings in your ears (PW @
Cambridge Corn Exchange a few years back was way too loud for the venue). He
changed guitars almost every track, along with Steve Craddock and the other
guy (nice haircut?). PW was obviously very happy. You could see him with a
big grin on his face most of the time & when Steve White had his drumming
solo, PW was skipping around the side of the stage like he was 15 or
something! It's good to see him obviously enjoying himself so much. That
came across in the music, and he was aggressive when he needed to be and
soulful when it mattered. He played You Do Something To Me, (I too got cut
off half way through the webcast from RAH using RealPlayer) that made the
night for me & my wife. That's "our tune" - we played it at our wedding and
it will always be a very special track.
With regard to the new album, I haven't listed too much yet and things may
grow on me still, but I've been reading a lot about it here and on eGroups
Weller related news groups. (Splinters; Weller; Modgod; Woking Class Hero) I
must admit that despite being a PW fan since the last few Jam singles, all
through TSC and the solo career, I don't think that Heliocentric is his best
work. People have talked about creativity, and that this album is really
good for that. I don't agree. I would say that many of the solo albums have
a similar feel about them. All very good (I am a fan after all) but this
last one is not creatively that different to the others. Compare with TSC
albums - all were different - different themes, different Styles. I know
people didn't like the last TSC album or two, but I still think they were
all creatively very strong. I listened to Confessions of a Pop Group on the
way home last night, and the strings and vocal arrangements are just superb.
I'm not saying I want a return to TSC, but lets call a spade a spade and not
just admire PW for being PW but for producing excellent music for listening
to.
What do others think?
Geoff M
"jumpers". Excellent performance by the man but as stated below,
the atmosphere was not too great. Probably better where I was
though than in the seats.
As for the new album, I must agree it is not his "best", but it does
take some listening to really appreciate it. I wasn't too impressed
at first but now think it has some excellent tracks (No drinking....,
dust and rocks, sweet pea)
Does anyone know who the support group was? Tried pushing
their new release whci comes out at the end of the month but
didn't even bother to say who they were. Am I just being ignorant??
Didn't think too much to them myself (but then I've heard worse!!)
Geoff
In article <3913...@news.server.worldonline.co.uk>,
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Before you buy.
chris martin
I was there with some friends and although I missed the support, I think it
was a band called 'aziz' who was also the guitarist in stone roses for a
while when John Squires left.
I admit to being a Jam fan, but not too much of a Weller solo fan and I
thought that although the musicianship was great throughout, the atmosphere
never really took off. Certainly I thought a few more upbeat tracks may
have hit the spot (for me) a bit more, although I guess for true Weller fans
the mix of tracks was OK! Where we were on the floor (half way) the
acoustics were truly terrible for a new designed venue.
Anyways, well done to Weller & band for the excellent musicianship
throughout and a great evening.
Geoff M <nemes...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
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