From The Jam live in London December 2009

And so we finally come to the final gig of 2009. The concert year ended in a similar way to which it had started, as far as concerts abroad went. It started with Paul Weller in London (if we exclude the Monica gig in Athens), whom I saw not just once, but twice in the same year, and so it had to end with From The Jam, the band which featured the two other members of The Jam, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. The Jam had been my favourite band since I first heard "David Watts" on the POP + ROCK compilation album that was released in 1979, and since the band split up in 1982, I thought I would never have the chance to hear those songs live. Well I already had actually, since Paul Weller plays a couple of Jam tracks at his gigs, but this would be the closest to the real thing since it would feature the original rhythm section. Well, by the time those December gigs took place, Rick Buckler had left and he was replaced by Mark Unpronounceablenameofbigcountry as Smash Hits used to call him back in the day, so this was essentially a Bruce Foxton band, but still, I had to go, since the songs were going to be played in the way they were originally intended. A friend had warned me not to go, saying this would be just nostalgia and basically just a tribute band. But no, I had to. It's true, that Russell Hastings' voice (the singer) resembles a lot that of Paul Weller but isn't this the way it's supposed to be? And how many singers can claim that they can sing like Paul Weller?
The trip to see that concert didn't go as it was originally planned back in the summer of that year. I think I had purchased tickets for Manchester which was on the weekend (Saturday the 12th of December). I had bought a ticket for the London gig as well in case I could get a couple free days from work but I didn't know if I would be able to go. So I was going to have to go with Manchester. However a Bruce Springsteen party was arranged for that particular day by No Surrender, the Greek Springsteen community and I didn't want to miss that. So I decided to go to London and actually get a couple free days from work (I didn't even have any free days left - not surprisingly with all the places I've been to in 2009 but they gave a couple unpaid ones). I think I had already booked flights and hotels for Manchester, so I had to rearrange everything at the last minute. So, for the first time in many years I would travel with British Airways instead of EajyJet. And I would fly not just to Heathrow, but to the then new Heathrow Terminal 5 which had had its disastrous inauguration the year before. The irony was that I booked myself a room at the EasyHotel in Heathrow.
The new terminal looked good, with a great Christmas tree and what added to the Christmas spirit was that it was snowing in London on that day! I remember taking selfies in Piccadilly Circus and sending them to my friend in Athens. Oh and I also went to Sister Ray Records to buy the limited edition "Breakthrough" CD single by Marsheaux. Imagine going to London and buying a single from a Greek band. Oh and by the way the cover of the copies sold in London was a misprint which probably makes them collectors items now. I bought two of them and I also bought two from Greece featuring the original print. And since only 300 of these were made I can now claim that I own more than 1% of them!

Anyway, back to the gig. I got a taxi from the hotel to Sheperd's Bush that night if I remember correctly so that I would be on time. At the venue I got some amazing t-shirts from the merchandise stand. I only wanted to buy one but the guy made me an offer and I got three plus some stickers. Their design was amazing with mod targets and what have you.

The gig started with The Longsands, the support band who were actually more than quite good. I actually met the singer after a gig and got one of their CD's. I told him I had come all the way from Greece and he asked me to play that CD to other people when I got back.

After the Longsands set it was finally time for From The Jam with "The Circus" (an instrumental Foxton track from "The Gift") blasting out of the speakers as the band members got on stage and kicked off with "Going Underground". That was it! A dream coming true! What I did not remember though was that part of The Jam experience was pogo dancing and that was what everybody around me started doing seeing as I was very close to the front of the stage.I tried to keep up for a couple of songs but eventually I retreated a bit towards the back for the rest of the gig. That did not lessen the enjoyment in any way and I got to hear all my favourites including "David Watts" which was sung by Bruce Foxton originally anyway.

When the gig was finished, and after I had talked to the Longsands singer in the lobby I got on the venue to go to the tube station. But just outside the venue there were some guys who had set up a temporary stall selling unofficial t-shirts with the original Jam logo on them. So, I bought one of these as well... 

Paul Weller in Athens 2009

As I mentioned on my previous post, I had gone to see Santana in Athens on a Wednesday night and the weekend after that I went to London to see Oasis. On Tuesday after my return from London I went to see Paul Weller for the second time that year, this time in Athens. Meanwhile, I had been out both on Monday night and on the previous Thursday while also working during the day. So when I started feeling a bit poorly while waiting for Paul Weller to start his set at Vrachon Theatre I assumed that it was just tiredness. I did not for a moment think that while in London I had contacted a serious flu that was going around at the time. I managed to enjoy the Paul Weller gig, but after it finished, I went straight home and jumped into my bed. I attempted going to work the following day but after a couple of hours I had to go back home. The problem was that on the following weekend I was due to go to Italy not for one, not for two, but for three Bruce Springsteen concerts. Would I be able to recover in time?

Back to the Weller concert now. I did not regret having seen him in London earlier that year because back then, at the O2 Arena he had a whole string section with him (comprised only of women), as can be seen on his Just A Dream DVD. Now he had come with just a basic band. 

Moreover, when I arrived at the theatre I realized the reason that I had never expected him to come to Athens and why he would probably never come again (He still hasn't and it's 2020 now): There were only a handful of people who had come to see him (although one of them had the exact same haircut and sunglasses that Weller was sporting back in his Jam days). Thus, I was able to get on the first row and grab "the railing". Minutes before he appeared one of the organizers came on stage to announce that Paul was going to play only six songs from his then latest album "22 Dreams" and all the rest would be old favourites. And that's indeed what happened. Although he started with one of his solo songs that had only been released as a single ("Wild Blue Yonder"), we then got Jam songs ("The Eton Rifles", "A Town Called Malice"), Style Council songs ("Shout To The Top") and a lot of his solo favourites ("You Do Something To Me", "From The Floorboards Up" and "Wild Wood" among them).

So yes, I enjoyed seeing Paul Weller one more time and I realized that I had to go and see From The Jam now (Bruce Foxton's band) in order to complete the experience. But that was to come in December. Meanwhile I had to go back home and recover from the flu in time for the following weekend's Bruce Springsteen experience. Thankfully, the fever finally subsided the day before my trip...

SETLIST:

01. Wild Blue Yonder

02. Out Of The Sinking

03. 22 Dreams

04. The Changingman

05. All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)

06. From The Floorboards Up

07. Sea Spray

08. Shout To The Top!

09. The Eton Rifles

10. Porcelain Gods

11. You Do Something To Me

12. One Bright Star

13. Empty Ring

14. Push It Along

15. That's Entertainment

16. Wild Wood

17. Echoes Round The Sun

18. Come On/Let's Go

Encore:

19. Broken Stones

20. Whirlpool's End

Encore 2:

21. Town Called Malice

Paul Weller @ The O2 Arena in March 2009

Before I was a Bruce Springsteen fan I was also a Queen fan. And before I was a Queen fan I was also a Jam fan and later I became a Style Council fan. It all started with a record given with Pop + Rock magazine 40 years ago, in 1979. Well, not exactly given, but you could buy it from certain shops at half price using a voucher from the magazine. I decided to find out more about the bands featured on that record. Track 3 on side 1 was "David Watts" by The Jam. So I went out and bought the "Going Underground" 7 inch. That's it! I was hooked!

My first attempt to see Paul Weller live was in 2001 when I was in London during his Days Of Speed tour. Unfortunately, the gig was already sold out. My second attempt was for this gig at the O2 Arena 10 years ago, but this was also showing as sold out on Ticketmaster and other sites. So when I was at the O2 Arena in November of the previous year to see Queen + Paul Rodgers I decided to try my luck at the venue box office. And yes, they had a ticket. And the seat was a very good one, close to the stage. So I bought it and I immediately started planning my next London trip in my mind. However, just a few days before the London concert it was announced that Paul Weller would be playing live in Greece! Shock horror! Would my trip to London turn out to be useless? As we will see later, it wouldn't!

When the time came and went to London, what do you know? I almost missed that gig! Apparently the Underground was not operating all the way to North Greenwich station and I was left stranded with several other people at a bus stop in West Ham waiting for a bus! 

It finally came and I made it on time, but only just. I missed Corral, the support act, but I would make up for that 7 years later when they played support for The Stone Roses in Manchester. I only had time to get a beer from the bar and find my seat before the show started.

What we noticed while waiting for Paul to appear was a 10-piece female string section. They weren't accompanying him on every gig of that tour, so that was a bonus. But they would appear on the live CD/DVD from that tour he later released titled "Just A Dream - 22 Dreams Live". So that DVD will always remind me of the gig at the O2 Arena. 

Anyway, when Paul came on stage, he launched straight into "Peacock Suit". He then proceeded with a setlist that had a bit of everything: Jam songs ("Eton Rifles", "The Butterfly Collector", "Town Called Malice"), Style Council songs ("Shout To The Top"), songs from his solo career, and, though I did not realize it at the time, new songs from his next album, the yet-to-be-released at that time "Wake Up The Nation". There was even an acoustic session with him and two other guitarists sitting on stools. All in all, he seemed like a man enjoying himself and was chatting with the audience. (There was even a football comment, something about Chelsea I think, but I didn't quite catch all of it.)

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Looking back on it, it was indeed a unique experience. And it wasn't a waste of time or money. When Paul came to Greece later in the year, he didn't have the string section and he didn't play any of the new songs.

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--> With the sounds of "Town Called Malice" the last song, still echoing in my head, I left the O2 Arena.

But seeing as there was no tube and I would have to take the night bus, I decided to stay there for a little while. Especially as, from the nearby O2 Bar And Grill I heard some more Weller sounds coming my way. A band called RoShambo was playing there and they included some Paul Weller covers. They saw me filming "Out Of The Sinking" and gave me a free CD! They were suprpised to see the video later on YouTube and commented on it.

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Finally, it was time to leave, and I took the night bus to Leicester Square experiencing London by night once again after all these years. 

From Leicester Square, I grabbed a taxi to my hotel in Victoria at the cost of 13 GBP ("a snip!" as Smash Hits would have said back in the 80's)

SETLIST:
01. Peacock Suit
02. Out Of The Sinking
03. 22 Dreams
04. The Changingman
05. Wake Up The Nation
06. All I Wanna Do (Is Be With You)
07. From The Floorboards Up
08. Sea Spray
09. Shout To The Top
10. The Eton Rifles
11. Porcelain Gods
12. Invisible
13. One Bright Star
14. Empty Ring
15. You Do Something To Me
16. 7 And 3
17. Have You Made Up Your Mind
18. Push It Along
19. 111
20. All On A Misty Morning
21. Magic Bus
22. The Butterfly Collector
23. Brand New Start
24. Wild Wood
25. Echoes Round The Sun
26. Broken Stones
27. Whirlpool's End
28. Town Called Malice