According to the SMH reviewer attending the first of three Paul Weller gigs at the Sydney Opera House in 2018, the man dubbed the Modfather was a bit overwhelmed taking to the harbour icon’s Concert Hall stage. “I can’t believe I’m playing somewhere like this... it’s a bit special,” Weller told the crowd.
Weller's career has endured more than 45 years – stretching across stints in the Jam, the Style Council and 13 celebrated solo albums. Famous for tracks including 'You Do Something to Me', 'Wild Wood' and 'The Changingman', Weller epitomises the term 'swagger'.
Starting out doing the rounds in a Beatles cover band, he fell into the mod subculture that emerged in the ‘50s but skyrocketed in popularity during the ‘60s. Fusing jazz, soul, R'n'B and psychedelic rock and aided and abetted by the dapper looks deployed, the musical movement was an early leader in what was later dubbed the Brit Pop/Cool Britannia cultural wave. Which is kinda funny for someone who has made a career of being anti-establishment.
The Opera House crowd lapped up this two-hour, 30-song set that nimbly dances through Weller’s decade-defining sounds. Now you can revisit him and his band in all their glory when the gig is posted to the From Our House to Yours digital platform on Friday, September 18 at 8pm, available on demand afterwards. So you can bliss out to the man serenading, "you do something to me."
Want more Opera House musical magic? Listen to local hero Ziggy Ramos.
