Gig played on 25/10/06

It's around the halfway mark of the extended neo-psychedelic work-out of "Porcelain Gods/I Walk On Gilded Splinters" - that moment when Paul Weller's guitar has stopped intertwining with Steve Craddock's six strings to break free of the moorings of rhythm to take flight on a journey that encompasses both inner and outer space - that the realisation sinks in as to the brilliance of what's being delivered tonight.

That Paul Weller is the opening headliner of the new BBC Electric Proms Festival is entirely appropriate; with a heritage that stretches back thirty years and a following that borders on the rabid, Weller is undoubtedly the Queen Mother of Britpop. Though the temptation remains to ponder on what his version of "Land Of Hope & Glory" might sound like, Weller - with the aid of some of his spiritual heirs - brings to life some the greatest alternative anthems this country's ever thrown our way.

Tearing through an energised reading of The Jam's "In The City", Dirty Pretty Things' Carl Barat proves conclusively that, given some decent material, a bit of the hype and hoopla surrounding him may well be justified, while Amy Winehouse - stacked of hair and sultry of look - smoulders and glows through covers of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and Etta James' "Don't Go To Strangers". Weller's constituency are in raptures and the biggest hollers are saved for Hard-Fi's Richard Archer as he makes his way through "That's Entertainment" and "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" with all the enthusiasm of a "Jim'll Fix It" winner.

Moreover, this isn't a raking over of former glories but a confirmation of the songs' continued pertinence. Weller himself is driven by a hunger that's utterly convincing and totally beguiling. Stripped of backing singers or additional instruments, his band - guitarist Craddock, bassist Damon Minchella and long-time drummer Steve White - is, like its leader, lean, match fit and ready for all comers. "From The Floorboards Up" and "Come On/Let's Go" crackle with the intensity that signalled his creative re-birth last year and elsewhere raises emotions and the hairs on the back of the neck with equal care and attention with a delicately charged "You Do Something To Me".

Energised and propelled by a sense of urgency that belies his curmudgeonly reputation, Weller is an artist, performer and national institution who should be kicking off the Electrics Proms every year.

by Julian Marszalek