The Modfather's show started in bristling fashion and ended in controversy tonight, thanks to sound problems and an overlong set incident involving one Noel Gallagher.
Weller shouted "turn every f**king thing up" when his microphone failed seconds after he took to the stage. And all the way through his set, much to his obvious annoyance, he was plagued by bad sound levels and squeals of feedback.
This didn't stop a typically energetic, gutsy-voiced Weller putting his all into such rootsy mod-rocking classics as 'Friday Street', 'Sunflower', 'Out Of The Sinking' and 'Peacock Suit'.
In a no-frills set, fleshed out by the meaty Hammond organ of Chris Holland (Jools' brother) Weller and his more-than-capable combo played all the favourites, while dipping into the man's current LP 'Heliocentric'.
Weller's soul bark was as heartfelt as ever and his jagged, choppy guitar playing made the man a mess of jerking limbs, like a puppet on speed.
Tonight, some of the best moments come when the man settles himself behind his piano. The gorgeous 'Frightened' captures the vulnerability of a man reaching forty and realising he doesn't have all the answers. 'You Do Something To Me' is quite simply one of the most tender love songs penned in the last ten years. And the jaunty, Booker T Vibe of 'Broken Stones' has the thousands clapping above their heads.
New tunes 'Back In The Fire' with it's gentle, jazzy Style Council vibe and the ominous rumble of 'There Is No Drinking After Your Dead' aquitted themselves well, as did old staples 'The Changingman' and 'Porcelain Gods'.
But it was the endless guitar noodling and solos of 'Heavy Soul' and Steve White's very lenghthy drum solo on 'Picking Up Sticks' had less devoted Weller fans edging towards the beer tents and caused the set to over-run by ten minutes.
So when, after a fine acoustic throb of 'Wildwood' Weller tried to bring old mucker Noel Gallagher on for an encore, the jobsworth stage manager decided to pull the plug on the whole thang.
After Noel's cries of "What's the f**king rush" and Weller's protest of "There are 65,000 people here, we're having it", before dragging the stage manager on stage to explain that if they carried on they would cut into headliner Richard Ashcroft's set, the show did not go on.
Thus ending a fine set on a sad note. Crying shame.
