Music Box: Me Ship Came In!

Well, yesterday sure was a memorable return to the office! After being out sick since Tuesday, I got to my desk around 1 p.m. Monday to find an invitation in my inbox to a special performance by Paul Weller -- at 2 p.m.! For those of you who don't know, Paul Weller was my childhood idol -- the male Debbie Harry, if you will -- the musical genius behind some of the greatest songs of all my youth, from "Town Called Malice," "Beat Surrender" and "English Rose" by The Jam and "Speak Like a Child," "Long Hot Summer" and "You're the Best Thing" by The Style Council.

After belatedly RSVP-ing -- the host generously agreed to squeeze me in even though I was tardy to the (invite) party -- I ran over to the studio and suddenly found myself an inch away from The Modfather, the man whose look I emulated, whose voice I idolized and whose leftist politics I so greatly admired during those brutal Reagan/Thatcher years.

After his band did a soundcheck, Paul joined them on the makeshift stage and performed a blink-and-you'll-miss-it set of "When Your Garden's Overgrown" and "That Dangerous Age," two of the singles off his latest solo album, "Sonik Kicks" which hit No. 1 in the U.K. charts when it came out in March.

Afterward, WSJ pop critic Jim Fusilli did a short interview, and then everyone followed the Style Council-or's command to "get back to work!" Well, almost everyone. Having waited more than 30 years for this moment, having spent endless nights watching a shirtless Paul and Mick picnic in Venice, I wasn't ready to return to the assembly line just yet. So I walked up to Paul -- who was chatting with his wife, backup singer Hannah Andrews, and one of the boys from the band -- and introduced myself. He was as gentlemanly as could be, shook my hand, and thanked me as I told him I'd been a humongous fan since I was a kid. He seemed surprised and pleased when I told him I'd recently had dinner with his former backup singer and protege, Tracie Young. And when I asked for a photo, Hannah quickly offered to play camerawoman, even rearranging us for better lighting and taking multiple shots. ("She's such a perfectionist," Paul fake groaned.) As I scurried back to my desk, I felt like a teenager whose wildest fantasy had just come to life. So giddy was I, in fact, that there was a moment when my bad back and plantar fascists barely even registered ...

Paul Weller performs this Friday and Saturday at the Best Buy Theater in Manhattan. For details, click HERE.