To Wilson and the other young folk, Petty is a rock icon. Petty knows this, serving up a blue-plate special of his greatest hits. But then, as is his custom, he throws a couple of curve balls – some odd covers, a Traveling Wilburys tune (a sublime “End of the Line”) old album tracks and a guest star, Steve Winwood.
It’s pretty much the standard show, and the set list varies microscopically from Petty and Winwood’s visit to Tampa last week. When Petty introduces Winwood to the crowd, they cheer because they figure any friend of Tom’s is a friend of theirs. But Winwood, who has taken long hiatuses from performing during his career, is largely unknown to these folks. He plays crisp guitar on “Can’t Find My Way Home,” then moves to the organ and, with Benmont Tench bumping asses with him on the keyboard bench, gives a wonderfully frenetic and demented performance of “Gimme Some Lovin’.” As they proved when they toured with Bob Dylan back in the 1980s, the Heartbreakers are an incredible backing band.
But poor old Tom can’t win. He has perhaps the best pure rock’n’roll band in America. They put on a tight, well-rehearsed, crowd-pleasing show every night, and still the critics carp about it. Tonight, he tries stretching out some songs, does and encore (”Mystic Eyes”), in which Bo Diddley symbolically has sex with Van Morrison, and takes long, daring breaks with the pacing after a barrage of crowd-pleasing hits.
To those critics, I offer a chorus of raspberries and a symphony of guffaws. Tom Petty is a great entertainer and though tight and well-rehearsed, there’s nothing sterile about the show. This band plays with joy, with a deep love of rock’n’roll history – and for its audience. What’s not to love?
Ask Wilson. The kid is worshipping at the altar of Petty now, and at one point even turns to me and asks me to be his rock’n’roll history mentor. Yes, Grasshopper. I’ll be glad to.
Acres of kids here today. Some of the best young performers in modern music. But at the end of the night – and I’m sitting by the campfire outside the tent where several of those young artists are jamming — I’ve gotta score this day for the geezers. Tom Petty and the rest of his AARP band kicked much ass on stage tonight and showed that there’s something about that generation of musicians that still resonates with the young folks. To steal a line from one of Petty’s own songs, he’s got a heart so big it could crush this town.
— William McKeen
side-by-side on a hillside as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers take the stage.
