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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers...July 8, 2001 Tweeter Center Mansfield MAJul 19 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Petty is a legend who seems to get better and better with age.
There are few performers in rock that appeal to just about everyone. Someone once told me that there are 2 albums you could pop in at a party and everyone would love every second of both. The first was Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 74-78 record. The other was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits. Petty has been around for a quarter of a century now. He was one of the few members of the "old guard" so to speak to embrace MTV, and he flourished in no small part to the 24 hour video station. It took me a long time to see Petty live. He was always one of those "eh I'll see em next time" performers for me. I knew he'd be back so I never worried about it. But this year I decided was the year to finally go see the man. Two years ago my brother, not a very big Petty fan, went to see him and said it was one of the best shows he's ever seen. After watching this exciting and energetic musician perform on July 8 at the Tweeter Center (formerly Great Woods), I saw first hand why my brother said what he did. While no new material surfaced over the course of Petty's two hour set (this is a tour done strictly because the band loves touring, no new album to promote), he threw out hits, surprises and covers that had the crowd screaming and dancing with joy at every turn. His infamous backup band, The Heartbreakers, played as if on a mission, and if they've ever sounded better I would find it hard to believe. Despite the newer band members (Steve Ferrone on drums, Scott Thurston on various instruments), the heart of the band remains guitarist Mike Campbell, bassist Howie Epstein and keyboardist Benmont Tench, all of whom looked excited to be out on the road. From the opening notes of Runnin Down a Dream, the band just looked relaxed but played extremely tight. While most of the favorites were left untouched from their album versions, the band did extend some songs with strong guitar runs that left this reviewer open mouthed in disbelief. Petty, despite his rising age, looked to be the most confident of the bunch, although his stage manner can be somewhat restrained at times. However, the huge smile on his face during Free Fallin as the entire crowd of just under 20,000 people sang along told his real mood all along. The covers included a particular dirty version of Dirty Water, and a nice version of Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women in the encore. Given the day long cloudiness and the late afternoon thunderstorms, the title of that song fit the mood of the day at least. I missed the opening act, veteran songwriter Jackson Browne, but people around me told me I had missed one hell of a set from him. While not exactly a big fan of Browne's, I remain kind of sad I missed him. Here in 2001, despite the hype given to the newer rock acts, it's been the old guard acts such as AC/DC, U2 and Petty that have been showing the new kids on the block exactly how you rock an arena of 20,000 people. If you have a chance to see Petty on this tour, I implore you to do so. He looks good, and is playing better than ever. Tom Petty setlist for July 8, 2001 Tweeter Center, Mansfield MA Runnin Down a Dream I Won't Back Down Breakdown Billy the Kid Mary Jane's Last Dance Here Comes My Girl Even the Losers Its Good to Be King You Don't Know How It Feels Green Onions Don't Come Around Here No More The Best of Everything Time to Move On Into the Great Wide Open Dirty Water Refugee Too Much Ain't Enough You Wreck Me ENCORE: Free Fallin Rainy Day Women American Girl  |
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