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August 06, 2006
Petty looks back at the long road
On some very rare, fortunate nights a concert has the feel of history in the making. Long before Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers took the stage for a retrospective celebration of their 30 years together on Saturday, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion had, for the first time this summer, that vibe that something special would happen.

Every beer run or bathroom break was made fast for fear of missing a great moment.

There were many of them.

The 20 song set list ran from 1977's American Girl to Petty's new single Saving Grace from his just released solo album Highway Companion , and included an overflowing fountain of classic rock covers, most rarely or ever played by Petty on stage.

Adding to the excitement was a special unannounced guest spot by longtime Petty collaborator Stevie Nicks.

"We're celebrating 30 years together tonight. We're gonna try to hit some of the highlights for ya," said Petty, 55, in his usual understated small-town Florida manner.

From the outset Petty weaved in an out of the different eras of his career with an opening assault that included Listen to Her Heart , You Don't Know How It Feels and Free Fallin'.

Unlike the freewheelin' Bob Dylan, who seemed destined for greatness at an early age, Petty's mark on the rock n' roll landscape is only starting to be realized. Though many fans have known all along. The crowd sang every word along with him, like a mass chorus of muffled bees.

Petty certainly took notice.

"You guys are singing so loud you're knocking us down up here," he said. Petty was unusually giddy and chatty, frequently smiling from ear-to-ear.

Petty shed some light on his own fandom with a raw and decidely un-Heartbreaker-like renditon of The Yardbirds' I'm a Man followed by a bluesy rendition of early Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac hit Oh Well . Those covers gave a glimpse of just how versatile his band can be. It was a rare moment of private delight shared with the public. One imagine little jam sessions like that happen all the time in the studio.

It was already a generous display before Petty anounced that the "influences" portion of the evening would end with a note-perfect version of the Traveling Wilburys' Handle With Care. The song is taken from the 1988 supergroup recording Petty did with Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne.

Nicks' visit on Stop Draggin' My Heart Around left the audience like feeling a kid with too many gifts on Christmas morning. She stuck around to provide backing vocals and tambourine on other songs like the spooky and wonderful Don't Come Around Here No More.

After an encore cover of Van Morrison's Mystic Eyes (an amazing moment in itself) Nicks returned for the American Girl finale. After two hours of singing and suprise the comparing of notes started the minute the pavilion lights went up. Chances are talk of this show will continue for years to come.

Posted by Michael D. Clark at August 6, 2006 12:25 AM

My 2 cents: Petty fans rock! Kay, the woman who sold me her extra ticket, ended up going down to the 2nd row, cuz she got someone else's extra ticket. I was on the aisle, 5 rows behind the pit. Right before American Girl, Kay handed me her ticket and said, "Go!" I went! I was right in front of Stevie's mike - lots of eye contact with both her and Tom. :thumbsup: I took tons of pics - but I am EXHAUSTED. I'll post the good ones when I get a chance - Liz has already posted some on the tompetty.com board.

Stevie looked and sounded great - the crowd went nuts - Tom introduced her by saying that there was one more member of the family, and she really IS family. After Insider, Tom said that he was really happy that they were getting to do that song, because he loves singing it with her...her first outfit was the Rhiannon one, all black, w/ the sleeves - not the beige outfit and black duster she'd been wearing. The other outfits were the same - the beige shawl for Insider, etc. and the pants and hat for American Girl. She wailed at the end of SDMHA - did a GREAT INTK - wouldn't stop "flying" during Learning to Fly. :p The woman next to me and her daughter had gone to the Dallas show. When Stevie was rocking out at the end of DCAHN - she kept going, "Oh my God, LOOK at her, she is WILD! Look at her go!" :lol:

It was a good time! Now come to Austin, Stevie!!