- Tom Petty may have been the most gracious rock legend on Earth Thursday night.
In front of 6,100 very appreciative fans, and with obvious zeal on his face, Petty constantly thanked his audience between songs as if the guy hadn't heard cheering in 12 years.
"Your getting me all excited," Petty said from stage. "When I get all excited I go wild. I can't be responsible for myself when I get all worked up. Just, so you still respect me tomorrow."
Arena officials were excited too. Petty's performance was the Arena's highest grossing concert ever. Final numbers weren't available, but Arena officials confirmed that it broke the previous single-show record held by Aerosmith for a 1998 show that grossed more than $250,000.
Even though the show wasn't a sell-out - Arena capacity is 6,800 - an average ticket price of $44.50 made it the top grossing show.
Aside from making Arena history, the show was special because it was the first date of Petty's current tour.
Even more special may have been a rare symbiosis between musicians and spectators where the two actually seemed on par with each other.
After spirited renditions of Petty and the Heartbreaker hits like "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "Free Fallin'" (to which the crowd freely sang along) the audience bathed the blond rocker with honest applause.
Amped up by the appreciation, Petty smiled, danced and shimmied his way through classic rock tunes while actually looking like he was having fun - not a trait exhibited by all musicians when they hit Sioux Falls.
Because of Petty's excitement, the symbiosis was less parasitic than most concerts and felt more spiritual, resulting in a very enjoyable and entertaining concert.
The entertainment factor started early when opener Mavis Staples ended her set by talking to the crowd during a rendition of "I'll Take You There" and paying heed to "Sioux City, S.D." Not surprisingly, boos followed.
Unphased by the major faux pas, the crowd clapped when Staples left the stage and began waiting for the main draw.
At 8:45 Petty and his longtime backing band the Heartbreakers took the stage and strolled into "American Girl."
For a first tour date, the band sounded surprisingly good with no major hiccups or minor malfunctions.
Wearing a turquoise blazer, Petty danced through "You Don't Know How it Feels" for the night's second number and gave the crowd its first clue that he was feeling good.
Portions of the crowd also took Petty's advice from the song. When he sang "Let's roll another joint," wafts of marijuana smoke christened the show with the smell of a "real" rock concert.
"The joint is jumping tonight, just jumping," Petty said from stage.
Maybe the fans just appreciated a good sound. Petty's voice was what you'd expect: it sounded just like the albums, but with enough added spunk to raise the energy level. Ditto for the Heartbreakers. This was especially evident during "The Waiting," which sounded excellent thanks to an evident tempo boost.
Petty also served up the title track from last year's album "The Last DJ" and an unrecorded new song with a title that wasn't easily understood by this writer.
It could have been "The Limit" or "Melinna" or something phonetically similar. Regardless of the name, the acoustic guitar driven tune was good, with a driving country beat and keyboard quality reminiscent of the Doors.
An hour into the performance, Petty still had the crowd standing and singing along.
Walking away, two things were evident: Petty had a ton of fun. And he's definitely a living piece of Americana.
Each of his songs reads like a journal entry that could easily have been written by Joe Average in Anytown, U.S.A. He captures the experiences we all live through. But manages to romanticize them in a way that makes life feel a little better, at least until the song is over.
Or in the case of last night, until the concert was over.
Nothing Petty
Tom Petty News - July 2003
