LATEST: Rocker TOM PETTY has vowed to turn a blind eye to allegations the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS plagiarised one of his songs. The band stood accused of lifting key aspects of their latest single DANI CALIFORNIA from Petty's MARY JANE'S LAST DANCE, most publicly by US DJ DAN GAFFNEY who said, "The chord progression, the melody, the tempo, the key, the lyrical theme. they're identical." It was rumoured the veteran singer would sue - but he insists he'd only consider a lawsuit if the track was stolen "note for note". Petty tells PageSix.com, "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask CHUCK BERRY. THE STROKES took AMERICAN GIRL (for their song LAST NITE), and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you'. "If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe (I'd sue). But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous law suits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."

When compiling a shortlist of the greatest rock bands of the last thirty years, it's quite likely that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers wouldn't make the cut. However, next time a classic Petty song comes on the radio; take note: not only will you probably sing along, you'll know all the words.

To celebrate their thirtieth anniversary and the impending release of Petty's latest solo album, Highway Companion, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are taking their enduring brand of stoner southern rock on the road. This past week, Petty & The Heartbreakers came to Madison Square Garden for their first New York City appearance in three years. Cherry picking from three decades of hits, the Manhattan crowd continuously sang along with Petty while he ran through a set list that, even in the absence of beloved tunes like "The Waiting" and "Breakdown," didn't suffer for recognizable classics.

Fresh off of their co-headlining stint at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Petty played under a set of video screens that provided distracting close-ups of the band throughout the night. Given the relatively good sightlines in the Garden, they were unnecessary; only serving to provoke discussion as to whether the 55-year-old Petty once portrayed Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears. After opening with the early-era "Listen To Her Heart," the band went right into "You Don't Know How It Feels," marking their first but hardly last foray into Petty's stellar solo material. While egotistic on the surface, the Heartbreakers contributed significantly to Petty's individually-titled efforts, making their inclusion into the show quite appropriate. Petty's 1989 solo album Full Moon Fever received the most attention; the crowd drowning out Petty's voice on the choruses of "Free Fallin'" and "I Won't Back Down" and doing a little hippie headbanging to "Runnin' Down A Dream." In addition to the smoothly rendered reading of "You Don't Know It Feels," they went back to Wildflowers for the encore, an energetic version of "You Wreck Me" that far exceeded its studio counterpart.

Petty spent a portion of the show reclaiming old songs and old melodies: offering a twangy version of the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care," recently covered by Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst and others, as well as a scorching rendition of "Mary Jane's Last Dance," in which he laid ownership to the guitar line allegedly purloined by Red Hot Chili Peppers for "Dani, California." However, if Petty is truly upset over the similarities between his 1981 hit and the Red Hot's new single, he should perhaps take a look in the proverbial mirror to see if he's a pot calling the Peppers' kettle black; Petty's new single "Saving Grace," seems to borrow just as heavily from John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom."

Perhaps influenced by his recent time at this year's Bonnaroo, Petty sought the crowd's approval to "jam a little bit" in their encore. While they didn't take that moment to experiment with interminable noodling, Petty & The Heartbreakers zipped through a medley-type jam that borrowed as much from the Isley Brothers' "Shout" as it did from Them's "Mystic Eyes." Always eclectic with their covers, Petty nodded to the band's influences earlier in the show; putting down his guitar in favor of a tambourine and maracas while the Heartbreakers quickly ran through The Yardbirds' "I'm A Man" and pre-Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well."

Often overshadowed by Petty's subtle superstar status, The Heartbreakers remain an exceptionally tight band, responsible for some of the more subtly ubiquitous songs of a generation. From within his cube of keyboards, Benmont Tench had chances to solo, excelling on the greasy bridge of "Refugee." More than Petty's equal on the guitar, Mike Campbell ceded the center stage guitar theatrics to Petty, throwing off his guitar riffs with modest aplomb. Petty's rhythm section, made up of original Heartbreaker Ron Blair, who returned to the band after a lengthy absence on The Last DJ, and Steve Ferrone, formerly of the Average White Band, toiled admirably in relative anonymity. Likewise, Scott Thurston offered additional guitar, keyboards and the occasional harmonica solo in yeoman fashion.

As she has for the early shows in the tour, Stevie Nicks, the band's "little sister," joined Petty & The Heartbreakers for a reprise of their 1981 hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," and took lead on Petty's own "I Need To Know." Wearing a new outfit, Nicks returned a couple songs longer to duet with Petty on a quiet version of the introspective "Insider." Once the ruling earth-mother of seventies rock and roll, Nicks, who thankfully no longer looks like she possesses her own gravitational field, seemed content with a supporting role, singing background far to the right of the stage, spreading her arms wide while providing her distinctive harmony to "Learning To Fly."

Nicks wasn't the only notable name appearing with Petty at the Garden this evening. While fronting Phish, Trey Anastasio used to headline Madison Square Garden regularly; as a solo act, he’s become an illustrious opening act, returning to MSG for the first time since joining The Black Crowes for a memorable New Year's Eve show. Focusing his one hour set on newer songs, Anastasio offered solo faves like "Night Speaks To A Woman" and "Come As Melody" before concluding with a groove-heavy rendition of "First Tube." The fact that Anastasio didn't come back to join Petty & The Heartbreakers during their set might be the only disappointment of his Garden appearance.

Petty & The Heartbreakers have a catalogue broad enough to offer a different show each night. However, the set lists for the early shows have remained substantially similar. Fittingly for a show dedicated to their length career, Petty & The Heartbreakers have been finishing each show with their first true success, the arena anthem "American Girl." While the boys from Gainesville, Florida have had bigger hits, "American Girl" remains the song that tears the house down; the sinuous opening chords drawing raucous shrieks from all the American girls in attendance. Petty's traveling roadshow continues on throughout the summer. While Anastasio occupies himself with his own mini-tour with Phish bassist Mike Gordon and the Benevento Russo Duo for a highly anticipated slate of shows with Phil Lesh & Friends, Pearl Jam and The Allman Brothers Band should provide suitable alternatives in the supporting slot.

The Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers hit “American Girl” has an oft-repeated back story that, as a Florida native (like Petty), I’ve always wanted to believe was true.

As the legend goes, Gainesville-born Petty wrote it about a University of Florida coed who jumped to her death from the Beatty Towers dorm. One variation has the unnamed girl tripping on hallucinogens and attempting to fly. I prefer the version in which the coed is lucid, voluntarily shedding her mortal coil and filled with the invigoration suicides are said to have once they make the decision.

Since middle school, I’ve repeated this story to incredulous ears more times than I can remember — continuing to tell it even when I was too old to responsibly pass on such unfounded nonsense. Enter the Internet. Some time back, in an ADD moment, I googled the myth only to find that sadly, a myth is all it is.

It’s not that I want some girl to be dead. I’m just a sucker for good Southern ghost story, which with or without a suicide, “American Girl” remains. What soulless creature (who enjoys rock and roll music) doesn’t get chills every time the ringing guitar riff pops up on classic radio? Then there are the lyrics, and just as important, Petty’s phrasing: “And if she had to die/Trying she/Had one little promise she was gonna keep … ”

“American Girl” is so eerie, it was used to create atmosphere in “Silence of the Lambs,” and so fresh that it’s hard to believe the song came out in 1977. Yet this summer, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers celebrate their 30th anniversary by launching what is rumored to be the band’s last major tour. And in July, Petty releases “Highway Companion,” his third solo LP (and 18th overall). How scary is that?

Runnin’ down a dream
Throughout his long, successful career, Petty has been compared musically to the likes of the Byrds, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. But as “American Girl,” and the rest of his huge catalog reveal, this Florida boy hails from the same story-telling tradition as fellow Southerners Flannery O’Conner, Carson McCullers and Truman Capote. Like the best of their work, Petty’s songs create sparse, sharp images, with something desperate underneath.

“American Girl” is the only Petty hit that comes with a fan-generated urban legend (that I know about). But it’s one of many practically-perfect songs about Regular Joes and Josephines yearning to break free. If not from life, then the particular lives they happen to be living. Take just a few of the titles: “Breakdown,” “I Need to Know,” “Refugee,” “The Waiting,” “Running Down a Dream,” “Runaway Trains,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”

The Heartbreakers sound is a deceptively simple roots rock hybrid. It echos garage rock, folk and pure pop while remaining wholly American and unique. (FYI: Petty shares his roots via his record collection on the XM Satellite Radio Show “Tom Petty’s Buried Treasures.”) Underneath the music, Petty’s Southern voice (both literal and literary) brings personas and characters to life. In “Spike,” he only needs one line to conjure a vivid scene of rednecks harassing some poor punk rock kid (“Hey, Spike/You’re scarin’ my wife”).

In Petty’s love songs, like the Carson McCullers story, the heart is always a lonely hunter. Take “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” a song he recorded with Stevie Nicks. (Word to your mother — Nicks is performing with Petty on the Heartbreakers tour.) Here is a man so wounded by his lover, all he can do is beg her to stop. It ain’t quite Dylan, but it works.

Pack up the plantation
Unlike less fortunate talented artists (Hey, Paul Westerberg!), Petty’s songwriting gets the recognition and Grammys it deserves. In 1996, Petty received both the Golden Note Award from ASCAP and UCLA’s George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. In 1999, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Petty even had a guest spot on the “Simpsons” playing himself as the song writing instructor at Homer’s rock star camp.

Achieving rock star status during MTV’s early days, Petty’s creativity transferred well to video. So much so that he received MTV’s Video Vanguard Award in 1994. Those old enough may cringe when remembering the Heartbreakers “You Got Lucky” video in which Petty and his crew travel a post-apocalyptic desert in some sort of Buckminster Fuller mobile ala “Mad Max.” It wasn’t a bad song. It wasn’t a bad video. But man, it seemed like MTV played it every five minutes. Better to remember the spooky “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” in which Petty, as the Mad Hatter, torments Alice in Wonderland before serving her as cake. Then there’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” in which Petty gussies up, then parties with a corpse (played by Kim Basinger). Now that’s good Southern Gothic!

Like the best storytellers, Petty easily translates his song’s stories on stage. He and the Heartbreakers still put on a great show. Over the years, the performance has transformed from youthful exuberance and boundless energy to the more theatrical. Though not widely thought of as one of the more politically vocal rock stars, Petty has used his concerts as an outlet for his views on the government. In a 1991 show, as the band played “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” three characters dressed as Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Bush (the father) chased Petty around the stage.

The first performances of the current tour lasted over two electric hours. A retrospective set list covers the best known Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers hits as well as Petty’s work with rock super group, the Traveling Wilburys, and songs from Petty’s upcoming “Highway Companion” LP. There are few surprises in the song choices — it is, after all, an anniversary tour. But as 30 years of touring show, Petty and the Heartbreakers concerts are never stale.

Ever the crowd-please, Petty is following tradition and closing shows with … what song? “American Girl,” of course. And for the two hours of music played to get there, the audience is always ready to explode when the final encore comes around. Like any great story, “American Girl” is one you can hear a million times, and still want to hear it a million more. The song may not have a ghost story behind it, but like Tom Petty, “American Girl” never seems to get old.

New York City-based writer Helen A.S. Popkin can’t help thinking there’s a little more to life, somewhere else.

June 22, 2006
Tom Petty: Still a Heartbreaker
BY IRA ROBBINS
Special to Newsday
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ended Tuesday's show at the beginning, with "American Girl," the enduring contribution to skinny tie new wave music from their 1976 debut album. Some rockers of such vintage might be self-conscious about the connotations of a three-decade career, but Petty - who, at 55, still has his blond locks and his svelte figure - was never an icon of youth or rebellion. His values skirt such elements in tuneful electric pop that, since "American Girl" at least, have rarely been tied to a big idea or a particular era.

Free of such encumbrance, his achievement and endurance are markers of a well-built machine, not a fading legacy. The few new songs in a carefully constructed two-hour set were ladled gently into a parade of hits, some of them featuring old duet partner Stevie Nicks, who thoughtfully brought along enough gear for two costume changes.

Petty has never been the most forceful front man, but his top-notch band, led by guitarist Mike Campbell, buoys the laconic rocker to effortless agreeability. At only a couple of points, including a note-for-note reproduction of the Yardbirds' 1965 take on "I'm a Man" and the three songs leading up to the encore - "Don't Come Around Here No More," "Refugee" and "Runnin' Down a Dream" - were any fires set onstage. Campbell, sporting dreadlocks and facial hair, looked positively delighted to get excited; otherwise, Petty set the energy level on moderate, rendering sturdy tunes relieved of such traditional rock elements as sex, sweat and rebellion.

In their own way, Petty's songs reveal a deeply felt American sensibility. Without making any overt statements, he endorses freedom, perseverance, courage and recreational sedation. Starting with "Listen to Her Heart" and "You Don't Know How It Feels" (the drug references in both, as well as in the subsequent "Mary Jane's Last Dance," might explain a surprising amount of unimpeded pot-smoking in the audience), Petty and the five Heartbreakers made it look and sound easy, with measured rhythms, gentle singing and a solid beat provided by Steve Ferrone.

With the homogenization of rock into safe, predictable entertainment, Petty is nothing if not a reliable crowd-pleaser, and he delivered it all: hits, covers, new tunes, genial remarks, the works. If the shapeless boogie of "Saving Grace" and the acoustic plainness of "Square One" offered a discouraging preview of his impending "Highway Companion" album, a pair of borrowed tunes ("I'm a Man" and the pre-Nicks Fleetwood Mac guitar rave-up "Oh Well") brought the past convincingly to life. Nicks joined in on their 1981 hit "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" as well as "I Need to Know" and "American Girl"; Petty's thoroughgoing retrospective even had room for the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care," during which Heartbreaker Scott Thurston gamely attempted the late Roy Orbison's part.

Trey Anastasio, the guitarist-singer late of Phish, opened the evening with an extremely long hour of cotton-wrapped rhythms, shapeless songs and aimless jams that was greeted by some of the most arrhythmic crowd dancing this side of "Barney and Friends."

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS. Thirty years of hits and no fouls. Seen at Madison Square Garden Tuesday.

Breaking news for you and your faithful listeners. I just two minutes ago got a phone call from some of my pals who are at the Mansfield MA show tonight and they played me - over the phone - FOOLED AGAIN (i dont like it)

Nice to see a setlist change.

Madison Square Garden Review
By PHIL GALLO - Variety
Tom Petty played three songs from his upcoming album as he and the Heartbreakers played Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

For 30 years, Tom Petty has avoided the tug of nostalgia in assembling his shows: Nearly each of his tours with the Heartbreakers has been accompanied by a new release whose material is firmly integrated among the hits and oddities. This summer, Petty's on a two-fold mission -- celebrating the three decades since their debut recording and working in new tracks from his solo disc "Highway Companion," which American Recordings will release July 25. Three new songs made it into Tuesday's set and they are wildly different from each other; they share, however, a desire for musical intimacy that's a tough sell in a basketball arena.

Petty devoted two-thirds of his 21-song show to hit singles, opening with "Listen to Her Heart" and closing with "American Girl," but he is reaching for a level of connection with fans that seems to only interest artists once they pass the age of 45 (he's 55).

His attempt at intimacy -- an acoustic segment, favoring songs that play at a lope rather than a gallop, showcasing more introverted material -- falls short in places yet never because of a fault in the execution. (Abundant guitar changes stunted the pacing.) Petty has never been one for spontaneity or shtick and his lack of salesman skills hurt him as the audience drifted from rapt on "I Need to Know," with guest Stevie Nicks leading the vocals, to disinterest three slow songs later when Nicks and Petty were delivering a beautiful and graceful duet on "Insider" that reminded of Gram Parson and Emmylou Harris.

Remarkably, the band recovered with "Don't Come Around Here No More," an equally tepidly paced ballad, but one that plays off striking dynamics between the instrumentalists and one that kicks into high gear toward its conclusion. Energy in the sold-out arena was viscerally changed, but it mostly didn't matter: Only "Refugee""Refugee" and "Running Down a Dream" were left before the encores started.

The segment that damaged the pacing included two new songs, "Melinda" and "Square One," that felt out of context in a triple-decker musical sandwich that included a Nicks-mumbled "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and a gently rendered "Learning to Fly."

"Melinda" opens at the steady pace of a train as Petty sings about a woman who's far away yet worthy of him spending all his savings to travel to see her. It draws its musical substantiveness, though, when it suddenly shifts into an angular Steely Dan-ish mode and Benmont Tench is given space to explore a series of block chord solos on the piano and a few washes on the synthesizer.

"Square One" is more pop-oriented and cuddly, a number that sounds like it should have been offered to the Dixie Chicks. It has AC radio written all over it and if its chorus of the protagonist's tabula rosa approach to romance clicks with listeners it might have a future at radio.

The other rookie, the boogie-pop "Saving Grace," served as the anthem for the NBA Finals last week -- an odd choice lyrically, musically and demographically -- but it drives home the point that heroes of the '70s and '80s have no choice but to go the sponsorship route to get their new music heard outside the concert venues. Like Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and Neil YoungNeil Young -- artists who filled their coffers with proceeds from anthems and then had something deeper to say after the auds stopped their fist pumping -- Petty appears determined to look forward while delivering a satisfying overview of his recording career.

Bonus points are culled from his continuing to introduce spirited covers that influenced him as a kid. The Yardbirds' version of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" fit the Heartbreakers' skill set perfectly; Peter Green's "Oh Well" isn't quite right for Petty's nasally tone, but the band marvelously nailed the riffs of the early Fleetwood Mac hit; and "Mystic Eyes," Van Morrison's terrifying shot at blending voodoo and psychedelia during his tenure with Them, was one of the evening's highlights. The Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care" featured rhythm guitarist-harmonica player Scott Thurston admirably singing Roy Orbison's parts.

The Heartbreakers are still driven by the wide-ranging guitar talent of Mike Campbell and Tench's ace keyboard work. They shake up the best-known songs with little touches and late in the evening get to disembowel "You Wreck Me," modulating the melody from driving rock to a measured clip to an almost ambient soundscape. At the tune's slowest moments, Campbell produced a solo that drew from Jerry Garcia's more-inspired work, a nice touch on a night that found Campbell generally working with a meatier tone and flashier solos.

Petty & the Heartbreakers have been an arena act for nearly 90% of their existence and as a leader Petty walks a rare line between commercial and critical viability. Tune after tune Tuesday, it was reminder how much Petty is a crucial and almost inexplicable bridge between the artistic and populist: He's the step between Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick, Bo Diddley and the Cars, Tim Buckley and Dashboard Confessional.

His 27-date tour, which doesn't have an L.A. show yet, partners him with the Allman Brothers Band or Pearl Jam on varying bills. And while those two acts have more adventurous experiments in their past, it will be interesting to see whose sound stands up to time better. Don't bet against Petty.

Petty & the Heartbreakers return to New York to toplinetopline Amsterjam on Randall's Island on Aug. 19.

Before I launch into this review, lets get one thing out of the way - I'm not familiar with Tom Petty. That's right, I own one of his albums (the soundtrack from She's The One) and have heard some of his other material, but I've never actually went out and bought one of his many albums. So when I listen to "Saving Grace" his latest single from his forthcoming album Highway Companion I do so without knowledge his earlier (perhaps better? perhaps worse?) music. That said, this song is great rocker no matter what.

From the minute it opens up it sounds both old yet contemporary. A rockabilly song with enough modern flair to keep it energized. Tom Petty's vocal are a perfect fit with the song style, just rough enough to work with the scratchy guitar riffs. The song has a good foot tapping beat and is a high energy, pumping rocker through and through. The song-writing is fine and isn't overly repetitive with it's chorus lines and isn't at all cheesy. That's brings me to the issue of song length, something that can really ruin a song for me. Luckily, "Saving Grace" is short and compact, just the right length for a piano and scratchy guitar riff song.

For me, this song works very well. It even may push me to do what friends insistence and recommendations have never (for some reason) been able to do - make me go out and buy some Tom Petty albums.

"Saving Grace" is the first single from the album Highway Companion by Tom Petty, due out July 25th.

Cameron Graham is a young but enthusiastic critic who is passionate about movies, books, and (some) music. He is a published author and enjoys writing.

Rock on Cameron!

"Having Tom on American is a dream come true for me," commented Rubin, "Tom is the consummate craftsman when it comes to recording, and has written great songs consistently for thirty years." Rubin is excited to be expanding upon the working relationship he has with Petty and the Heartbreakers, who, in various combinations, have worked with the producer on numerous projects. "Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers is the quintessential American rock band," Rubin added, "and being a great rock and roll band has become a lost art."

"We are delighted that Tom has chosen to continue his relationship with Warner Bros. Records and that he will be working with Rick," says WBR Chairman & CEO Tom Whalley. "They are both incredibly talented and have created some of the greatest music of our time."

The first release under the new agreement will be "Highway Companion," Petty's third solo and 18th overall career disc. Due out on July 25 and featuring twelve new Petty compositions, "Highway Companion" was produced by Jeff Lynne with Petty and Mike Campbell; Lynne also produced the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Petty albums "Full Moon Fever" (1989) and "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991) (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers).

The first radio track is "Saving Grace," which was world-premiered in front of 20-million people on ABC-TV's Dallas vs. Miami NBA Finals last Thursday, June 8. A special video stream of "Saving Grace" is now available at tompetty.com.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are currently on their 2006 U.S. Summer/Fall concert tour, which includes headlining the Bonnaroo Festival on June 16 and Madison Square Garden in New York on June 20th. Both events are sold out. For complete tour dates, visit tompetty.com.

This year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Campbell, Benmont Tench/keyboards, Ron Blair/bass, Scott Thurston/guitars, harmonica, backing vocals, and Steve Ferrone/drums - will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album. For this 30th anniversary, Academy Award-winning director/screenwriter Peter Bogdanovich has signed on to direct a comprehensive feature/film documentary about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Over the past 30 years, Petty & the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50-million records, been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, the first year the band was eligible. Late last year, Billboard magazine presented Petty with its 2005 Century Award, the publication's highest honor for creative achievement. He recently kicked off his second season of his critically acclaimed XM Satellite Radio show, "Tom Petty's Buried Treasure."

"Highway Companion" Credits:
Produced by Jeff Lynne with Tom Petty and Mike Campbell
Recorded at Bungalow Palace and Shoreline Recorders, Los Angeles, CA
Recorded and Mixed by Ryan Ulyate

Musicians:
Tom Petty - Lead Vocal, Rhythm Guitar, Drums, Backing Vocals, Harmonica, Electric Piano on "Night Driver," Bass on "Square One," Lead Guitar and Keyboards on "Jack"

Mike Campbell - Lead Guitar, Vibraphone on "The Golden Rose"

Jeff Lynne - Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Autoharp on "Ankle Deep"

"Highway Companion" Track Listing:
Saving Grace
Square One
Flirting With Time
Down South
Jack
Turn This Car Around
Big Weekend
Night Driver
Damaged By Love
This Old Town
Ankle Deep
The Golden Rose

We all have gifts. Some are blessed with athletic prowess, some with the patience to teach children, some with the capacity to endure office work. Tom Petty is blessed with a voice like no other, and a person who has spent even the slightest time near FM radio since 1976 -- the year Petty and the Heartbreakers released their self-titled debut -- can recognize that tobacco smoke-bred, nasal delivery coming at them through the man's ample, seemingly clenched teeth.

It sounded rare then and -- in 2006, when can hear so many new voices 24 hours a day on the Internet, satellite radio and beyond -- it sounds even rarer.

Rock 'n' roll fans should be thankful the Gainesville, Fla., native is still gracious enough to share that instrument with us.

Petty and the Heartbreakers, on what they're hinting will be the final big-venue hits parade, performed last night in a packed Germain Amphitheater.

Petty, with drummer Steve Ferrone, guitarist-harmonica player Scott Thurston, bassist Ron Blair and the two who have been with Petty since 1975 -- guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench -- gave a performance suitable for a joint that holds 20,000.

There of course were hits and the set was packed with the familiar from four decades, including Listen to Her Heart, from '78, with its conspicuous Byrds jingle-jangle; You Don't Know How It Feels ('94); I Won't Back Down ('89) and a duo of new tunes.

Those new songs, to be included on Petty's first studio album in four years, Highway Companion, included Saving Grace. Carried by a John Lee Hooker/Billy Gibbons-like guitar line, was sinister, bottom-heavy rockabilly. Square One, with Petty on acoustic guitar, touched on absolving one's self of mistakes and guilt, was something anyone with age marks around the eyes ought to be able to understand.

There were surprises, including I'm a Man and Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well.

And there was a guest: Stevie Nicks, whose husky, dusky pipes make a perfect companion for Petty's twang.

Nicks' performance and presence really upped the energy of the show. Twirling in her trademark frilly, friendly-witch garb, she belted out Stop Draggin' My Heart Around ('81) and burned the barn down with Petty and the Heartbreakers on I Need to Know ('78).

"We're just havin' some fun is all," said Petty. "Just having some fun."

And it was. But what truly is exciting is the future. Hits-stoked, two-hour amphitheater shows are fun, familiar and a good way to persuade people to pay upwards of $80 a head to see them. If Petty is serious about shelving the idea for a while, or for good, so be it. The guy's discography is deep and lined with so many good rock songs. Watching him play those in new ways in new venues and using that distinct voice that is going to get only more distinct will make for some real news to share.

A man with a not so distinct voice played first last night -- former Phish guitarist-singer-songwriter Trey Anastasio. His previous band played three-hour noodlefests and were known for covering an entire album by, say, the Beatles.

Solo, Anastasio played it more straight-ahead, going for '70s soul-rock vibe as he played not-so-distinct solos and singing in a voice that if it were a color would be beige.

Don’t miss out! Click here to go to the AT&T blue room and enjoy hours of free, uninterrupted, live streaming coverage from Bonnaroo Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 16th-18th starting at 1:30 PM edt/10:30 AM pdt.

The webcast will feature live performances from many artists! So check it out!

Click here to watch show!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers brought their Highway Companion Tour to the nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center on Monday in celebration of the band's 30th anniversary.

Midway through the nearly two-hour set, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks joined the band on stage. She wasn't the only musical star at the venue, though. The members of Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus, who performed the night before at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater, were seated in the audience.

"I had the day off from our tour," said Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. "From a songwriting point of view, Tom Petty has been a big influence on my career."

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -- Mike Campbell (guitars), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Ron Blair (bass), Scott Thurston (guitars) and Steve Ferrone (drums) -- gave a well-balanced performance of their signature hits, familiar covers and a sampling of new material from the upcoming album "Highway Companion," due to be released next month.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees opened with "Listen to Her Heart," with Petty strumming his tear-shaped guitar. An overhead curved video panel provided colorful images of the band members throughout the night.

Petty then switched to his trademark Rickenbacher six-string for "You Don't Know How It Feels."

Petty was keen on supplying the hits, such as "Refuge," "I Won't Back Down," "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Free Fallin'." He also shared some of the songs that influence his songwriting, including The Yardbirds' "I'm a Man" and "Oh Well," a Fleetwood Mac tune that pre-dates Stevie Nicks' membership in that group. They also played "Handle With Care," a song Petty co-wrote with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison and Roy Orbison as a member of Traveling Wilburys,

Petty's new material, while nice to hear, doesn't hold a candle to the songs from his last studio album, "Last DJ." "Square One" smacked of Bob Seger's "Against the Wind," and "Saving Grace" grooved like ZZ Top's "La Grange," specifically the lifted John Lee Hooker guitar riff.

Stevie Nicks received a thunderous round of applause when Petty introduced her as she strode across the stage to join the band for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," the 1981 duet Petty wrote for her solo debut. The version was done exceptionally well. It was followed by "I Need to Know," with Nicks singing the lead part. Afterward she exited the stage briefly and rejoined the band as a guest backup singer for the remainder of the concert.

Toss in "Learning to Fly" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and the sold-out crowd certainly got its money's worth.

On a cool, misty night more indicative of a late spring concert in Portsmouth, England, than Portsmouth, Va., Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gave a magical performance that will go down as one of this year's best.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary tour kicked off Friday night in Charlotte at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and included an unannounced performance by Stevie Nicks.

Petty and his band came onstage after an opening set by former Phish front-man Trey Anastasio. Flanked by a teardrop shaped Vox guitar and wearing a blank velvet blazer, red shirt and tie, Petty launched into 1978's "Listen to Her Heart." He followed that up with a string of crowd pleasers -- "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Won't Back Down" and "Free Fallin'," which had the audience loudly singing along.

Petty voiced his gratitude after "Saving Grace," a new song from the forthcoming album "Highway Companion" that he said they'd never played live before.

"I'm always scared to play a new song," he said afterward. The John Lee Hooker-style tune received a great response from the crowd that remained standing.

You didn't have to own any of Petty's albums to truly enjoy the show because it was so rich in radio hits. Of course Petty is one of the rare older artists who found support from MTV and VH1. He could still get a video in regular rotation on MTV 20 years into his career. That may explain the younger college and high school-aged fans in the crowd who blew up when sideman, guitarist, and backing vocalist Scott Thurston cranked into the familiar harmonica intro of "Mary Jane's Last Dance," a 1993 hit.

Anyone whose interest waned during tributes to influences such as early Fleetwood Mac rose to attention when Stevie Nicks took the stage for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know." Flubbing the lyrics on the first chorus to "Stop Draggin'," Nicks said singing with Petty made her a touch nervous.

She reappeared toward the end of the set for "Insider" from Petty's early 1980s "Hard Promises" album and she stuck around to sing backup with the Heartbreakers on "Learning to Fly", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Refugee."

With only a no frills, piano key-looking lighting rig and a few screens draping the stage, the performance of Petty and his Heartbreakers -- drummer Steve Ferrone, guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboard player Benmont Tench, bassist Ron Blair and Thurston -- was low on theatrics, but big on songs from a deep catalog that his audience was eager to hear.

MANASSAS -- To celebrate 30 years in rock'n'roll, Tom Petty and his ever-reliable Heartbreakers are giving fans the type of hit parade few of his contemporaries can muster.

On the second date of the Highway Companion Tour, the effortlessly cool singer/guitarist ripped through a catalog that touched on his tenure in the Traveling Wilburys and his solo work, plus a cover of vintage Fleetwood Mac ("Oh Well") and a vision of later Mac with the appearance of longtime comrade Stevie Nicks.

At 55, Petty looks and sounds terrific. His sharp features framed by his trademark floppy blond hair, Petty spent much of the robust two-hour concert slithering across the stage with graceful spins and frequently blowing kisses to the crowd of more than 20,000.

He's also a sincere, casual host, who, when he drawled "I love y'all out there" in his measured twang, seemed to actually mean it.

Those sturdy Heartbreakers, led by guitarist Mike Campbell, unrecognizable in dreadlocks, buoyed "Free Fallin'" with clean guitar lines, while a woozy harmonica from Scott Thurston coated "Mary Jane's Last Dance" in a lackadaisical haze. Petty's distinctive nasal tones were also in perfect pitch, from "You Don't Know How It Feels," a reluctant sigh of a song that chugged appealingly, to the quiet rebellion of "I Won't Back Down."

With his first album in four years due next month (also called "Highway Companion"), Petty used his platform to debut "Saving Grace," a pumping rocker identified by a scratchy rockabilly riff and piano, a bit of a fresh old sound.

Midway through the concert, the band pulled out a glorious take on the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care," with Thurston ably carrying Roy Orbison's rumbling part. That was the first bonus for the fervent audience much of it a couple of decades younger than the expected baby boomers, and one that rarely sat down.

Introduced as Petty's soul sister, the lovely Nicks, in layers of chiffon, twirled out for a passionate rendition of their 1981 duet, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," easily one of rock's coolest musical pairings and an undeniable highlight on Saturday.

Nicks, who appeared to have as much fun as Petty onstage, offered a fierce "I Need to Know," playing air guitar and banging a tambourine festooned with ribbons, Stevie-style. The duo also offered the less-known "Insider" as the sliding video screens split into two frames, giving an intimate view of the two singers watching each other with deep, unspoken meaning.

Nicks stuck around to blend in with the Heartbreakers and sing backup on a stripped acoustic version of "Learning to Fly" and the richly melodic "Don't Come Around Here No More," its frenzied coda awash in strobe lights.

With other Petty staples such as "Refugee" and the show-closing "American Girl" included, die-hard fans are sure to grouse about the mainstream obviousness of the set list. It's a silly quibble, because a tour billed as an anniversary should be represented by past glories. If you've got it, flaunt it -- and Petty has enough of it to last another 30 years.

Petty and his band came onstage after an opening set by former Phish front-man Trey Anastasio. Flanked by a teardrop shaped Vox guitar and wearing a blank velvet blazer, red shirt and tie, Petty launched into 1978's "Listen to Her Heart." He followed that up with a string of crowd pleasers -- "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Won't Back Down" and "Free Fallin'," which had the audience loudly singing along.

Petty voiced his gratitude after "Saving Grace," a new song from the forthcoming album "Highway Companion" that he said they'd never played live before.

"I'm always scared to play a new song," he said afterward. The John Lee Hooker-style tune received a great response from the crowd that remained standing.

You didn't have to own any of Petty's albums to truly enjoy the show because it was so rich in radio hits.

The writer said he's ready “to be the first to declare Highway a classic in the rank's of Petty's Full Moon Fever and Wildflowers.”

Thanks Tony for the heads up!

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
The Associated Press

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers are marking 30 years of touring this summer on a special trip that will have guests like Stevie Nicks and Pearl Jam, a batch of old Heartbreakers songs going back to the first album and a filmmaker.

“It’s not the most creative place as far as writing,” he said of the road. “And I think if you do take some time away, you come back with a much better band and a lot more enthusiasm for it.

“But I don’t get tired. We’re in such a nice position right now, things have gone so well. I have people approach me on the streets and say, ‘Thanks for writing the soundtrack to my life.’ I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel as a songwriter.”

The filmmaker is Peter Bogdanovich, who is doing a documentary on the band. He’s taping this tour as well as looking at past footage that he’ll piece together for a movie.

“We’ve given him a lot more access than we’ve ever given anyone,” Petty said. “He does follow us around with cameras, interviewing us, talking to lots of people. He’s spent a great deal of time going through footage of the last 30 years. So we have high hopes for the movie.”

“I don’t want it from my point of view ... sometimes we’re miked all day and it’s a little nerve-racking, but I’m really glad that somebody of that caliber wants to get this story down, because it is quite a story, and I think it deserves to be archived.”

Petty is also doing some sidework as a DJ for XM Satellite radio, where he plays vintage rock.

“The nice thing that I didn’t really count about it is so many young people write in and tell us that they had no knowledge of this music at all, and are getting turned on to things. I had a girl write in who never heard of Chuck Berry. And she was in her teens and was thanking me for discovering Chuck.”

He said they have a TENTATIVE release date now of July 25th for Highway Companion.

Off air he told me he would get me a Sell Sheet as soon as he gets one.

See, even the RECORD LABEL knows Gone Gator Radio is cool!

Petty Considers Lawsuit
TOM PETTY is reportedly considering suing RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS over allegations they plagiarised one of his songs.

The band have been accused of lifting key aspects of their latest single DANI CALIFORNIA from Petty's MARY JANE'S LAST DANCE, most publicly by US DJ DAN GAFFNEY who said, "The chord progression, the melody, the tempo, the key, the lyrical theme. they're identical." Sources tell the New York Post Petty is in discussions with his lawyers about mounting a legal challenge.

The singer's representative HEIDI ROBINSON refused to be drawn on a potential lawsuit, but told the newspaper, "I am well aware of this situation. (The two songs) certainly do sound similar, don't they? I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

"Tom doesn't have a comment on this at all. I have no idea if he is going to sue the Chili Peppers, and am not prepared to make a comment on that." Producer RICK RUBIN recorded both Mary Jane's Last Dance with Petty, and Dani California with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.