Petty still delivers music with meaning

By TONY SAAVEDRA
The Orange County Register

Oh, my, my.

Oh, hell yes.

The music still means something.

It caresses and shoves and inspires and infuriates.

Tom Petty and Jackson Browne, the Southern rocker and the California troubadour. The two hearken to a different time in American music, when songs explored the world's soul, sometimes exposing social wrongs, sometimes simply exposing the human heart.

And rock 'n' roll was the backdrop. The sugar that made you take the medicine.

The songs were meant to make you move: to the dance floor, to the ballot box, to the side of a loved one.

Before electronica and rap and heavy-handed metal with expletives substituting for insight, there was a time when the music meant something.

Petty and Browne took the audience back to that time Saturday at the Blockbuster Pavilion in Devore.

Both are storytellers, weaving yarns about cruising with Del on the radio, running up 101, searching out dreams and never quite arriving.

Petty and the Heartbreakers never let up in a two-hour, 19-song set that interspersed the hits with rock standards and cuts off the new album, "The Last DJ," due in October.

Skeletal and clean-shaven, with long blond hair, Petty belied his 50 years, looking more like an off-kilter ingenue than an elder statesman of rock. He prowled the stage, feral and feline, armed with a procession of Telecasters, Stratocasters, Gibson SG's and the trademark Rickenbacker.

He thanked the audience often and castigated the sell-outs, the musicians whose songs are used to hawk everything from cars to light beer to bank loans. He pointed to the corporate boxes lining the back of the orchestra section.

"Being a rock 'n' roll band in the year 2002, it's really hard to avoid the corporate boxes," Petty said. "But I'm really proud to tell you, this tour has no corporate (sponsors) ... . We're brought to you, by you."

Ace guitarist Mike Campbell provided the petrol for Petty's scorching set, blistering through "Runnin' Down A Dream," "I Need To Know," "Refugee" and "American Girl." Original bassist Ron Blair, returning to the band after a 20-year absence, also energized the show with solid background vocals and pounding bass lines.

Petty's lyrics still hold up, from the defiant warning "You can stand me up at the gates of hell, but I won't back down," to the even more defiant exhortation "Baby, even the losers get lucky sometime."

The three cuts he played off the "The Last DJ" album brought huge applause from an audience hearing them mostly for the first time.

And Petty offered "Lost Children" as a prayer in the aftermath of this summer's child abductions, here and elsewhere. He began the song by saying, "I hope there's a time again when a child can go out his front door and be safe in America."

Opening before a half-filled arena, Browne leaned mostly on his electric songs, from "Runnin' On Empty" to "For A Rocker." But his is a more sensitive, softer place in rock. More poet than ax man.

"Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the pretender. Who started out so young and strong, only to surrender," Browne sang, in his new role as opening act after decades as a headliner.

But the music still means something. And in the end, that's all that matters.

Tom Petty Tackles Corporate Rock At Southern California Show

By Lyndsey Parker, Los Angeles

When Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers made a tour stop in San Bernardino, California, on Saturday (August 24), they may have played corporate monolith the Blockbuster Pavilion, but Petty's onstage banter made it clear that he personally disdains corporate sponsorship.

"I noticed there are a lot of corporate boxes here tonight," Petty quipped between songs in his dry Southern drawl. "You know, up in those corporate boxes, there's always some old guy with a really young girl!" He then added, "It's hard to be in a rock 'n' roll band in 2002 and avoid things like corporate boxes. But you'll notice there are no corporate sponsors on this tour. First [companies] call you up and want to sponsor your tour--next thing, they want to put one of your songs in a commercial for a bank! But this tour is brought to you by you." His comments were met with thunderous applause.

Petty seemed to have other issues on his mind during the concert. When previewing "Lost Children"--one of three new tracks from his upcoming 12th studio album, The Last DJ--he introduced the song as "a prayer for the world," revealing that lately he's been "wondering if the world is all right" and if it will "ever to be safe again for a child to go out his front door." And when performing a solo acoustic version of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," he belted out the line "Mama, put my guns in the ground" with noticeable passion, eliciting another screaming ovation from the audience.

Petty played two other songs from The Last DJ, "Have Love Will Travel" and "Can't Stop The Sun." The new album features appearances by Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and original Heartbreakers bassist Ron Blair, who left the band in 1982 and is back with Petty for this current tour. The Heartbreakers are expected to embark on another tour leg after The Last DJ's October 8 release.

Crowd-pleasing Tom Petty pleasing himself, too

By G. Brown
Denver Post Popular Music Writer

You can sell millions of records, travel the globe and survive a quarter-century of rock stardom. But what's the point if you aren't having a good time?

That's the message delivered by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, who have proven themselves as true American rock music icons. Indeed, the band was a first-ballot inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last March. Their summer tour came to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Monday night, with a second sold-out concert scheduled tonight - two shows in three nights, not back-to-back.

Huh? Nobody makes any money by spreading out and playing fewer dates during the week, but decisions like that aren't about economics to the band. It only means the shows stay fresh.

So salute Petty and his cohorts, who dove merrily and ardently into their repertory of dependable crowd-pleasing hits on Monday, from the opening "Runnin' Down a Dream" to 1976's "American Girl," which closed out a three-song encore.

"I Won't Back Down," "Refugee," "Mary Jane's Last Dance," "Even the Losers," "Here Comes My Girl" and "Free Fallin' " evoked raucous reaction from the exuberant audience, and "It's Good to Be King," "Yer So Bad" and "You Wreck Me" kept any monotony from creeping into the 2 1/2 -hour set.

To start the ideal summer evening, Petty and the Heartbreakers dressed in dark suit jackets, and they were preposterously tight (the band, not the clothes). Guitarist Mike Campbell commanded much of the notice, furnishing the distinctive licks that held the songs together and making beautiful noise with fellow guitarists Petty and Scott Thurston. Ron Blair, the original bass player with the band, has returned to the lineup after a 20-year hiatus. (The band had cut ties with troubled bassist Howie Epstein).

What keeps Petty engaged these days is pitching unaccustomed material at his fans, be it covers of blues staples, country standards and rockabilly nuggets or new originals. Keyboardist Benmont Tench steered "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (a hit for R&B singer Tommy Tucker in 1964) with a furious solo. There were snippets of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."

Petty and the guys also trotted out several songs from their upcoming album, their first in nearly three years, "The Last DJ."

"I don't know when it's gonna come out, but one day you'll look and it'll be there," Petty drawled. For the more detail-oriented, it's slated for release on Oct. 8.

The jangly, midtempo "Have Love, Will Travel" had a catchy chorus, and Petty introduced the pounding guitars of "Lost Children" as "a prayer for things to be all right ... the world's gone crazy."

Jackson Browne has joined Petty and the Heartbreakers as a special guest on their summer tour, and the veteran singer got things rolling with a 75-minute set that focused on his most recognizable material. Such sturdy hits as "Boulevard," "Doctor My Eyes," "The Pretender" and "Running On Empty" were performed by the same players he has been on the road with for the past several years.

Looking California-cool, Browne also offered "The Night Inside Me," which is already receiving airplay on KBCO. It's the lead single from "The Naked Ride Home," due Sept. 25, a welcome sign for fans who haven't heard an album of new material since 1996's "Looking East." It's driven by the classic Browne themes of socio-political injustice ("Casino Nation"), healing relationships ("Don't You Want to Be There") and randy behavior (the title track).

"If you're in a band, there's a lot of jams and sound checks that you can record and work with," Browne explained over a pre-show meal.

"Here's how I came to look at it. The band is the artist, and I'm the producer. So many of the songs are collaborations, done over a long time frame; they didn't have words, they were in a different form. The band couldn't play anything by rote, they simply played together. I recorded them, then I went in and grabbed the best of all these moments to complete the writing process."

Last DJ Press Release

By Cathy Buffington

TOM PETTY and the HEARTBREAKERS will release their new album THE LAST DJ October 8 on Warner Brothers. (but you already knew that because I had the date HERE first a couple months ago!)

Recorded in Los Angeles, the album was produced by George Drakoulias, TOM PETTY and MIKE CAMPBELL. PETTY (Guitars, Bass, Piano, Ukulele, Vocals), CAMPBELL (Guitars, Bass) and BENMONT TENCH (Keyboards) are joined by longtime associates SCOTT THURSTON (Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Ukulele) and STEVE FERRONE (Drums). Playing bass on two tracks is RON BLAIR, the Heartbreakers’ original bass player who left the band after the HARD PROMISES album. He is also playing bass with the Heartbreakers on the current tour. THE LAST DJ features special guests Lindsey Buckingham, who lends background vocals on “The Man Who Loves Women,” and Jon Brion, who conducts the orchestra as well as arranges orchestrations with Petty on “Money Becomes King,” “Dreamville” and “Like A Diamond.”

The complete track listing for THE LAST DJ is as follows:
The Last DJ
Money Becomes King
Dreamville
Joe
When A Kid Goes Bad
Like A Diamond
Lost Children
Blue Sunday
You and Me
The Man Who Loves Women
Have Love Will Travel
Can’t Stop The Sun

See tompetty.com for more!

Petty's songs -- and devotees -- span generations at concert

By TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star

"This is an old song," said Jackson Browne, before he and his band performed one of his best, "Fountain of Sorrow."

Age before beauty was kind of the point of this evening, which proved a few things about endurance. For the second straight year, Browne, 54, opened for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers; and for the third straight year, Petty, 49, nearly sold out the former Sandstone Amphitheatre -- a rare accomplishment these days.

Browne, who sings like he's still in his 20s, is out promoting an album due next month. He and his sharp six-piece band performed a couple of songs from that album, both of which were received lukewarmly.

The "older" material, though, like "Fountain" and "Rock Me on the Water" and especially "Doctor My Eyes" and "The Pretender," generated convulsions of applause and some hearty sing-alongs from a big crowd that seated itself early to hear the opening act -- another rarity these days.

After a 30-minute intermission, Petty and his band took the stage. Shorn of all facial hair and a bassist (Howie Epstein) who proved to be more trouble than he was worth, Petty seemed much more at-ease and at-home than he did during last year's show. He, too, warned the crowd that some of his material was a bit dated.

"Some of you were probably conceived to this song," he said, before they ripped into "Here Comes My Girl," his version of a love ballad. His earliest material comprised a small part of his 20-song, two-hour set -- '70s classics such as "I Need to Know" and "Even the Losers."

During other familiar tunes such as "I Won't Back Down" and "You Don't Know How It Feels," the crowd joined in, full blast, on the chorus so loud that it fully drowned out Petty and the band.

The show suffered a lull or two, but for the most part Petty and his band, now featuring founding member Ron Blair (who replaced Epstein), proved that when they are in-sync and in front of a big, fawning crowd, they are one of the best American rock bands ever.

The weak moments were occasional: During the three new songs, much of the crowd took a seat (or left to run an errand), and tedium set in noticeably during the extended jam that bogged down "It's Good to Be King" (in which the Heartbreakers unfortunately mimicked the late-'70s Eagles instead of the heyday Byrds).

"We don't take any of you for granted," Petty said, right before an acoustic (12-string) version of "Learning to Fly." As if he needed to prove it, he reminded his congregants: "You won't see our songs on a TV commercial for light beer, Pepsi-Cola or orange juice...We're brought to you by you!" -- a cute line that drew a huge ovation.

He proved that by hurling at his devotees some more classic rock songs never heard on a TV ad: "Refugee," which sparked another evangelical singalong, and "You Wreck Me."

For his first encore, Petty threw a haymaker: "Free Fallin', " which drew a raucous cheer before he hit the third chord on his guitar. He followed that with a cover of "Gloria" that went on a little too long, but redeemed himself -- and punctuated the entire evening emphatically -- with his signature tune, the classic "American Girl."

That "old" song may have orchestrated some conceptions, too; and, given the response it got from a big crowd that comprised people from the age of 12 to 55, it may orchestrate a few births more before Petty and his band leave this world.

Tom Petty

By Daniel Durchholz
Special To The Post-Dispatch

"It used to be when someone was in a rock 'n' roll band, you could trust 'em," said Tom Petty midway through his show at the UMB Bank Pavilion Saturday night.

He's right. Somewhere along the line, the covenant between bands and their fans has been broken. Petty, though, is still fighting the good fight for rock's core values, including individuality, artistic honesty and freedom from corporate tyranny and commercialism. "This tour has no corporate sponsor," Petty pointed out. "We're brought to you by you."

That stance would be admirable coming from anyone, but what makes it stick is that it comes from Petty, whose numerous hits speak for themselves and whose band, the Heartbreakers, is arguably the finest rock 'n' roll outfit in existence.

Over the course of 2 1/2 hours, Petty tore through an impressive selection of songs from nearly all phases of his career. He also debuted material from his forthcoming album, "The Last DJ." Among the new songs, "Can't Stop the Sun" came across as a gorgeous, Beatlesque confection, while "Have Love Will Travel" was a slice of countrified psychedelia and "Lost Children" a blistering rocker.

Petty also pulled out some choice covers to play, including "Wild Thing," "Gloria," "High Heel Sneakers" and even one by fellow Traveling Wilbury Bob Dylan, "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."

But it was hits the near-capacity crowd came to hear, and Petty & Co. supplied them by the handful. The highlights included a defiant version of "I Won't Back Down" and an intimate, acoustic take on "Leaning to Fly." "Mary Jane's Last Dance" found guitarist Mike Campbell tossing off one stunning lead after another, and "It's Good to Be King" stretched into a long jam with incendiary solos by both Campbell and Petty.

After a couple hours of righteous, no-nonsense rock 'n' roll, the audience's continued trust in Tom Petty seemed pretty much assured. And deservedly so.

It was great to see the return of singer and songwriter Jackson Browne, who opened the show. He's been missing from the concert stage for far too long and hasn't released an album of new material since 1996.

Sounding and looking very much like his younger self - heck, he still has the same haircut as he did in the '70s - Brown's hourlong set reached far back into his catalog for favorites, such as "Doctor My Eyes," "Fountain of Sorrow" and "The Pretender." It was particularly poignant to hear those world-weary tunes coming from the older and presumably wiser version of Browne, as opposed to the young upstart who wrote them a quarter-century ago. Though he stayed mostly in confessional mode, he also mixed in a fair number of rockers, including "Running on Empty," "Boulevard" and one new song, "The Night Inside Me."

Tom Petty's classics rock Riverbend

By Larry Nager
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers came to Riverbend Tuesday night and blew the dust off the stodgy term, “classic rock.”

Here was a 26-year-old rock band, part of the latest batch of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, sounding like a bunch of young punks, tearing into songs older than much of the crowd of 13,000. This was classic rock in the truest sense, not carefully packaged oldies, but great, guitar-driven songs, sung with passion and played with edgy virtuosity.

There was even more auld lang syne this time out, as original Heartbreaker Ron Blair, who'd left the band in 1981, was back on bass, replacing his replacement, Howie Epstein, fired in June due to ongoing heroin addiction.

The setlist spanned the band's career, opening with “Running Down a Dream” and “Won't Back Down” before going all the way back to 1978's “I Need to Know.” It was 20 minutes into what would be a two-hour-and-five-minute concert before Mr. Petty, clean-shaven and wielding a museum's worth of classic electric guitars, debuted his new, Dylanesque ballad, “Have Love Will Travel” (not the Sonics' garage-rocker). Unfortunately, his band is better than the new material. That song, along with two other new ones — “Lost Children” and “Can't Stop the Sun” — were too puny to stand up to the Heartbreakers' brawny arrangements.

The crowd, from teens to 50-somethings, was with him all the way, even on the new stuff, and he seemed genuinely moved by the response. Still, it was the songs they knew by heart that they came to hear. Mr. Petty gave them what they wanted, from the funky singalong, “Mary Jane's Last Dance” to the '70s rap, “Here Comes My Girl” (introduced as from a time when “men were men and women took Quaaludes.”) to gentle versions of “You Don't Know How it Feels” and “Learning to Fly.”

But mostly, Mr. Petty and his veteran band — Mr. Blair, guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench and longtime sidemen Steve Ferrone on drums and Scott Thurston on harmonies and various instruments — were in anthemic mode. “It's Good to Be King,” another lightweight Petty composition, based on a Mel Brooks line, was given full arena rock treatment, complete with Mr. Campbell's soaring solo on double-necked guitar.

When the material was equal to the big arrangements, as in such Petty epics as “You Wreck Me,” “Refugee” or the final encore, “American Girl,” then the Heartbreakers' instrumental muscle and Mr. Petty's rock 'n' roll heart made for truly classic rock.

Jackson Browne, looking and sounding like 1976, opened with a strong 55-minute set. Backed by a great band featuring LA session ace (and former leader of the Cretones) Mark Goldenberg on guitar, the quintessential '70s singer/songwriter thumbed through his SoCal folk-rock hits. He tossed in a few new ones from his upcoming Naked Ride Home, but wisely stuck to crowd faves like “Doctor My Eyes” and his anthem, “Running on Empty.”

Petty plays rock classics, sells out Oak Mountain

By MARY COLURSO
Birmingham News Staff Writer

Tom Petty's gonna hate this, but we have to say it anyway.

He's an exquisite example of a rocker aging gracefully.

Petty, 51, has been a standout on the American music scene for quite awhile 25 years to be exact. He leads a five-man band, the Heartbreakers, that had its first hits way back in 1976.

"Breakdown" and "American Girl" appealed to a generation of long-haired, bell-bottomed listeners, many of whom piled into the family SUV Saturday night and sold out Petty's show at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre.

As the mature crowd of 10,500 people can attest, Petty has managed to stick around with his integrity intact, producing lean, guitar-driven roots rock that's refreshingly devoid of bombast or frills.

At Oak Mountain, he offered a back-to-basics concert that proved just how splendid the basics can be. Petty's 9:35 p.m. set, after opener Jackson Browne, relied on the appeal of intelligently crafted songs, delivered with honesty, verve and an occasional injection of cynicism.

"Hey, baby," Petty drawled, greeting the audience. He followed that with extremely satisfying renditions of "Runnin' Down a Dream," "I Won't Back Down," "I Need to Know," "Here Comes My Girl," "Even the Losers," "It's Good to Be King," "The Waiting," "Yer So Bad," "Learning to Fly," "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and more.

Petty's distinctive voice, adenoidal and twangy-slushy, still sounds exactly the way we remember and cherish it. He still handles a guitar (many guitars, throughout the evening) with understated skill. He still fronts a band as if born to the job, without indulging in rock star cliches or stale guitar-god poses.

Let's not forget the contributions of the Heartbreakers, a tight, versatile group that features several guys who've been with Petty from the get-go.

Lead guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboard player Benmont Tench, for example, were part of Petty's first band, Mudcrutch, formed when they were teenagers.

It's easy to see why the independent, democratic-minded Petty would inspire loyalty from musicians and from fans, who delighted when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Petty introduced three new songs on Saturday: "Have Love Will Travel," "Lost Children" and "You Can't Stop the Sun." While they weren't greeted as enthusiastically as the beloved stuff, these tunes piqued the interest and made at least one listener eager to hear Petty's next album.

In fact, the rock-solid Oak Mountain concert provided an impetus to revisit Petty's entire catalog to buy his vintage works on CD, acquire an anthology or at least replace the needle on that old turntable.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rock Atlanta, again

By Tony Wilbert
Atlanta Journal Writer (written for gonegator.com)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers returned to Atlanta Friday with a 19-song set that included a trio of new songs.

The band ripped into the set and fired up the audience immediately with "Runnin' Down a Dream" from the 1989 "Full Moon Fever" album. A large screen behind the stage provided fast-moving images to add to the feel of speeding down a long road. Petty and the Heartbreakers kept up the pace with the rocking "I Need to Know."

When the band finished "Mary Jane's Last Dance," Petty stopped to ask the crowd at HiFi Buys if it was having fun, and he knew the answer. "I'm having fun up here myself," Petty said after the crowd responded with a loud cheer.

The two-hour and five-minute set was vintage Petty and the Heartbreakers. The older fans heard what they came for, including "Here Comes My Girl" and "Too Much Ain't Enough." The younger fans were treated to several songs from the band's 1993 "Greatest Hits" album. Everyone appeared happy that the band ended its encore with its anthem, "American Girl."

Petty, with longer hair and no beard this time, was as energetic as always. His voice sounded smooth, and he made sure to traverse the stage to pull in all parts of the audience.

The Heartbreakers were as tight as usual, proving why they are one of the premier rock 'n' roll bands in America. The show marked the return of Ron Blair, the Heartbreakers original bass player who left the band after "Hard Promises" was released in 1981. Blair picked up where he left off 20 years ago, although Howie Epstein's high harmony background vocals were missed.

Petty introduced the first of three songs from the upcoming album, "The Last DJ" about a quarter way into the set. The crowd gave its approval for "Have Love, Will Travel." "Can't Stop the Sun," was a complex tune some are comparing to late-era Beatles songs. Its explosive guitar riff was a highlight of the show. Mike Campbell's guitar solo on "It's Good To Be King," although familiar, also was a high point.

Before Petty played an acoustic version of "Learning to Fly," he said the concert had no sponsors other than the people in the audience. He derided the idea of a rock 'n' roller trying to sell his fans Levis or credit cards. The fans ate it up, cheering his anti-corporate stance.

The three-song encore included "Free Fallin'" and "Gloria." "Gloria," which Petty and the Heartbreakers started playing during its first stint at the Fillmore in San Francisco, has become a crowd-pleasing regular.

The band sent the audience, which included a lot of next-generation Petty fans, away satisfied and ready for more. Petty thanked the audience and said he hoped they could get together with the audience again real soon. That left fans hopeful that Petty and the Heartbreakers will return to Atlanta this fall or winter to promote the new album.

Petty delivers mix of old, new Heartbreakingly well

By David Thomas
Palm Beach Post Writer

The 1970s were alive and well Wednesday night as a nearly sold-out crowd welcomed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and opener Jackson Browne to MARS Music Amphitheatre.

Petty is one of Florida's greatest rock icons and his consistent career has spurred rock hit after rock hit for almost 30 years. In some ways, Wednesday night was a greatest hits show, but the concert also focused on long, often too long, jams and three songs from Petty's upcoming October release.

The singer's shoulder-length golden locks and reed-thin body made him appear younger than his 51 years. His signature croaky vocals that made songs like I Won't Back Down classics sounded as good as any recorded version and the Heartbreakers themselves were in fine form from the charismatic opening song, Runnin' Down a Dream.

I Won't Back Down and Mary Jane's Last Dance followed, alluding to a night of hit singles.

But the inclusion of three new songs from Petty's next album made the concert seem fresh. Each was sonically diverse in comparison to the straight-forward Americana-infused rock of the past, while not losing a distinct Petty vibe. Lost Children was the most aggressive of the three, featuring Petty playing a Gibson SG, the preferred guitar of punk bands like Bad Religion and hard rockers AC/DC.

After the song ended Petty went on a laid-back rant. "You'll never hear that song trying to sell you something on television," the icon said to wild applause. He then joked, "We'll never fall into the Gap either."

The sentiment seemed earnest and for the first time Petty strapped on an acoustic guitar for Learning To Fly and Yer So Bad, adding yet another dimension to the show.

Of course Petty wouldn't sound nearly as good without the famed Heartbreakers, especially guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. Campbell took almost every solo flawlessly along with some slide parts, while Tench played a baby grand piano for much of the night adding a full sound that can never be generated with electronic keyboards.

The expert musicianship led to some meandering jams in a number of hit songs that seemed better left alone like You Don't Know How It Feels. But on the nearly 10-minute version of It's Good To Be King, Campbell and Petty exchanged solos while the rest of the band flowed naturally around them.

All this hard-charging rock made show opener Jackson Browne and his band seem a bit wimpy in comparison despite the crowd's adoration. With the exception of Running On Empty, there was little excitement to warm up the crowd for the Heartbreakers.

No sign of backing down

By GINA VIVINETTO
St. Petersburg Pop Music Critic

Southern rock reigned Tuesday at the Ice Palace as Florida boy Tom Petty returned home with his Heartbreakers. In a flawless set, Petty, 51, who got his musical start in Gainesville where he grew up, and his band brought their brand of sly, rootsy rock to 12,787 fans. They churned out hit after hit, some dating back to the late 1970s but still sounding fresh.

Petty's ditties are songs of Americana. They're about girls in cars, boys with a yearning to take off into the great wide open, people who want to feel free. The band kicked off with an energetic Runnin' Down A Dream, Petty grinning beneath wisps of shaggy blonde hair. The stage was covered with a dozen oriental rugs, which seemed fitting; those rugs were like Petty's tunes, elegant in a way, but sturdy.

Petty and company quickly launched into I Won't Back Down, an audience singalong, then the 1978 gem I Need to Know. Petty's songs have timeless themes, spelled out in wry lyrics delivered in part Dylanesque sneer, part winsome nudge-and-wink. His songs endure and have recently secured the band a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Petty managed to squeeze two decades of hits into his set, as well as a tune or two from the band's upcoming fall album. One of those, the midtempo Have Love Will Travel, featured Petty's signature warbly vocals and charming guitar twang. It would be unremarkable were it not for its disarmingly sung, gentle chorus, the opposite of Petty's trademark guttural growls.

The classics Even the Losers and Here Comes My Girl sounded vibrant, with Petty's bohemian spoken-word delivery on the latter making that song's unabashedly romantic chorus that much more delicious. Petty's tender, acoustic renditions of Rebel and Learning To Fly went over well, as did the caustic rocker Refugee.

The Heartbreakers were in fine form with guitarist Mike Campbell offering his dicey playing, including the sublime, ribbony lead on It's Good To Be King. The song was a showstopper with Campbell almost in a spell, trading riffs with Petty. Longtime fans were happy to find original bassist Ron Blair back after splitting from the band 20 years ago. Petty's bandmates giggled as one fan threw her bra onstage to the singer, who grappled with it before tossing it back to drummer Steve Ferrone.

Opener Jackson Browne got the crowd grooving with the hits Boulevard and a bright Running On Empty. Browne, 53, backed by an energetic band, strummed guitar as he sang, and sat at a keyboard for the tender Fountain Of Sorrow and the punchy crowd pleaser Doctor My Eyes.

Petty Proves He Can Rock For Ages With Heartbreakers

By Curtis Ross
Tampa Tribune Pop Music Critic

There must be a Dorian Gray- like portrait buried deep in Tom Petty's house. In it, what's left of Petty's blond hair has turned white. His famous stick figure has grown flabby. And his rock 'n' roll heart has turned to stone.

There must be some sort of supernatural explanation. OK, maybe he has a few more lines on his face, but Tuesday night at the Ice Palace before a crowd of 12,787, Petty and his Heartbreakers defied age and rocked like the forever-young true believers they are.

``I Need to Know'' sounded as urgent as it did in 1978. Of course, back then, the band likely couldn't have slowed down enough to settle into the relaxed, creepy groove of ``Mary Jane's Last Dance.'' Petty sent chills up the crowd's collective spine with the song's swampy opening chords.

The band sounded tough and taut from the opening number, ``Runnin' Down a Dream.'' Benmont Tench added insistent piano fills as Mike Campbell showed why he's one of rock's finest guitarists. He says more with a note or two than other players can with Mel Bay's biggest book of chords.

The pace slowed slightly with a new number, ``Lost Children,'' and acoustic takes of ``Rebels,'' ``Learning to Fly'' and ``Yer So Bad.''

The band was back to full power with the amazing new tune, ``Can't Stop the Sun,'' a complex but melodic number that was reminiscent of late-period Beatles.

Ron Blair, the Heartbreakers' original bassist, returned to that role as if there weren't a 20-year gap between his stints with the band. He locked in solidly with drummer Steve Ferrone. Auxiliary Heartbreaker Scott Thurston added guitar, keyboards, harmonica and backing vocals.

Petty made no bones about his dislike of corporate sponsorship, telling the audience that the Heartbreakers ``are brought to you by you.''

``We ain't gonna try to sell you no beer. We ain't gonna try to sell you no credit card,'' Petty said in that familiar Florida drawl.

Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne opened with a well-received set that included longtime favorites such as ``Fountain of Sorrow'' and ``The Pretender.'' Calls for an encore were met with the house lights, prompting scattered boos.