Summer Concert Report: Tom Petty
Rolling Stone #977 - June 30, 2005
Through September 3rd | Tickets: $20-$67.50 | Opener: The Black Crowes
Here's a frightening thought: Tom Petty says that since their last tour, the Heartbreakers "are actually better." How is that possible? Says Petty, "I don't know. But we rehearsed quite a bit this time -- we're very confident." The band has so many songs nailed that on its forty-two-date U.S. tour (with the reunited hippie rockers the Black Crowes), set lists will vary substantially from gig to gig. "Of course we're doing plenty of hits but also some hits we haven't done in a while," says Petty, citing gems like "Listen to Her Heart" and "Don't Do Me Like That." "Then we'll throw in some old-time rock & roll, some R&B and some album tracks like 'Wildflowers' and 'Crawling Back to You.'" Superfans should catch a couple of his smaller gigs (such as the two-night stand at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California), where Petty promises longer, crazier sets. Also, prepare to be visually stunned. "It's the greatest stage set we've ever had," he says. "It was inspired by Saul Bass, who did screen titles in the Fifties and Sixties, like Anatomy of a Murder. I can't describe it -- you gotta see it. It's gonna crack your head."
Smoking Section
By Austin Scaggs
Rolling Stone #977 - June 30, 2005
The waiting is the hardest part: While relaxing in Malibu, California, just days before his summer tour kickoff in Florida, Tom Petty decided to launch this torpedo in the Smoking Section: "I'll have an album out by next year," says Petty, "unless it gets out this year, in the last little bit of December. It's called Highway Companion, and it's a solo record." If you remember correctly, his last two solo records -- Wildflowers and Full Moon Fever -- are freakin' unbelievable, so how does this one stack up? "I think it's a special one," he says. "I really do." Yes! At his gigs this summer, Petty and his amazing Heartbreakers will road-test a couple of the new songs -- a song called "Melinda," and, says Petty, "one that we're really excited about called 'Turn This Car Around.'"