The Rock & Roll Gods were on our side Tuesday evening as the clouds parted and the rain held off for Mrs. DJ & I to witness two of the greatest acts in rock & roll history: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Steve Winwood. What a fantastic night of music it was!!! Two Hall Of Fame acts for the price of one...and both lived up to expectations. Both Petty & Winwood were at the top of their games, and I'm so pleased to have been in attendance on a sold-out evening of terrific music.
Steve Winwood came out promptly (in good English fashion) at 7:32 with his 4-piece ensemble in support of his new album "9 Lives." I think this deserves a further listen as it combines jazz & Caribbean rhythms - very soothing to the ear. Imagine the percussionists for Santana circa Woodstock '69 jamming with David Sanborn. They actually made "Higher Love" sound pretty good - and I've never liked that song. Anyhow, I've become a pretty big fan of Winwood's music over the past few years, especially that of Traffic & Blind Faith. He pulled out "Can't Find My Way Home," mixed in some Spencer Davis Group ("I'm A Man" and Gimme Some Lovin") and closed the set with an absolutely searing version of "Dear Mr. Fantasy." The guitar solo at the end of this song by Winwood was just incredible. The guy is an amazing musician, as he switched back & forth between guitar & Hammond organ for almost 1-1/2 hours. I'm glad I got to see him though; Winwood would be worth seeing again in a more intimate setting. 40 years in the business & he's never sounded better.
As good as Steve Winwood was, I could hardly wait to see what Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers could do. They came out on stage on a 90-degree, muggy night at Riverbend dressed for a January snowstorm - I couldn't quite get over that, but the blazers didn't stay on for long as they got settled in after "You Wreck Me." Petty & the boys were terrific all night; one of, if not the most professional, tightest group of musicians I've ever seen play. Mike Campbell deserves mention alongside any great lead guitarist anywhere. They played for 2 hours, cranking out hit after hit. They sprinkled in a couple of obscure tunes, most notably "Sweet William," a very nice blues song, but the night was for the most part a huge sing-along as everyone around us young and old knew every word by heart. Petty popped in a nod to his old buddies The Traveling Wilburys with "The End Of The Line" that sent chills up my spine. I swear I saw George Harrison & Roy Orbison - I kept rubbing my eyes & squinting but no such luck. Darn.
The theme of the evening was, in fine Wilbury fashion, "everything is alright." As Petty stated during a brief break, "just imagine that for one moment that everything is alright" as he floated about the stage with arms spread like a bird. Everything was quite alright by me, enjoying some of the finest music ever made with my lovely wife. Yes indeed, I was singing right along with the teenage girl w/ her gray-haired father in front of me. I was also singing along with the drunk-ass redneck from Kentucky behind me, until he fell off a bit later. I think he should have stuck with beer, but I'm just sayin'. The only small gripes I had were concert etiquette of the kids that passed out before Steve Winwood even said "hello," and the $40.oo price tag on the tour T-shirts. Sorry Tom, but as the guy who led the fight in the 80's to keep album prices affordable you need to get realistic about the shirts, dude. Maybe that's where you're getting the money to help the flood victims in Iowa, I dunno. All you had to do was ask & I'd give you a few bucks for that, but dang...$40.00? But I digress...the entire evening was memorable & very, very entertaining. God bless you Tom Petty, and thank you.
(Note: click on the blog title above to direct yourself to footage from the 7.8.08 show at Riverbend)
Set List:
1. You Wreck Me
2. Listen To Her Heart
3. I Won’t Back Down
4. Even The Losers
5. Free Fallin’
6. Mary Jane’s Last Dance
7. Sweet William
8. End Of The Line
9. Breakdown
10. Saving Grace
11. Honey Bee
12. A Face In The Crowd
13. You Don’t Know How It Feels
14. Learning To Fly
15. Don’t Come Around Here No More
16. Refugee
Encore:
17. Runnin’ Down A Dream
18. Mystic Eyes
19. American Girl
No "Wake Up Time"? Damn. Still, nicely done sir.
ReplyDeleteNo Mudcrutch tunes either - I was waiting for "Scare Easy" but they didn't go there. Kind of disappointing, but oh well.
ReplyDelete