Previews and Reviews: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS

By Steve Chess
The Weekly Recorder
June 6, 2008

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are once again to grace the stage of the Post Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown. This time it will be on Tuesday evening, June 10th. In excess of 120 million people around the world saw them perform during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLII. Few viewing Tom Petty and his band that evening had anything close to the experience that one is treated to when seeing them perform in a live venue.

At this writing there are still tickets available for Tuesday’s P. G. Pavilion show. Tom Petty’s last show at the Post Gazette Pavilion was played to a packed house. That show’s set was replete with his 30 plus years of hits. “Free Fallin,’” “American Girl,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Learning To Fly,” “I Won’t Back Down,” they were all there, but more important was the delivery.

The 57 year old Rocker has somehow found the secret to remaining relevant to many of his multigenerational fans. This secret (at least in part) has to be the enthusiasm he infuses into every number and his seeming total focus on the song being performed. His shows do employ much of the flashy technology available to major acts performing today, but ultimately it must come back to the artist to deliver the goods. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers do just that.

Sharing the tour with Petty this year is legendary performer, Steve Winwood. Since a 15 year old Steve Winwood recorded “Gimme Some Lovin’” and “I’m A Man,” (both of which he co-wrote) with the Spencer Davis Group, he has been an important force in popular music. Winwood’s skill as a multi-instrumentalist and his “Blue Eyed Soul” vocal delivery have made him one of the most distinctive and identifiable artists in recent musical history. His work with the band, Traffic (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 2004) did much to cement Steve Winwood’s place in musical history. His, “Dear Mister Fantasy” has become a favorite of many jam bands.

Steve Winwood also has the peculiar ability to collaborate with various artists in such a way as to produce musical projects that are unique and original and (strangely) outside of what one might have expected from the individual artists. His collaborations have been with artists as diverse as Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Tito Puente and Arturo Sandoval.

Given the combination of two such provocative artists on one ticket, Tuesday’s show at the Post Gazette Pavilion has the potential to become one of the most exciting musical events of the concert season.