Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 2017 "40 Anniversary" Tour Thread

Great post! Thanks!

Look, I'm the worst guy to be bringing this up. I love "Free Fallin'". And I love what he did with Lynne. I even like Wildflowers fine, but you and Tom and I will have to respectfully disagree on whether Wildflowers is the one and only pinnacle to be worthy of the name masterpiece.

I certainly agree that DTT is....hmmm, immature? I don't mean that disrespectfully. I'd say the same thing about Born to Run, which I love more than my children. DTT sounds like it's made by a scrappy kid in his mid-20s, and I agree that the best of Tom since then is way better than that. Heck, I prefer Hard Promises in some ways, because it's the sound of Tom growing up. I love that he's kept growing. We don't need Tom to play the music of his 20s again, or play it the way that he played it.

Except he at least implied that's exactly what he was gonna do. 40th Anniversary of The Heartbreakers! Who forced him to point the spotlight 40 years back? Not me, man. He coulda just gone on the road, and that would have been that. Do stadiums, don't do stadiums, it's your life, man. It's all good. But this was all HIS idea. "Here's my career-spanning victory lap stadium tour!" Uhm, except it's not. This is the setlist I'd expect him to play in the theaters after he's decided to stop attempting to cover his whole career.

A move, again, that I commend. I love it in Dylan, too. But I'd say the same thing about Bob in the same situation. If Bob said, "I'm done with big tours, fellas. I'm done playing the old stuff FOR REAL. So get ready for my last round of truly career-spanning performances ever." Fine. Then he dang well better play more than one song from his biggest-selling album in his first decade and declare the job finished.

Bob, wisely, avoids any such expectation-setting. Tom USUALLY does. This whole thing just seems goofy to me.

Fair enough. I'll never call him lazy because the guy is clearly working for a living. I admit that 19 songs is a shorter setlist than I'd expect from him (maybe because he's trying to do it one set rather than two, like last time?), but mostly I keep coming back to the idea that me personally, *I* never laid any expectations on what Tom's setlist should be. It was only when HE SAID that this is a combination anniversary/farewell that I started thinking, hmm, okay, gonna bust out some stuff from the 70s? Cool!

That's the part that feels passive aggressive to me. Like Lucy with the football. "Ha! Fooled ya. I'm opening with the first song off my first record, which you may not remember because it's not a single and wasn't hit....and god forbid that I do the two actual singles from my first album."

I mean, if you think about it, he could have started with the SECOND song on his first album, "Breakdown" (and that he was playing on just the last tour), and the whole night feels different. Instead of being willfully obscure, he plays an early actual hit that happens to suit their current sound fine, still ends with "American Girl", and voila, the whole night feels less petulant.

I really do hate to sound like I'm begrudging his right to play or not play whatever the hell wants without regard to anything but the pleasure that he himself derives from this. If it was up to me, I'd tell him to swap out most of Wildflowers for Hypnotic Eye, a Grammy-nominated #1 album that I think is better. Let the trainspotters be the one to bring up the anniversary, and just do your thing.

The weirdest thing of all is that the Running Down A Dream 2017 tour had a much more hits-oriented setlist -- Listen to Her Heart, Don't Do Me Like That, Even the Losers, The Waiting, and Here Comes My Girl are five examples of hits that WERE on THAT tour, and NOT on this one! Not that I expect most hits on MOST tours...but I DO expect a more Heartbreakers-oriented evening than this when he told me that's what I SHOULD expect. Nobody had to think twice about the whole anniversary OR farewell thing. Or Tom vs. The Heartbreakers (or Tom vs. Stan) thing at all for that matter. HE made it a topic when he brought it up last December.

But hey, I'm still glad he's out there, doing whatever he's doing. If he asks, I'll be happy to help with branding the next tour. Because that's really the only actual problem I see. He could have made his life easier, but maybe that wasn't the goal.

And maybe he's saving the ideal geezer setlist for Oldchella, the month after the tour supposedly ends.

 

A shockingly bad album.

 

I feel like this setlist discussion is an exact repeat of the discussion from 2006 when TPATH did the 30th anniversary tour. Petty gave a similar interview to Rolling Stone (This is the last big tour, I'll change up the setlist, etc.) and did the complete opposite. The last hope I had of a Petty tour with interesting deep cuts was in 2008. He pulled out some gems for that tour and changed it up a little bit (granted, not a ton). I'm guessing with the inclusion of the backup singers this year that Petty/Thurston have realized their vocal limitations - they are pushing 70 after all. Nothing wrong with that. Expecting, or maybe hoping, that TP can belt out I Need To Know like he did even 15 years ago is a big challenge. For awhile the band was playing Refugee a step down, American Girl is a step down, and when he played The Waiting in 2008 that was also a step down (for non-musicians it's playing the song in a lower key than it was recorded, usually for an easier vocal presentation).

I look at the band's live sound in two regards - unfortunately they are defined by drummers, but that doesn't necessarily dictate why I view them that way. The Lynch period (specifically DTT and HP) was the band's stride as a rock and roll group. After HP the Heartbreakers really lost some steam. Southern Accents took forever to complete. It's no surprise that Petty went solo after the lack of enthusiasm behind Let Me Up. The FMF and Wilburys period is what basically re-ignited TP as a songwriter and started the process of getting him to where he wanted to be as an artist - what I define as the Ferrone period. Ferrone didn't necessarily have anything to do with it - sans the change in the bands overall sound. Stan's drumming was often on the backbeat and played snare traditionally. Whereas Ferrone is straight up a hard hitter and a human metronome. Just compare the live sound of TPATH from the Great Wide Open Tour to the Dogs With Wings tour. It's extraordinarily different. And, as McCool pointed out, the band was getting guided in the direction Petty wanted to go. The 94-99 era output was quite astonishing given the personal challenges Petty and some of the Heartbreakers were facing. We got Wildflowers, Playback, She's The One, a 20 night stand at the Fillmore in 1997, a smaller run at the Fillmore in 1999 and the extended Echo tour in 1999 all in that period. And the band is firing on all cylinders during that period (musically). Petty and Campbell mostly gave up their Vox amps for Fender Bassman's for a more grittier sound as well. It really makes me look forward to a theater run to promote the extended Wildflowers. Until then, I'm glad TPATH is out there still playing and rockin'. Catch them if you can.

 

Last time I saw Petty (2012) the setlist included Something Big, Spike, Handle With Care, Have Love Will Travel, JJ Cale's "Traveling Light" and a couple other surprises. Way better than the current list.

 

^ Yeah. I forgot about that. The opening night of the 2012 tour he also played Louisiana Rain. Sadly, that was the only night it was performed. :/ Something Big was the nice surprise of that tour for me. Glad you got to hear it!

 

Since I almost never post about Tom, I want to step aside from kvetching about his branding and positioning issues for this tour (what can I say? I'm in marketing ), and I want to underscore THIS. Tom being Tom is nothing but good. If I'm not able to catch him at Arroyo Seco, I definitely hope to see him at Oldchella.

 

Not to me.

 

Considering this is his "4oth Anniversary Tour, " forgetting even about the songs he chose to perform, but the fact that he can come up with only 19 songs per night is a disservice to his fans

 

I agree with these comments. The first time I saw him in 1995, I literally thought he was sick. He just didn't look or sound right so I gave him a pass. After the wonderful Live Anthology in 2009, I really wanted to see him once more. I didn't until 2013 when The Smithereens opened. I felt the same way. I really enjoyed The Smithereens. I had never seen them and had always like them. It just seemed he plodded through the set list. It was a show I was really excited for and just never got excited. I don't want to divert the thread but it's why I won't go again. I'm not trying to knock the guy. I am a fan. Just not of the shows I've seen.

Oh yea, no doubt a set list for Tom Petty is tough.

 

Another perspective:

Full article here: Concert Review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Philips Arena - Atlanta INtown Paper

 

I couldn't agree more Richie. I can't think of an album I don't like.

 

Here is "Crawling Back To You" from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston, Texas (4/29/17)

 

Considering the emphasis on tracks from Wildflowers, why the hell wasn't the deluxe edition released to coincide with the tour?!

 

Here is my favourite Petty setlist. I was there...1981...opening act couldn't make it (The Fabulous Thunderbirds). Tom did 2 sets. Such a great show. My favourite era.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Setlist at Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver

 

Shame to miss out on The Fabulous Thunderbirds, they're a fantastic live act.

 

From what I understand the "Wildflowers" project is still on the dockets and has been for several years now. Unfortunately it also keeps getting pushed back in favor of other work. From what I understand as of last summer the plan was to release a box set containing both the original LP as issued in 1994 and a collection of tracks which would've formed the second disc of the original album if it had been released as originally conceived as a double compact disc package over two decades ago. These two discs were also going to be augmented by an additional disc of eight track home demos that Petty cut of most of the "Wildflowers" tracks which later served as the blueprints for the final versions that ended up on the album. The "Wildflowers" project was believed to be released at some point prior to the commencement of a Wildflowers tour in the spring of 2017.

But somewhere along the line something got switched and to be quite honest that is where things seem to get a bit murky. Petty's only official word on the subject as of this date is that the project is essentially in dry dock because he didn't want to tour an entire album across the sheds this summer and wants to instead feature the album in a smaller tour of theaters where he can more accurately reproduce the sound of the album in a live performance setting. However, you aren't wrong in you assumption that the work-ups of a lot of the "Wildflowers" material could be considered a dry-run for what's to come as was surmised in the Atlanta review I posted. Also the fact that Petty has added two background vocalists for this particular tour could indicate that he is currently experimenting with how to reproduce some of the lush vocal tracks that appeared on "Wildflowers" on stage. Also given that "Wildflowers" is the only Petty album recently remastered for vinyl that is being held back from standalone release could indicate that it's going to figure into a much more significant release at some point in the future. Stay tuned!

 

As was I. It was probably the best song of the night. The Wildflowers tracks stood out, and I particularly liked his comment before "Forgotten Men"..."You know, we do new records, too." Tom just gave away the fact that he didn't want to tour.

 

Here's what we got in Houston (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands)
Rockin' Around (With You)

Mary Jane's Last Dance

You Don't Know How It Feels

Forgotten Man

You Got Lucky

I Won't Back Down

Free Fallin'

Walls

Don't Come Around Here No More

It's Good to Be King

Crawling Back to You

Wildflowers

Learning to Fly

Yer So Bad

I Should Have Known It

Refugee

Runnin' Down a Dream



Encore:

You Wreck Me

American Girl


Do I wish we got The Waiting and Don't Do Me Like That? Would I have loved some of my favorite songs that aren't hits, like Magnolia, Mystery Man, Ways to Be Wicked, or Honey Bee? Of course! But I loved what we did get - maybe I was the only one standing up and cheering loudly during Forgotten Man and I Should Have Known It, but I liked that we got two rockin' tunes off the last two records.

The opening song caught most off guard - people just didn't know it, but Last Dance With Mary Jane got everyone up and dancing and singing every word back, not just the chorus.


Awesome show! Benmont and Mike are still stunning players.

 

I agree with this statement.

I liked how Tom pulled out his signature Rickenbacker 660/12 for "American Girl". He hasn't used that guitar onstage since the '06 tour. Guess he's running out of 12-strings to bounce around the stage at the show's conclusion?

And since Tom used the 660 last night, anyone want to guess what I want my next guitar purchase to be?

 

Hoping they add some more West coast dates.

 

I can say that the most inspired live show that I have seen TP perform since the 90s was the Mudcrutch show that I saw in 2008. It seems that he would rather be making new records these days or doing small shows. Just my view.

 

I would LOVE to see a Mudcrutch show.

 

I was trying to go to the DC show last year, but that didn't work out.

What I'd REALLY love to see is Mike in his side band, The Dirty Knobs. Mike is clearly loving what he's doing with that band, rather than playing "Free Fallin'" for the 48 millionth time. They don't play outside of California, but I've been wanting a reason to go back to CA. The Knobs are it, I guess.