Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Live at the Fillmore 1997 (Including 4 x CD, 6 x LP Deluxe Sets)

I have a 3cd set of the Feb 7th show sound is excellent lots of cover tunes

 

I like the cover as well.

 

Same here. Live Anthology is one of the greatest live albums I've ever heard. Like you, I typically prefer single concerts. But that's mainly because curated live albums tend to have fluctuating energy levels. I don't know how many this will make sense to, but concerts have an energy "arc," if you will. High energy right at the beginning, then it starts to wain a bit as the show goes on, then goes way up near the end and especially the encores. I maintain that if you pick two performances of the same song, say one from the beginning of a set and one from the middle, they will feel significantly different. What's more, energy level can change significantly from one night to the next. I think most live sets that compile a number of different performances don't take this into consideration and so they often feel like lesser representations of the band. I think the Petty crew does, though, and that's why we've gotten such astonishingly beaufiful live documents out of them. I mean, how many sources is Live Anthology taken from? Just a casual glance shows far more than a dozen, yet somehow each disc feels completely cohesive. That set just blows me away every time I listen to it.

 

I went to TWO of that first run of shows in 97. I would have gone to more, but money was tight!

 

Great post.

 

Nice! I still have the gold bacchus poster I got at the door as I was leaving.

I remember Tom introducing themselves as “the Fillmore house band.” And I think that’s why they played so many covers, as any proper house band would. Absolutely no one minded at the time - we’d all heard the hits before, and the covers were great. It was all part of the fun they were having with us. You could tell Tom in particular loved doing the extra run - he was smiling the entire show, and really got a kick out of it.

And I don’t think everyone in the band was happy about it. One member in particular, who I won’t name - it was noticeable he was upset about something - and got the feeling it was due to having to be there for a few more unexpected shows, although he certainly played well. I’m sure a few events back home had to be missed, and it’s easy to forget these rock icons have families and children.

It’s not euphoric recall - it really was one of those interesting rock history moments. And Tom seemed to realize it onstage at the time. He was beaming.

 

Well, it's not like everyone knew up front that this was going to be a 20 show engagement. When the initial run got announced, it was just those first 3 shows, Jan 12, 13, 14. A friend of mine called me at work and said we have to get tickets... I was working in Watsonville (CA) at the time and there was a music store with a BASS outlet inside. So I excused myself from the office to go 'run a quick errand' -- there were a few other fans buying tickets but it wasn't a madhouse or anything. In fact I think they only announced 2 shows to start with -- I managed to get tickets to the first one, but the 2nd night was already sold out. But then that 3rd night got added -- either while I was still there, or maybe later in the day -- either way, I got tickets for that 3rd show as well. For the next few weeks that was the drill. I'd get a phone call from my friend telling me more shows just went on sale, and I'd jam over to the BASS outlet (5 minutes away) and try to get tickets. For the most part, the shows got announced a few days before they happened. Maybe the 20 show thing was all planned out in advance, or maybe it just happened organically... in any case, it wasn't known to the general public... as the run progressed, another 2 or 3 show 'run' would get announced, usually just days before they happened. I think face value was $30. Maybe less. I'll have to check my stubs...

 

I was and still be a big fan of the LP tracklist of Pack Up The Plantation. That is only for a a few years that the exact same setlis is now available in digital as the cd release was truncated.
Still, an audio release from the full Wiltern Theater gigs would be welcome.

I should give a listen to my pre fm boot from the Fillmore 97 as I have not a fond memory of that show.

 

There is a radio broadcast available from the Wiltern shows that I added to Pack Up The Plantation to make a full show.

 

I didn't notice anything like what you describe (about the unnamed unhappy Heartbreaker) and I was right down front and center for that first night.

Of the 2o shows, the two I saw were the first, and the seventeenth. When tickets originally were announced to be going on sale, a friend of mine told me he was going to get a ticket, and I told him to get one for me too and I'd pay him for it. That show was originally meant to be one of the first shows, but there was some problem, and for some reason the first bunch of shows were pushed back to the end of the run (as some form of postponement, perhaps having to do with the unhappy Heartbreaker?).

So when the run of shows started, I didn't want to wait until the seventeenth show to see TP&TH -- I'd never seen them before and had been wanting to -- so I waited all day in line on the day of the first show in order to purchase one of the few tickets that would go on sale at the box office (the Fillmore usually did this, holding back a small number of tickets to sell on the night of the show, so even sold out shows were theoretically available).

The opening act the first night was Wallflowers. The opening act the seventeenth night was Iris Dement. Wish I'd been there more of the shows (especially the night Carl Perkins was the opening act -- a friend [not the friend who got me my ticket for the seventeenth show] told me later that he saw that one), but money was especially tight for me around that time.

I waited all day in line for that seventeenth show too, in order to get a good spot down front (and to hold a spot in line for my friend who was coming later with the tickets). Somehow, I got sick (later discovered it was dehydration), so I didn't feel too good for the entire show, but I was determined not to leave before the show was over! When I got back home (my friend dropped me off at my house after the show), I took my temperature, and it said 104 -- no wonder I had felt sick! My mom insisted that I go to the hospital, and they told me there that I'd gotten dehydrated -- as far as I know, that (getting dehydrated) never happened to me before or since, so I have no idea how it happened that day/night.

Anyway I did manage to enjoy that show as best as I could, but I wouldn't have been able to notice anyone else onstage or elsewhere being "unhappy" that night.

Also, wwright, if it was so noticeable, I don't see what would be so wrong with your mentioning which bandmember was unhappy. What's the worst that could happen at this point?

 

The same band member now describes how special it was for him.

I don’t want to color anyone’s perceptions of this person unfairly, as he may have had one bad night, or may have simply not expected the extra shows, and felt he was stuck. Maybe he was missing his child’s birthday party that day. Everyone else seemed delighted.

And we all have a bad night from time to time, or work too much. In hindsight, we all get a better picture of past events, and the totality of that run is clearly very special to him, particularly now that Tom is gone.

But he was the only one, and it was obvious. Tom was the heart and soul of that show, and he was really enjoying the moment. Everyone else onstage was stoked to see it happening. That’s the only reason it was clear, at least to me.

And it’s not a criticism - the show was amazing. I was in the center, about ten feet from the stage during the newly added show, so we were probably there on different nights.

If he was happier during the other shows, that’s great. I’m glad he was. I just felt for him at the time.

 

Why are we being evasive about the grumpy Heartbreaker?

 

And wanted to add this but I was timed out - sorry to hear about that fever! That’s rough, but glad you were there.

 

I got tickets for the January 21 show (Tuesday). Ticket says $31.50, purchased on November 5.

 

I went to one show for each of the two Fillmore runs and enjoyed them both immensely. The ‘99 show was one of the nights used for the DVD.

 

Just happen to catch the news on XM radio, as they were doing interviews.
Very excited for this set, and looks reasonably priced in CD format.

Would love to see the Early 2000's Chicago shows available someday.

 

Brilliant! Thanks. Post 198 for others like me wondering what was played.

 

Has anyone done a track comparison between Live Anthology ( which I have) and the upcoming Fillmore set? I’m not the biggest TP fan so only really interested if there are a lot of stuff not covered by LA or if there is another compelling reason ( besides it’s not a comp. ) to make this a standout.

 

The next song they release is „I Won't Back Down“. as a single. I don't quite understand why they chose the song that we had in the Fillmore version since „An American Treasure“, and we know it. There are still a lot of songs on the album that we don't know, why that one? How it works is sometimes a mystery to me.

 

Probably because it's one of the biggest hits and most recognizable songs in his catalog. I'm sure Warner wants to call the attention of some casual listeners, most of the fans will buy the product anyway.

 

Where's that information from?

 

Yes, that's right, the masses only want the big hits.

 

I saw this on iTunes. The song list is without the running time of the individual songs. The next song with a time stamp behind it will be released soon. That's how it always works on iTunes.

 

Agreed, why release “Listen to her Heart” why not a cover song that is new to fans???

 

Bold prediction #529: no covers will be released as preview tracks.

Edit: …unless it’s one of the tracks with a guest (i.e.McGuinn) to highlight the release’s “specialness”.