Live in Gatorville Florida at The University of Florida
I know now what is wrong with the music of so many groups it is that the music is not right on. I did not expect to hear the excellent guitars, so powerful and clear during a Tom Petty performance.
I am not a fan of acoustic guitar music; Petty starts with some acceptable acoustic guitar numbers. For fans of acoustic, great stuff, and the jumbo Gibson with the Acron head design had a very sweet sound. The Heartbreakers keyboard, harmonica, and guitar player Scott Thurston looks like Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, which was very humorous when I held the Western Republican Debate in slo-mo reverse you should have seen Perry, Cain, Mitch and Newt and Michel oozing in reverse as well.
Tom Petty and the band play solid rock and roll. Lead guitar Mike Campbell used a very nice red Les Paul and then a Rickenbacker. At one point Petty brings out a Gibson Thunderbird what a collection of guitars. You would have to watch Tom Petty on HDNET to see all of them. I noticed a mandolin bodied Epiphone and a couple of Rickenbackers. Petty also used a Stratocaster, a Guild twelve string and a beautiful white Gibson SG with abalone inlay, the very large Turkish Cross on the head and gold hardware. Stevie Nicks joined in to do Fleetwood Mac songs and Petty was swinging his arm like Pete Townsend, using the SG. On the next number a Fender Telecaster added its distinctive twang. In contrast I was writing a review of “Drake” and watched the incredibly useless change of guitars, the Drake band posed with their instruments, the second number of two featured an incredibly flashy sequined V Peavey guitar and so little sound, check Live Rock Critic nineteen.
I know what sounds good and I can see what everyone is doing and follow each individual instrument. I don’t follow other peoples’ songs, so I don’t know when Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers are playing their own original material or when their playing a song written by someone else. The band seems to own all the songs they are playing, I would have thought Petty and his band had written all of them until I heard Petty crediting the Yardbirds and I knew there must some songs he didn’t write. Jimmy Herring, you might observe Mr. Petty, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Thurston at work creating a symphony of different guitar sounds, all on tone, all in tune and not all the same.
Mr. Scott Thurston plays excellent harmonica. I have not heard anyone play this well live for a very long time and I know harmonica better than any other instrument. The harmonica is played properly controlled through manipulating the column of air which actuates, powers and bends the reeds of Mr. Thurston’s diatonic harmonicas. Cupping the harmonica to control the air pressure Scott morphs from a whole mouthful of bent notes to smooth deep single notes without being rattelly screechy or dull. The harmonica solos ventured through the musical composition faithfully and reprised the mood and the nuisances of the vocal. I watched Graham Nash play vastly inferior harmonica today. Mr. Thurston, grave and Ron Paulish, stands behind his array of organs and keyboards and pianos and he plays such excellent organ and he has a guitar strapped to him which he plays very well and he sings. This is one very hard working dude. There is a second organist who might even be better or have a better organ, Ben Tench. There are incredible primeval roars from the organ as the Heartbreakers rock out with short sharp fiery explosive tones. I had not known that this band was capable of music like this until I paid very close attention as I wrote my review.
Steve Ferrone drums the band through all of the varied material, bass is played by Ron Blair, I gather Ron is a childhood friend of Tom. It must be really cool. At one point Petty brings out a twelve string Guild and I was so surprised at how non-acoustic the number was, it was spectacular, “I Won’t Back Down”. Another interesting Petty feature was the pair of Vox Amps.
Petty had a number of F-hole Rickenbackers, he could sound so sweet, as in the song about the good girl that loves Jesus.
Stevie Nicks adds an entertaining and different aura to the performance with her really excellent vocal work. What is incredible though is the dance performance that she puts on almost at the end of the Heartbreakers performance at the University of Florida. Stevie Nicks dances wildly, whirling and wacking her tambourine and you have a definite sense of the nineteen seventies and the psychedelic era. When Tom Petty sings some of his old songs he sounds young again.
