"Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers" was a must see/review concert for me. Around 4 1/2 years ago, Tom Petty was the first concert I ever attended as a member of the press, and my first review as a freelance writer on assignment for a print publication. These days I don't get too many opportunities to see and review concerts because my job as Editor In Chief of AMZ doesn't leave me time to do them. But, there was no way I was gonna miss this one, and I'm sure glad I didn't!

The "Dogs With Wings Tour" in 1995 was held at a bigger venue in Phoenix, but the sets and lighting were pretty unremarkable. There's nothing wrong with that, after all, I go to concerts to see the bands perform, not all the extra things. However, the "EchoSummer Tour" in 1999, was a real shift from the previous show. The venue was filled with elaborate sets which extended out over about half the audience, with a lot happening on stage as well.

"Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers" ALWAYS put on a good concert, but it was nice to see them pay attention to sets, lighting and ambiance to make things more interesting. Since the stage was mostly set up when we arrived, I'd like to share what it looked like before getting to the concert review. Quoting the program, "The design is based initially on Moroccan motifs, the look of the show incorporates elements from Japan, China, Saudi Arabia and ancient Islamic art." Obviously from that one line you know this was a different approach from the Florida band.

There were 3 huge stained glass triangles at the back of the stage with Islamic motifs, and were constructed specifically to transmit light. Seven big Morrocan lanterns hung over the stage and the audience used for smoke machines. The drum and keyboard risers on the stage were surrounded with upholstered bench seats and pillows, with Oriental rugs and huge drapes. Lit candles around, and on, the stage were the final touch in creating a warm, intimate atmosphere between the stage and the audience.

While waiting for the concert to start, I was trying to find out who was opening. I kept hearing "blind guys," or "something blind," and thought people were talking about "Third Eye Blind." Boy, was I ever wrong. "5 Blind Guys From Alabama" is exactly what they were, and their music was very much a surprise to me as the opener for a rock concert!

I didn't catch their individual names, but there are two sighted members that play bass and guitar. As the bass player headed up the stairs to the stage, 5 elderly black gentleman followed with a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them to be led to their spot on the stage.

At first I thought this was some kind of a blues or R&B group, but there was no way I expected a "tent revival meeting" type of Gospel music to be opening for Tom Petty!! Even better, they were REALLY good, and had the audience at a fever pitch by the time they finished.

With a combination of great harmonies, LOOONG notes held by each of the two lead vocalists, and a hand clapping, foot stomping set, the "5 Blind Guys From Alabama" had the audience on their feet singing and dancing with what the group called their "Church of Rock & Roll." I was really surprised to see so many teens dancing in the aisles with this group, but their music was infectious and fun. A few of the numbers they performed were "Walkin' To Jerusalem," a Nat King Cole cover that I didn't catch the name or recognize, an a capella version of "Deep River," an extended version of "If I Had A Hammer" (which everybody knew and kept the song going), and a few others I didn't catch the names of.

Ending with an encore of "Lord Is Comin' Down," they left the audience on a high note and ready for "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers." After a fairly brief pause used mainly to light what seemed like over 100 candles on the stage, and to uncover more of the props like a "treasure chest" at the front of the stage, "Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers" came on stage by the light of the candles.

Since I was just as excited as everyone else, I didn't take very good notes on the first song, and since other AMZ business kept me from writing this article for WAY too long, and I don't have a clue what it was other than fast, recognizable and had a great light show going on with those mosaic triangles. I spent hours listening to all my Tom Petty albums and never did figure out what it was. BUT, "Running Down A Dream," one of my favorites, was up next. This is a pretty peppy song to begin with, but the live version was even faster and the crowd was on their feet dancing and singing along (which happened through the ENTIRE concert, so I'm not going to mention it again).

Tom Petty and Mike Campbell kept a great, extended, instrumental bridge going through the "oooh - ooohs" at the end of the song, and I have this one marked WOW!! That means I was very impressed.

A very loud audience welcomed the drawn out drum and lead guitar intro to "Breakdown," that had a lot of extra ad lib lyrics and KILLER guitar instrumentals. What a rush everybody was getting from the concert so far, and we were only at the third song! With "Swingin'," from the new "Echo" album, things were starting to get into the groove with lots of dancing and weed. I've still to figure out how so much weed manages to get into an indoor venue when they body search everybody outside, but there was no mistaking the smell!

"Don't Do Me Like That" was another pepped up version of a song. with more great guitar solos, and an emphatically abrupt ending. I have short anectdote I need to add here. We were only allowed to take photos during the first five songs, and this was a real case of deja vu. The first time we photographed Tom Petty, in 1995, he made a point of walking over to my photographer and "poseing" for a picture. He can't POSSIBLY remember doing that over 4 yrs. ago, but he did the same thing this time - maybe because my photographer doesn't hang out with press crowd, but instead positions himself away from everyone else to get a different shot. Here's the result of the 1999 posing session:

With what sounded like a Spanish guitar intro, the band launched another favorite, "Mary Jane's Last Dance." This was a really jazzed up rendition, with long instrumental bridges and lots of set "atmosphere." Flags on the stage moved in a breeze, more great lighting from those triangles, and a very drawn out ending gave this song all the attention it deserves.

"I Won't Back Down" was presented in a decidedly different manner, with just an acoustic guitar and harnonies. The audience was still singing all the songs without the usual exhortation from the band to sing along, without the microphone being shoved at the crowd, and you could really hear them too! Petty knows just the rght distance to hold that mic where the audience comes through but you don't lose the band vocals.

A pepped up, choppy version of "Listen To Her Heart" was up next. It sounded really good, and the band kept this one short, followed by a slow, but bouncy, longer intro to "It's Good To Be King" from the "Wildflowers" album. This song had quite a light show going on, several instrumental bridges in the middle, with Tom Petty playing with/off each one of the musicians for a minute or two. A long instrumental finish, more like a jam session really, carried on with wailing guitars, thump stops, new starts, and winding down with psychadelic lighting and guitar sounds.

"You Don't Know How It Feels," from the "Wildflowers" album, elicited it's usual audience response to the chorus ". . . Let's roll another joint," but this time the song was done in a bit different style, again peped up a little, with Tom Petty throwing a few hip swings at the screaming crowd and an improv on the lyrics to ". . . Let's roll another one." The lighters throughout the arena were lit for this song! For a bit of an intermission, Tom Petty left the stage and the band did a fun solo number. This was basically a jam session with a lot of recognizable clips thrown in like "I'm A Man," a country spin on "Theme From The Twilight Zone" to the "James Bond Theme," with super intstrumental wizadry through the whole thing. This time Benmont Tench was featured on keyboards, leading up to Tom Petty back on the stage and walking ovet to the "treasure chest" to retrieve his hat for "Don't Come Around Here No More."

Way psychadelic lighting played over the stage, while the audience clapped along with the verse. Wild strobes and fast music finished the song, stopping with all white lights on the stage as Tom Petty put the hat back in the chest. Petty did the next song acoustically, and I can' for the life of me remember what the song was - I have one lyric written down - "A Heart So Big." I can't make a connection with this one, so if anybody knows, e-mail me! "Room At The Top, from the "Echo" album, was up next. Petty again played acoustic guitar and the crowd was really into this song. About half-way through, the band kicked in large and completed the son.

Some great drumming kicked off "You Got Lucky" with an extrended instrumental intro. Another big instrumental bridge filled the middle, and there was lots of jammin' going on. Loud and fast music accompanied "Free Girl Now," another song from "Echo," and more and more people were dancing in the aisles. The ushers pretty much gave up trying to keep walkways open. The instrumental on the the album has some strange/cool sounding instrumentals in the bridge, but they were SO much better live! Going back to "Wildflowers" was "You Wreck Me Baby," one of my favorites from that album, to close the show. Featuring a screaming guitar solo and a super big ending, the audience was going totally crazy.

After the requisite 5 minutes of screaming, hollering, whistling, stomping enough to make the building shake, and clapping, the band returned to the stage for a three song Encore. First up was "Free Fallin'," with another great instrumental bridge and loud audience repsponse. Next up was "Gloria!" (remember? G - L - O - R - I - A?), which was really good, but kind of comical in it's presentation. The very last song was "American Girl." I like this song, but it's not one I'd pick as a favorite, at least not until I heard it that night! WOW!! What a big, bang-up ending this song was for a fabulous concert! And so, after twenty-one awesome songs, "Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers" finished their show in Phoenix to move on to their next tour stop. But the fans in Phoenix won't forget that night, and I won't either.

There was a good mix of songs from most of their albums, they seemed a lot more inclined to have fun and improvise than the last time I saw them, which made this concert really fun, and the music was just fantastic. This is one band where you definitely get your money's worth for concert tickets! And props to Maggie at M.S.O. for making this show so easy to cover.