As a songwriter, Tom Petty writes three and four-chord wonders with obsessively catchy hooks and lyrics. It's a wildly underrated gift, much harder than it looks. Anyone can sing Petty
songs around a campfire with nothing but an acoustic guitar, but who could write them?
That made the multi-layered guitars, harmonies and attention to visual presentation all the more remarkable at the near-sellout show Petty and his Heartbreakers performed at the Palace of Auburn Hills Saturday night. He doesn't need such a textured, multi-dimensional presentation, but because he does it, there's so much to absorb that a two-hour set flies by as if it was half an hour.
The sound of his Rickenbacker jangled out of a row of Vox Super Beatle amps as Petty hit on most of his iconic songs: "You Wreck Me," "I Won't Back Down," "Free Fallin'" "Learning to Fly," "American Girl," etc. (No "Breakdown," though). But it was great to hear some of the less obvious songs, like "Even the Losers," which he introduced as being from the "swingin' '70s," and the bluesy "Sweet William," which had been relegated to a German extended play single, but the band liked it.
Particularly fine was the swing boogie "Saving Grace," on which the spirits of John Lee Hooker and Bob Wills somehow met, commingled and swung hard, channeled by the grinning Floridian.
It's rare that a pop concert's light show rates more than a few lines, but Petty's is beautifully designed. Video panels line a semi-circle way up toward the rafters, with each panel showing
live video of each of the musicians on stage. Five cubes showing videos of the action are suspended from the rafters as well, while as a backdrop a "curtain" of lights is gathered behind the players, giving a feeling of a spaceship beaming lights.
Since what you get visually with Petty and the Heartbreakers is basically luxe cowboy -- jeans,
boots and velvet jackets -- it adds immeasurably to the show.
There's no doubt the wild strobe interlude induced a flashback in more than a few folks, like the fellow ahead of us wearing a "Rule No. 1: Don't Use" t-shirt.
Adding value to this recession-proof ticket was the opening act, Steve Winwood. Cries of "Steeeevie!" greeted Winwood before he even sat down at the Hammond B3, a rousing reception not accorded most opening acts.
Winwood's soulful, yearning voice is so uncannily like it was on his '60s through '80s hits that hearing him sing on stage is like listening to his records played back. His set mixes in songs from his new album "Nine Lives," including "Dirty City," with samples from each of his stellar music eras: "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'" from the Spencer Davis Group; "Dear Mr. Fantasy" from Traffic, "Can't Find My Way Home" from Blind Faith; and "Higher Love" from his '80s solo hit period.
As comfortable as he is behind the organ, Winwood is as facile on the guitar, where he moved for "Can't Find My Way Home," wailing away on the Eric Clapton parts remarkably, as well as on "Dear Mr. Fantasy." Our only quibble would be at the end of his hour-long set, his band didn't play "Gimme Some Lovin'" with the sense of urgency Winwood musters; maybe "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" would be a better fit for this group.
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