On tour promoting their newest album, “Hypnotic Eye,” Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers took to Madison Square Garden on Sept. 10 for a one night stand in New York, at what Petty described as one of the greatest rock venues in the world.
As I was walking through the streets of Manhattan en route to the show, the city seemed to have an eerie feel about it, almost as if a dark cloud were looming atop the outstretched buildings watching those below. This being the night before the 13th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the atmosphere of the city was dull and lugubrious. One could feel the tension in the city rising as the fear that comes with this yearly reminder of tragedy settled in.
Walking into The Garden, the sense of uneasiness was heightened by the process of the workers bag-checking and frisking every person that entered the building. Never having been to a concert there before, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a regular Madison Square Garden safety precaution, or an extra security measure because of the date. Either way, I’m sure everyone there felt safer, more comfortable, and ready to rock.
After voyaging up five sets of escalators and stopping for an over-priced basket of chicken fingers, I was finally making my way up the rows to my seat.
Steve Winwood, Petty’s opening act for the tour, was finishing up his set when I sat down. Winwood received a standing ovation for his performance, concluding with one of his more known songs, “Higher Love,” which, with its blaring organ sounds and upbeat tempo, had the fans singing along sounding like the choir at a church sermon.
As the stage was being set for Petty to make his entrance, the air was filled with the sounds of a buzzing crowd, and the screaming thoughts in my head that I really gave a 63-year-old performer 110 dollars to sit ten rows from the back wall of the venue. All I could think is that he better play every single one of my favorite songs. Which, eventually, he did, and the pressure in my head would fully decompress.
Like a train schedule, the minute the clock struck nine the house lights went out and the band took the stage. The crowd bellowed as Petty started with “So You Want to be a Rock n’ Roll Star,” a high-energy cover of the hit written by The Byrds in 1967. An interesting start to what would prove to be an amazing show.
Petty controlled the stage not only with his music, but also his charm, reciting a coy “thank you very much” after each song, in a Southern drawl that after a while had the crowd chuckling along and saying it with him. Dressed in blue denim jeans tucked into his tan cowboy boots, purple button down shirt hidden by an olive green army jacket, and a loosened tie around his neck, Petty gave off a contagious vibe, often raising his arms out to the side at the crowd, and being greeted with a shriek of screams.
Playing only four of the 11 songs from “Hypnotic Eye,” Petty seemed to be wary when he decided to jam out to some of his new work. “We’re gonna play another one from the new album,” he would say with a distant tone, sounding nearly neurotic, as if he thought the announcement would be followed by a series of groans or boos.
Conversely, the crowd was more than accepting of the material off the new album, which has the energy of the band’s early days but with veteran experience trickled on top, giving it a new perspective. With Petty feeding off the life of the crowd, a heavy applause for these new pieces was a fan’s way of saying, “You still got it, Tom.”
Finishing his twenty-song set with a three-song encore, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers proved the statement that Petty made that night to be true: “Rock and Roll is still alive.” And for those two hours on the eve of a day that no one wants to remember but no one will ever forget, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers set the minds of New Yorkers free of any burden.
PHOTO TAKEN from brooklynvegan.com
