Reviews of Tom Petty Shows Past

September 25, 1991
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were clearly out to have a good time at Capital Centre last night. For starters, the setting was surreal: Chandeliers illuminated the stage, totem poles flanked it, and a huge gnarled "magic tree" served as both a backdrop and a prop for the band.

The theatrical touches didn't end there. Forty-five minutes into the show, during a strobe-lit version of "Don't Come Around Here No More," three characters masquerading as Presidents Bush, Reagan and Nixon chased Petty around the stage until he banished them by waving a mammoth peace sign. "If I'm going to do this every night," he told the crowd, "I'm going to have as much fun as I can."

And it was fun, all right, even when the songs were a lot more notable for their catchy choruses -- eagerly sung by the 12,000 voices -- than for their substance. By opening with "Kings Highway," one of the strongest tracks on his current album, "Into the Great Wide Open," Petty demonstrated just how tight and vibrant the Heartbreakers can sound when the song matters. Mike Campbell laced this and other rockers dating back a dozen years with alternately flowing and piercing guitar lines, Benmont Tench added rippling keyboard runs and drummer Stan Lynch delivered a booting wallop.

Petty, however, was the evening's star. Particularly impressive was the mid-show acoustic set, during which he paid homage to Van Morrison ("a great Irish poet") and Roger McGuinn (with the Byrdslike "American Girl").

There were colorful reminders of Petty's status as a Traveling Wilbury, just as surely as there were always reminders of fellow Wilbury Bob Dylan's influence on him as both a singer and songwriter. What's more, despite the show's often leisurely pace, the Heartbreakers had no difficulty turning the heat up when it counted, especially toward the end when a rousing "Refugee" gave way to the most Dylanesque performance of the night, an encore of "The Waiting."

The biggest challenge singer-songwriter Chris Whitley faced during the opening set was adapting to the stage his songs from "Living With the Law," his atmospheric debut album. He succeeded for the most part, by paring down "Poison Girl" and other tunes to the guitar-and-rhythm essentials.

Mike Joyce
The Washington Post
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April 11, 1995
Short of equipment failure or general Armageddon, it's probably impossible for a veteran performer possessing as much great material as Tom Petty to deliver a lackluster show. And such was the case for Petty's Sunday night appearance at George Mason University's Patriot Center, as the seasoned musician led his longtime backup band, the Heartbreakers, through an ardent set of new and old tunes.

Despite the melancholic image he projects in his folk-inflected rock, Petty's stage presence was positively frisky: He shimmied restlessly about while crooning through brisk melodies like "Driving Down to Georgia" and "Runnin' Down a Dream," and even the somber strains of "It's Good to Be King" couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

Lead guitarist Mike Campbell also enjoyed himself as he used a procession of oddly shaped vintage guitars to execute his passionate solos.

Song after song, Petty and the Heartbreakers performed with a near-mechanical precision, a mood somewhat at odds with Petty's languid folksiness. Thus, it was almost heartening to hear the group fumble "Mary Jane's Last Dance," as Campbell jumped in with his solo too early.

Nonetheless, the recovery was seamless, and as Petty picked up the second verse from his guitarist's aborted notes, the gaunt vocalist was still beaming.