Tom Petty: 2006

SARATOGA SPRINGS - In the end, Tom Petty finished where he began, completing the circle of a 30-year career with a final stroke on his jangling guitar to the tune of 'American Girl.' With the word out that this summer's tour may be the band's last large cross-country journey, there was a touch of finality in the air Sunday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where a sell-out crowd of 25,000 cheered Petty and his band of Heartbreakers through a 19-song set celebrating their 30th anniversary.

Following appearances by the Allman Brothers and the Derek Trucks Band earlier in the evening, Petty launched into a trilogy of his great American songbook, opening with the volley of 'Listen to Her Heart,' You Don't Know How it Feels,' and 'I Won't Back Down.'

For nearly two hours, Petty played to the crowd, he strummed and waved and inspired sing-a-longs like a reigning champion going around the track one last time.

The set list highlighted Petty's songwriting talents of the past four decades -- from 'Refugee' and 'Runnin' Down a Dream,' to 'Learning To Fly' and 'Mary Jane's Last Dance.' With 'Saving Grace' and 'Square One,' he showcased a pair of his newest tunes, issued two weeks ago from his 'Highway Companion' CD.

Thirty years ago, the youthful face of the singer stared back from his debut album, donning a black leather motorcycle jacket beneath the logo of a guitar shooting through a heart like a broken arrow. Sunday night, Petty returned as the musical maestro of the timeless verse. He wore crushed velvet with glitter speckles, caught in the reflection of the floodlights that sprayed the crowd in crimson and lavender neon.

Among the evening's emotional highs was the ecstatic 10-minute explosion of 'It's Good to Be King,' as good an example of rock 'n' roll's haunting power as could be experienced on a live musical stage.

Petty also dipped into the musical heritage of his own youth. There were versions of Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well,' Van Morrison's 'Mystic Eyes,' and the Bo Diddley ditty 'I'm a Man,' which was dusted with the sonic grunge pop-isms of the Yardbirds in tribute to the Swingin' London sounds that inspired the Florida-born Petty's high school years.

Mostly, there was an appreciation and wonderment in Petty's talents as a songwriter. When the crowd chanted along to the opening verses of 'Free Fallin,' ' it was difficult to imagine another song more symbolic of 20th century Americana.

In the end, it was the rhythms of 'American Girl' that ended the evening with an exclamation mark. 'Oh yeah, all right, take it easy baby, make it last all night,' Petty sang, sending the crowd home, the addictive chorus jangling in their ears.

by Thomas Dimopoulos
"Petty Finishes Where He Started," The Saratogian, Aug. 15, 2006