Tom Petty and the Heatbreakers
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
-
studiotwosession
- Advanced Member
- Posts: 2215
- Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 1:36 pm
My first TP show was June of '81, the first show of the Hard Promises tour and Ron Blair's last tour with them.
Ron was great. That was a fantastic show, opened with American Girl and ended with Anything that's Rock 'n Roll.
Though I am a guitarist, I haven't been able to get into them since Stan left that band. And what's with the third guitarist? Same goes for Springsteen. Two bands that certainly don't need more than two guitarists with three, and sometimes four, guitarists on stage at once.
I though that stuff was for Lynard Skynard.
Ron was great. That was a fantastic show, opened with American Girl and ended with Anything that's Rock 'n Roll.
Though I am a guitarist, I haven't been able to get into them since Stan left that band. And what's with the third guitarist? Same goes for Springsteen. Two bands that certainly don't need more than two guitarists with three, and sometimes four, guitarists on stage at once.
I though that stuff was for Lynard Skynard.
This is off the record
Scott Thurston does play guitar on some of the tracks during live shows. I think TP has called him "the band's Swiss Army Knife."
I think it's a good idea, because imagine a song like "You Wreck Me." I think Thurston plays a Rick 12-string on that song. When Mike Campbell is picking out solo notes and TP is singing (without playing), who can provide the rhythm? Thurston can on whichever guitar he's playing. TP quite often lets go of the guitar and puts both hands on the mic while singing to the crowd.
Also, Thurston will often play electric guitar whenever TP pulls out the Acoustic 12-string, such as on "Handle With Care."
Well, only a day left until I see 'em in Berkeley!
I think it's a good idea, because imagine a song like "You Wreck Me." I think Thurston plays a Rick 12-string on that song. When Mike Campbell is picking out solo notes and TP is singing (without playing), who can provide the rhythm? Thurston can on whichever guitar he's playing. TP quite often lets go of the guitar and puts both hands on the mic while singing to the crowd.
Also, Thurston will often play electric guitar whenever TP pulls out the Acoustic 12-string, such as on "Handle With Care."
Well, only a day left until I see 'em in Berkeley!
-
karl_teten
- Intermediate Member
- Posts: 552
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:09 pm
It was a fabulous show!! Ron was playing through two SVT's (16X10's) with plenty of bass from the center pool section seats where I was at. The stage had a great balanced sound.
I saw Mick Fleetwood about 40 feet behind me in the cubicles.
Petty played his reissue 1997 with gold guards then later pulled out a real Rose Morris 1997. It was a Ric-O-Rama show!
The Strokes were too bass heavy IMO.....they have years of learning how a real classic band is supposed to act on stage. The lead singer spat all over the stage in between songs and said, "I can't wait to go backstage and get high" right before their last number. Poser punks. I couldn't remember any of their songs after they left the stage.
I saw Mick Fleetwood about 40 feet behind me in the cubicles.
Petty played his reissue 1997 with gold guards then later pulled out a real Rose Morris 1997. It was a Ric-O-Rama show!
The Strokes were too bass heavy IMO.....they have years of learning how a real classic band is supposed to act on stage. The lead singer spat all over the stage in between songs and said, "I can't wait to go backstage and get high" right before their last number. Poser punks. I couldn't remember any of their songs after they left the stage.
-
shamustwin
- Senior Member
- Posts: 5287
- Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2003 5:00 am
I went wanting to give the Strokes the benefit of the doubt. And I was sitting way high in the Bowl with a lot of Strokes fans (and four rows behind a Popdude). They didn't applaud that much.
But their mix was bad, playing lackluster and songs really monotonous. He sang in the same key, same tone of voice the whole set. It was boring and painful.
Posing is correct. My feeling is if you're going to act as though being a "rock star" is an embarrassment, get out of the way and let someone else do it.
But their mix was bad, playing lackluster and songs really monotonous. He sang in the same key, same tone of voice the whole set. It was boring and painful.
Posing is correct. My feeling is if you're going to act as though being a "rock star" is an embarrassment, get out of the way and let someone else do it.
I'm sure the Strokes made Tom Petty sound great though 
.
The Black Crowes had the same effect on me last summer... Their mix was off, their guitar players were mindlessly noodling around, the lead singer was shrieking, and so forth... then there was an intermission, some mellow PA music, and then TP came on with a superb mix and a clean, ringing 12-string. In 10 hours, it'll happen again
. Time for a nap first though.
. The Black Crowes had the same effect on me last summer... Their mix was off, their guitar players were mindlessly noodling around, the lead singer was shrieking, and so forth... then there was an intermission, some mellow PA music, and then TP came on with a superb mix and a clean, ringing 12-string. In 10 hours, it'll happen again
. Time for a nap first though.I've seen TPATH a few times since Scott Thurston joined the band, and he's a welcome addition, IMO. Between the guitar, keys, harmonica, and especially vocals, he adds a lot to their live sound.
Question: What was the 330 looking guitar that TP played a few times during the show? It looked a little more brown than fireglo, and it had a gold pickguard with a "Tom Petty" signature on it. Definitely not the 660 model, which he brought out for "American Girl".
Question: What was the 330 looking guitar that TP played a few times during the show? It looked a little more brown than fireglo, and it had a gold pickguard with a "Tom Petty" signature on it. Definitely not the 660 model, which he brought out for "American Girl".
[SPOILERS below -- incase you're attending an upcoming Heartbreakers show and don't want to know the setlist]
Last night's show was great. The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley is fantastic. It's over 100 years old, and it provided the perfect backdrop for a TP show.
Frank Black (of the Pixies) opened the show, and I thought he was alright. At least he was pleasant enough to listen to, unlike the Black Crowes last summer, who I would simply describe as "noise," though their mix was awful.
The intermission went smoothly, and one of the tracks Tom picked was the recorded version of "Cheer Down" which is, of course, the song he co-wrote with George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. It was nice to hear that over the PA.
When the band came out for the opener, "Listen To Her Heart," it was loud!
Right at the end of the first chorus, the lights went out - all of them. I was sitting in the closest seat to the left of the soundboard, and the guy working the camera immediately got out a flashlight and pointed it to the stage, though it didn't help much. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell exchanged grins, and were clearly having a good laugh. When the solo came around, Mike Campbell went to the very front of the stage, knelt down, and the photographers in the pit actually helped him out and shined flash bulbs on his guitar so he could see where he was. I'm sure he could have played it with his eyes closed, but it always helps to have light.
Other highlights for me were "I Wont Back Down," "Saving Grace," "I'm A Man," "Handle With Care," "Down South," and "Learning to Fly."
The lights went off again during the middle section of the show, but the band just kept laughing about it.
It was a great night overall, and the weather was perfect. There was dense fog, so it was chilly, but all you needed was a sweatshirt.
I'm glad I get to see TP again in 3 weeks, because it just means that the "high" you have at the end of a concert is going to last throughout those 3 weeks.
Last night's show was great. The Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley is fantastic. It's over 100 years old, and it provided the perfect backdrop for a TP show.
Frank Black (of the Pixies) opened the show, and I thought he was alright. At least he was pleasant enough to listen to, unlike the Black Crowes last summer, who I would simply describe as "noise," though their mix was awful.
The intermission went smoothly, and one of the tracks Tom picked was the recorded version of "Cheer Down" which is, of course, the song he co-wrote with George Harrison and Jeff Lynne. It was nice to hear that over the PA
. When the band came out for the opener, "Listen To Her Heart," it was loud!
Right at the end of the first chorus, the lights went out - all of them. I was sitting in the closest seat to the left of the soundboard, and the guy working the camera immediately got out a flashlight and pointed it to the stage, though it didn't help much. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell exchanged grins, and were clearly having a good laugh. When the solo came around, Mike Campbell went to the very front of the stage, knelt down, and the photographers in the pit actually helped him out and shined flash bulbs on his guitar so he could see where he was. I'm sure he could have played it with his eyes closed, but it always helps to have light. Other highlights for me were "I Wont Back Down," "Saving Grace," "I'm A Man," "Handle With Care," "Down South," and "Learning to Fly."
The lights went off again during the middle section of the show, but the band just kept laughing about it.
It was a great night overall, and the weather was perfect. There was dense fog, so it was chilly, but all you needed was a sweatshirt.
I'm glad I get to see TP again in 3 weeks, because it just means that the "high" you have at the end of a concert is going to last throughout those 3 weeks
.
I also really think that Scott Thurston is an asset to the band. It's not that they couldn't pull of the show without him (they always did in the earlier years) but he adds a lot. It's already been mentioned that TP will stop playing, he's done that since at least the Pack up the Plantation days. On top of that, they've lost both Stan Lynch and Howie Epstein who used to do most of the harmonies. There's almost always been a layering of two rhythm parts on the albums so Scott is covering the second part when he has time to play the guitar between playing the harmonic and being Benmont's fifth and sixth hands (lol).
When he first started playing with them I also seem to remember him covering the bass in concert during some of the acoustic portions where Howie would play mandolin or another acoustic.
This thread just bums me out that I wasn't able to go see them this year when they came through town.
When he first started playing with them I also seem to remember him covering the bass in concert during some of the acoustic portions where Howie would play mandolin or another acoustic.
This thread just bums me out that I wasn't able to go see them this year when they came through town.
-
studiotwosession
- Advanced Member
- Posts: 2215
- Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 1:36 pm
In the pre-Howie days, it was Stan and Benmont who used to do the harmonies.
There was a great example of this from '78, a live U.K. show clip on You Tube but it seems someone took it down.
Sound aside, like a lot of classic rock bands it seems somewhere post '83 they traded in the thrift shop hipster new wave look clothes they had worn until then for threads that seem, well, made for the stage in a show biz-ish kind of way.
There was a great example of this from '78, a live U.K. show clip on You Tube but it seems someone took it down.
Sound aside, like a lot of classic rock bands it seems somewhere post '83 they traded in the thrift shop hipster new wave look clothes they had worn until then for threads that seem, well, made for the stage in a show biz-ish kind of way.
This is off the record
-
shamustwin
- Senior Member
- Posts: 5287
- Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2003 5:00 am
-
rickaddict
- Senior Member
- Posts: 6163
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 7:46 am