Chicago Review

Jeff Vrabel - Billboard Magazine

Tom Petty's an angry guy on "The Last DJ," a Warner Bros. concept album of sorts that attacks the homogenization of radio, the streamlining of its playlists, and the death of its personal identity. Critics are split on the disc's merit, mostly deeming it a well-intentioned but uneven effort, but all agree on one thing: Tom's rarely sounded so upset.

But anger management seemed the furthest thing from Petty's mind on Wednesday night (Dec. 11) in Chicago. Save for a brief speech or two, Petty left the business commentary to the CD (though there are plenty of jabs to be made about whether the venue and its bankrupt sponsor are going to do about that name). He led the Heartbreakers through a loose, generous 135-minute set of grassroots hits, selections from the dustier corners of his catalog, and a smattering of surprises. And for those keeping track of Petty's money and his mouth, the tour was once again sponsor-less and cheap seats topped out at around $35.

Performing on a bare-bones set and grinning and thanking the crowd all night, Petty and the Heartbreakers -- Mike Campbell on guitar, Steve Ferrone on drums, the returned Ron Blair on bass, the erstwhile Benmont Tench on piano and organ, and touring addition Scott Thurston on guitar, keyboards, and harmony vocals -- brought the slam-dunks to an audience that crowded but not jammed.

Of particular grace were the elegiac "Free Fallin'," a piano and acoustic guitar version of "Learning To Fly" designed for maximum crowd input, and the Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better," from Petty's "Full Moon Fever." On the rock side of things, there was the drawl and stomp of "You Don't Know How It Feels," and an amped-up take on the Indiana-themed favorite "Mary Jane's Last Dance." Petty's thanks were warranted , as the crowd responded to each hit with a demand for the next.

But they responded to the lesser-known goodies as well, chief among them "Handle With Care," a Traveling Wilburys track that Petty penned with George Harrison, claiming the Heartbreakers had only broken it out once before. If that's the case, they've been practicing -- the tribute to the late Wilbury/Beatle was note-perfect jangliness, and Petty smiled and offered up a pleased "That was fun" after it. Of the catalog dips ("Woman in Love," "Love Is a Long Road"), none caught fire quite as much as "Shadow of a Doubt" from 1979's "Damn the Torpedoes," an early-set rocker that proved the Heartbreakers remain as tight and assured a band as any you're likely to find on the road.

During the encore, Petty, in one of the night's many audibles, slipped Chuck Berry's "Carol" into the set, explaining that Berry had recorded the track at Chess Studios down on the city's South Michigan Ave.

Still, thanks maybe to their darker tone, the selections from "The Last DJ" seemed problematic and even a little out of place in the upbeat set, and not just because Petty's warm mood and desire to keep things up left no room for the hammering staccato beat of "Joe" or the somber, nostalgic "Dreamville."

Yeah, the jangly title track was an anthemic keeper, and "Have Love Will Travel" had a sweet, bluesy heart that benefited from some extra-special work from Tench at the grand piano. But despite its monster of a descending riff, "When a Kid Goes Bad" only got about halfway to its desired level of roadhouse stomp, "Lost Children" was an unqualified dud, and the unfortunately titled "Can't Stop the Sun" would have been too, if Campbell hadn't jumped in at the end to attach one of his many blistering solos to it. That was a trend he kept up all night, showing off his incendiary licks during the closing minutes of songs like "Love Is a Long Road" and "You Wreck Me." In many ways, the show was as much his as it was Petty's.

Uneven album or not, Petty's still ultra-reliable on the road, and when he's in the mood for it, remains a fine bet for a killer night of rock'n'roll. At the end of the evening, he used his pulpit to deliver a bluesy spoken-word ramble as a Southern preacher, not unlike the tactic frequently employed by Bruce Springsteen, inventing a conversation with a lady friend and teaching her that "one guitar chord can heal your pain." With that, he and the Heartbreakers tore through "American Girl," a classic rock staple and sort of obvious capper, sure. But on this night, its opening one chord did just that.

Here is Tom Petty's setlist:
"The Last DJ"
"Love Is a Long Road"
"Have Love Will Travel"
"Free Fallin'"
"When a Kid Goes Bad"
"Shadow of a Doubt"
"I Won't Back Down"
"You Don't Know How It Feels"
"Handle With Care" (Traveling Wilburys)
"Feel a Whole Lot Better"
"Can't Stop the Sun"
"Woman in Love"
"The Waiting"
"King's Highway"
"Learning To Fly"
"Yer So Bad"
"Lost Children"
"Refugee"
"Mary Jane's Last Dance"
"Runnin' Down a Dream"
"You Wreck Me"
"Carol" (Chuck Berry)
"American Girl"