Tom Petty rich in hits, surprise singer

COURTNEY DEVORES
Special to the Observer

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 30th anniversary tour kicked off Friday night in Charlotte at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and included an unannounced performance by Stevie Nicks.
Petty and his band came onstage after an opening set by former Phish front-man Trey Anastasio. Flanked by a teardrop shaped Vox guitar and wearing a blank velvet blazer, red shirt and tie, Petty launched into 1978's "Listen to Her Heart." He followed that up with a string of crowd pleasers -- "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Won't Back Down" and "Free Fallin'," which had the audience loudly singing along.

Petty voiced his gratitude after "Saving Grace," a new song from the forthcoming album "Highway Companion" that he said they'd never played live before.

"I'm always scared to play a new song," he said afterward. The John Lee Hooker-style tune received a great response from the crowd that remained standing.

You didn't have to own any of Petty's albums to truly enjoy the show because it was so rich in radio hits. Of course Petty is one of the rare older artists who found support from MTV and VH1. He could still get a video in regular rotation on MTV 20 years into his career. That may explain the younger college and high school-aged fans in the crowd who blew up when sideman, guitarist, and backing vocalist Scott Thurston cranked into the familiar harmonica intro of "Mary Jane's Last Dance," a 1993 hit.

Anyone whose interest waned during tributes to influences such as early Fleetwood Mac rose to attention when Stevie Nicks took the stage for "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know." Flubbing the lyrics on the first chorus to "Stop Draggin'," Nicks said singing with Petty made her a touch nervous.

She reappeared toward the end of the set for "Insider" from Petty's early 1980s "Hard Promises" album and she stuck around to sing backup with the Heartbreakers on "Learning to Fly", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Refugee."

With only a no frills, piano key-looking lighting rig and a few screens draping the stage, the performance of Petty and his Heartbreakers -- drummer Steve Ferrone, guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboard player Benmont Tench, bassist Ron Blair and Thurston -- was low on theatrics, but big on songs from a deep catalog that his audience was eager to hear.