BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER Petty and Heartbreakers score a hit with the hits

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got down to the business of playing loud rock 'n' roll classics.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CUYAHOGA FALLS -- Tom Petty and his band of Heartbreakers seemed to have a simple plan of attack when they took the stage Friday night at Blossom Music Center: Play the hits, and play 'em hard.
That's just what they did, churning through one fan favorite after another, keeping the large and appreciative crowd on its feet the entire time.
Opening with a feisty version of "I Need to Know," Petty rolled right into his anti-authority anthem, "I Won't Back Down." Lead guitarist Mike Campbell delivered a blistering solo on "Refugee," but it was just a sign of things to come.
"It's a beautiful night for a little rock 'n' roll music," Petty said, taking off his black coat and rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt.
Then he got down to business, leading the Heartbreakers as they grounded out a throbbing, heart-stopping version of "Mary Jane's Last Dance" that had the crowd dancing in the aisles.
All night, Petty and his longtime backup band were sharp and on the money. They seemed determined to make each song louder and more raucous than the one before it and bent on giving the fans their money's worth.
And for a man who's been in the music business some 30 years, Petty looked enthusiastic and gleeful to be on stage.
Declaration
"We just started this new tour, and we're feeling pretty spunky," he said, drawing a huge roar from the audience.
In fact, nearly everything Petty said got the same response. Even something as simple as saying "thank you" to acknowledge applause after a song seemed to cue the crowd to cheer and applaud more.
And when he mentioned the band's recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the crowd's roar swelled so loud that Petty seemed truly overwhelmed, eventually stepping back from his microphone to take a sweeping bow and then stepping forward again to say thanks. Which of course drew another roar.
Crowd pleasers
Petty's catalogue of hits is so voluminous that he can't possibly play them all in one night, but he seemed to do his best to please as many people as possible.
Before playing "Here Comes My Girl," off his huge 1979 album "Damn the Torpedoes," Petty said the song was so old he wasn't sure he'd remember it. He remembered, and so did the crowd, singing along as it did on virtually every song the band played. He followed that with "Even the Losers," also from "Damn the Torpedoes."
True to their blue-collar, working-man reputation, Petty and the Heartbreakers worked hard, putting on a crowd-pleasing show.
They enjoyed the benefit of a dynamite opening set by the Brian Setzer Trio.
Setzer, former frontman for the Stray Cats, ventured nowhere near the big band swing sound that gave him success in the late 1990s. Instead, he returned to his rockabilly Stray Cat roots, blasting his way through hits like "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rumble In Brighton."
Sporting his trademark blonde pompadour and playing his guitar like Chet Atkins with his fingers on fire, Setzer and his two-man band tore through a thunderous version of "Rock This Town."
The band earned two standing ovations and an encore call from the crowd -- a rare feat for an opening act.
bjackson@vindy.com