Tom Petty and Heartbreakers rock at SPAC

by John Antognioni, Bennington Banner, July 28, 1981

The rain may have persuaded another group’s lawn seat-holding fans to stay home, but such was not the case Sunday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center as thousands, braving the rain on the lawn, joined with 5,000 in the amphitheatre in listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The band, a five-man group originally from Gainesville, Fla., play a style of music that one writer coined “Byrds-cum-Stones.” A style that combines the mid-60s’ California sound of the Byrds with the hard-driving “from the heart” rhythm and blues sound of the Rolling Stones. In the last few years, the band has become a bit more soulful in style, both musically and vocally, without straying too far from their own unique sound.

It was obvious from the start of Sunday’s show that this was a highly partisan Tom Petty crowd as Petty, whether he pranced the stage in Jaggeresque fashion, shook his microphone stand feverishly, or evoked response from the audience, drew wild cheers.

Although Tom Petty is a big part of the band, every star needs a supporting cast, and Petty has this support with the Heartbreakers. Lead guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench stood out in particular. Campbell often shared front stage with Petty in crowd-pleasing guitar duets.

The group, touring mainly to promote their new “Hard Promises” album, relied heavily on material from that LP, including the current single “The Waiting,” and their last LP “Damn the Torpedoes.” The show featured such tunes as “Refugee,” “Even the Losers,” and “Shadow of a Doubt.”

Some of the group’s older favorites like “American Girl” and “Breakdown” (one of the show’s highlights), as well as an unreleased ballad, “The Best of Everything,” were also included as part of the two-hour performance.

The band was called out to encore three times, and during the first encore the band, Petty especially, was at its best rapport with the crowd, doing the old Isley Brothers’ song, “Shout.”

Opening the show was the New Zealand new-wave group Split Enz, who received some FM airplay earlier this year with the song “Sometimes I Get Frightened.” The band was generally well-liked in its first-time SPAC appearance.

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