Saturday, September, 30, 2006

You would think that after 30 years of performing, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers would have their best days behind them.

However, at Friday night’s performance at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, the Heartbreakers put on a stellar show. The only failure last night came from the venue, not the band. “Someone didn’t pay their light bill,” Petty said after opening up the concert with “Listen to Her Heart.”

“I’m just going to act as if nothing happened. At least my amplifier is working.”

And it was a good thing that his amplifier was working.

While the venue tried to fix the technicaldifficulties, the Heartbreakers did their part by hitting all the songs on their set list.

Petty revived the crowd by striking the famous chords of “Last Dance With Mary Jane.” Once into the song, the crowd sang along with Petty and backup vocalist Scott Thurston.

Petty kept the crowd going by constantly apologizing and joking with them as the venue continued to have problems with video projection and lighting.  

In between playing songs from their early inspirations such as the Yardbirds and Traveling Wildberries, Petty asked to have the venue shine some light on the crowd, only to be failed by technical difficulties once again.

But it wasn’t until after he introduced his fellow band members that the light shined. Petty had to be notified to turn around by drummer Steve Ferrone.

After introducing the rest of The Heartbreakers, Petty introduced a “real heartbreaker.” The crowd roared as Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac made a special guest appearance.

Nicks left after the band played a superb version of “I Need to Know.”

“It reminded me of 30 years ago,” a fan in thecrowd said.

After Nicks’ departure, Petty took the throne once again with “It’s Good to be King” off his second solo album, Wildflowers.  

“We don’t get to play this song as much,” Petty said.

Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell took the mellow “It’s Good to be King” to new heights. It seemed as the song would end on a slow note, but Petty and Campbell slowly raised the volume on their guitars and ended the jam session in a more upbeat tone.

The only songs that seemed out of place in the lineup were “Saving Grace,” “Down South,” and his duet with Nicks on “Insider.”

The first two songs, from Petty’s recent solo album “Highway Companion” managed to slip into the lineup.

Prior to the encore, the Heartbreakers ended the night with “Refugee” and “Running Down a Dream.” It was in those two songs that the Heartbreakers showed the crowd they still have what it takes.