TOM PETTY, STEVE WINWOOD
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Walnut Creek
Tickets went On-Sale for this Event on February 6th so it took
awhile for Petty to hit town but good to his word the day has
arrived. I passed on the second row for $260 a pop and went
with the $120 upper level although for the 260 there was also
a Tom Petty coffee table book included but after Madonna’s book
of the same name had her in it naked I was gun shy of Tom’s.
It’s not 105 degrees or raining but in true North Carolina
tradition the humidity was jacked-up like most people in
attendance. This Event draws a widely varied crowd, all the girls
had their best party fashion out in force which those in
attendance are thankful for.
The VIP area bar band was entertaining and had a killer line,
“We’ve got a couple more songs then Steve Winwood will be playing,
be sure to stick around for him.”
So on their advice, yes let’s stick around for Steve Winwood and
what a great opener with a rich history from Spencer Davis Group,
Traffic, Blind Faith, played with the likes of Eric Clapton and
Jimi Hendrix, the resume is thick as a big city phone book. The
first song out had people running for their best viewing location,
“I’m A Man”: “Well, I’m a man, yes I am, and I can’t help but
love you so”
Played Blind Faith’s, “Can’t Find My Way Back Home”
“Well, I'm near the end and I just ain't got the time”
“Well, I'm wasted and I can't find my way home”
“Dear Mr. Fantasy”
“Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune, something to make us all happy”
“Do anything take us out of this gloom, sing a song, play guitar
make it snappy”
It was all tied up nicely with “Gimme Some Lovin’” from
The Spencer Davis Group
“And I’m so glad we made it, so glad we make it”
“You gotta gimme some lovin’”
This Event had gone from an Open’er and a Headliner to
Co-Headliners.
Between bands the pavilions were full of people milling around,
one person commented “This looks like Disneyland”; nothing like
a good wild ride with Mr. Toad. There was a void however, 96rock
was at the DownTownLive Event and not on the 96Party Deck which
gave more meaning to the old saying “you don’t know how much you
miss it till it’s gone.”
Although Big Mike did hit The Creek and I was certainly glad to
see him since he upgraded me to the lower-level which just makes
for a more entertaining evening.
I’ve been concert t-shirt impaired lately, or rather, impaired
when I’ve been buying concert t-shirts, to wake up the next day
and realize, I should have bought the next larger size, what was
I drinking, er, thinking? Twice bitten, now shy, I tried it on in
the sauna/bathroom and carried it back for an upgrade. Now I’m just
hoping this one shrinks.
There are three seasons in every day at The Creek: When the suns up,
when the sun has set but it’s still light and when the darkness comes
and that third stage is what you keep wishing will arrive. After being
in dark bars late at night all winter it still seems unnatural to be
partying in the daylight. They put beer in dark bottles for a reason.
When Petty hits the stage with “You Wreck Me” the wait from February
to July was finally over.
The stage was layer after layer of lighting. A semi-circle of LED
screens over the top of the stage, 5 square cubes of LED screens that
hung like lanterns and displayed images and special effects, arched
steel rigging structures that went out from a common base and flowered
over the stage that were jammed with lights and spotlights, a curtain
of large light bulbs gathered and then opened like drapes and finally
a solid wall of diamond vision screens behind it all. I’m sure the
Production Crew bent their backs a few times with this load.
During “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” Tom’s voice did seem to have its
struggling moments but maybe it was more emotion just coming through.
Possibly he misses Mary.
…fnLEE
