Review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers/Stevie Nicks Show

Saturday, I sat in orchestra seats for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show at Nissan Pavillion. I’m not sure how I got orchestra seats – row F to the left – only a day before the show, but the people I sat next to did the same. Nissan must have just released them.

Trey Anastasio opened, and save for a few drunk people who know his music, the crowd was patiently waiting for 9 p.m. to roll around.

Then Tom Petty comes out, opens with Listen to her Heart and You Don’t Know How it Feels. Other songs he plays throughout the night: Free Fallin’, I Won’t Back Down, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Refugee, Don’t Come Around Here No More, Learning to Fly, and Runnin’ Down a Dream. He also does the Traveling Wilburys’ Handle with Care, a Yardbirds song, and a couple other covers.

Middway through, Stevie Nicks comes out, gives Petty a big hug, and the two launch into Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around. Then Nicks sings the lead vocals on Petty’s I Need to Know with Petty on backup. Nicks came out later to sing another old duet (didn’t catch the name), then she sinks into the background with her tambourine, dancing like a gypsy with the strobe light flashing as Petty rocks out another hit.

Petty sang a couple of songs from his new album – Highway Companion – due out in a month, and they didn’t sound bad at all. The songs probably won’t rise to the top of his hit list but it’s refreshing to know that some aging rockers can still crank out good songs after 30 years.

Petty did three songs for the encore, You Wreck Me, Van Morrison’s Gloria, and American Girl. Nicks, wearing a different outfit, came out to sing backup for the last one.

Tom Petty, the five Heartbreakers, and Stevie Nicks took a bow, walked off stage, and left behind a very pleased crowd in Bristow, Virginia.