Petty late but lively

Press, 7 May 1980, Page 6

Petty late but lively

By

NEVIN TOPP

At the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ concert in the Christchurch Town Hall last evening, it was difficult to say whether the group’s or the audienees heart would break first. The show kicked off 40 minutes late for the punters, as the English rock music press is fond of referring to those who take a chance on attending concerts, but by the third encore the late start was long forgotten. Coming on for the third encore, Tom Petty, the rhythm guitarist and vocalist for the American rhythm and blues band, doubled over and clutched his back pretending that the demands of the audience were taking their toll. His ability to “ham it up,” plus the fact that the group were evidenly enjoying play-

ing, made the show a great success. j The show, part of the New ; Zealand “Damn The Tort pedoes” tour, was opened > slowly by the group, perhaps : wary that it had kept the I crowd waiting. In fact three songs passed before Petty ) spoke to the audience, which , by then was starting to warm : up. i Before singing “Here i Comes My Girl” Petty said ’ to the crowd: “I wish you : would sing along with us because we’re not in the best I shape tonight,” adding a wry grin. But the driving rhythm sec- . tion of Stan Lynch on drums and the bass guitarist, Ron Blair, was in good form, punching out songs such as “I Need to Know,” and the hit single, “Refugee,” while the lead guitarist, Mike Campbell, played some stun-

ning hot licks, especially on “Breakdown.” By the end of the concert it was “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead,” attributed to David Farragut when his Union naval force defeated a Confederate flotilla in Mobile Bay in 1864. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gave new meaning to the old soul standard “Shout,” played in a by now, characteristic piston style, with the drummer, Stan Lych shining through and Petty’s stage antics geting great audience reaction. Each of the encores got better, as the group moved through some old rhythm and blues standards, the Johnny Fuller Four classic, “I Fought The Law,” and Chuck Berry’s “Route 66.” As Petty said before he was called back for the encores: “We would like to thank you, it has been a lot of fun.” It was, too.