Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers | Photo by Mike Vasilikos
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers rocked 40 years of incredible hits at Wells Fargo
Last night, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers rolled into Philly at the Wells Fargo Center for two hours, performing one hit after another for an audience that sang along to every word. The last time Petty was in town was June 2016, touring with Mudcrutch. That night though was reserved for the songs he recorded from his reunion with his first band. Last night, however, was reserved for Petty’s incredible canon of songs, stretching back to the band’s 1976 self-titled debut.
Joining Petty on stage for the 40th-anniversary tour were his always top notch band; Benmont Tench on keyboards, Ron Blair on bass, Steve Ferrone on drums, multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston, The Webb Sisters on backing vocals and superstar guitarist Mike Campbell.
Early in the show, Petty told the audience to think about the evening as one long side of a record that they were going to “drop the needle” all over. Indeed they accomplished that.
Missing were songs from his classic albums, You’re Gonna Get It and Hard Promises, however with a catalogue of songs spanning 40 years, he could have played for four hours, and kept going.
The many highlights of the evening included a three-song dive into the Wildflowers album, “You Got Lucky,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” and the supercharged hits “Refugee,” “Runnin’ Down A Dream,” and the night’s closing song, “American Girl.” For two hours, the audience sang along to song after song. The band sounded perfect, with Mike Campbell proving why he’s been one of rock’s greatest (and underrated) guitarists. For 19 songs, Petty and The Heartbreakers, like The Boss, proved it all night.
They don’t call it classic rock for nothing. And the reason why Petty’s work sits at the top of mountain is because as a songwriter, he’s written tunes that have endured, and over time, have gotten even better.
Setlist and fan videos below.
Setlist
Rockin’ Around (With You)
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
You Don’t Know Hot It Feels
Forgotten Man
You Got Lucky
I Won’t Back Down
Free Fallin’
Into The Great Wide Open
Don’t Come Around Here No More
It’s Good To Be King
Crawling Back To You
Wildflowers
Learning To Fly
Yer So Bad
I Should Have Known It
Refugee
Runnin’ Down A Dream
Encore
You Wreck Me
American Girl