You Belong Among The Wildflowers
My friend Branden called me from Los Angeles. The day was September 24, 2017 (my 12th anniversary).
“I know it’s late notice. But if you can somehow get to L.A., I have a ticket and backstage pass1 for you for the Tom Petty show at the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow.”
I fretted. My FOMO spiked. Said I’d call him back. We had three-year old twins. Work was crazy busy. Money was tight, really tight actually. We just weren’t in a position where I could—financially or from a work standpoint—just drop everything and buy a flight to (and rental car in and hotel room in) L.A. on a whim.
So I told Branden I had to pass. I regretted it a lot at the time.
And regretted it even more when Petty died unexpectedly and the world realized that the show was his last. Ever. Obviously, with that knowledge, I would’ve figured out how to make the money work. Hindsight can be annoying that way.
As it was, I only saw Tom Petty in concert twice. The first time I saw him was at the Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California on Oct 28, 2000, a day in which it dumped rain for no less than 8 straight hours. My friend Billy and I got utterly marrow-soaked and, yet, it was a highlight among 20 years of the Bridge School Benefit concerts2 I attended. The Heartbreakers were particularly good3.
And then I saw him again two years later on November 5, 2002 at the Maverik Center on The Last DJ tour, a setlist that was heavy on songs from the The Last DJ and very, very, very good.
Both times, I left wondering if Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were the greatest American band of all time. After the latter show, I got a speeding ticket on I-215 as I had “Runnin’ Down A Dream” on full blast and had, as Tom’s lyrics direct, put the pedal down. Excessively, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
Nearly a decade later, the Rooftop Concert Series in Provo asked me to put together a second tribute show, after the good vibes and surprising success (?) of our first tribute, the Abbey Road Show. I mulled options, listing them in a Google doc that is literally 82 pages long. Bob Dylan would be pretty straightforward. The Stones made sense. I’ve always wanted to try to play Radiohead’s OK Computer all the way through. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and U2’s The Joshua Tree were contenders every year. In the end, though, I couldn’t shake one idea: the Heartbreakers are maybe the greatest American band ever and nobody recognizes it. I liked a show with something to prove: we’ll play Tom Petty songs all night and you’ll be amazed how many songs you know (and love).
So we did. And for years I said that the Abbey Road Show and the Tom Petty Show4 were my favorites.
So, foolishly, I’m gonna try to do it again. Run it back.
Before his untimely death, Petty was planning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his album Wildflowers. A big tour to play the classic songs, as well as a re-release featuring all the unreleased songs that Petty had originally wanted to have on the album, when he pitched Wildflowers as a double album back in 1994.
As you know from both history and my first paragraph, this never happened.
So we5’re gonna do it for Tom. Every song from Wildflowers plus another dozen Tom Petty classics. Nearly 30 songs. I hate to reduce art down to pure economics but fine: that’s less than a dollar per song, a deal if ever there was one.
And we’re gonna do the show twice. The February 2 Provo show at The Covey Center is all but sold out. But there are still some tickets left for the February 9 SLC show at The State Room, if you hurry.
See you there.
Branden is the rockstar bassist of Neon Trees. This is the kind of thing that happens. He called another time with front row seats for a big Bob Dylan/Wilco/My Morning Jacket show out at USANA Amphitheater. That time, I didn't pass.
Besides Neil Young and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, the bill included Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Tegan & Sara, and a surprise appearance by Robin Williams, who did some spontaneous standup while the crew squeegeed rain puddles off the stage.
SETLIST. Tom took advantage of the one-off-ness of the benefit concert format and played THREE covers. Notable, of the four originals, half were from Wildflowers era.
Baby, Please Don't Go (Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers cover)
A Face in the Crowd
Mary Jane's Last Dance
Little Red Rooster (Willie Dixon cover)
To Find a Friend
I Won't Back Down
I Still Miss Someone (Johnny Cash cover)
Breakdown
Both times we’ve prepped for these Tom Petty shows, it has really struck me how great a craftsman Tom was when it came to songwriting. His attention to the little details is fascinating, as is his ability to make it all seem loose and effortless. There’s a reason he fit right in with a Beatle and Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison in The Traveling Wilburys.
A crack housebound comprised of:
Debra Fotheringham: vocals, guitar, percussion
Pat Boyer: electric guitar
Brian Hardy: piano, organ, etc
Dylan Schorer: electric guitar, pedal steel, lap steel
Scott Wiley: electric & acoustic guitar
Branden Campbell: bass
And a list of singers that’ll knock you out.