Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (April 21, 2012)

Headliner: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Opener: Regina Spektor

Date: April 21, 2012

Venue: Verizon Arena (North Little Rock, Ark.)

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have been rocking America for nearly 40 years, but somehow have managed to skip Arkansas until tonight (April 21) when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees took the stage at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena. One thing was certain Saturday night, Arkansas sure loved them some Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Based on Petty’s reactions throughout the night, the feeling seemed mutual.

The evening began with about a 45 minute performance from opening act Regina Spektor, who seemed to perform the same song 10 times in a row, despite me knowing better. Spektor seemed like an awkward choice for opener from the start of the tour announcement.

Once TP&HB took the stage the night flowed effortlessly from start-to-finish. The band opened up the night with the hit “Listen to Her Heart,” from the 1978 album You’re Gonna Get It!

What followed was a great mixture of Petty classics that all rock fans know by heart and deep cuts from albums, both recent and years gone by. The hits had the thousands of fans in attendance on their feet, shimmying in the aisles and singing along. The lesser known tunes didn’t break the audience’s attention, as happens with some artists, as the fans marveled at the Heartbreakers musicianship like lead guitarist Mike Campbell’s fine shredding on bluesy tunes like “I Should Have Known It” and “Good Enough” from the group’s most recent album, 2010’s Mojo and Benmont Tench’s masterful, prolonged piano solo on “Melinda.”

Among the rare album tracks that made their way into Petty’s setlist were two of my favorite performances of the night: the fun, story song “Spike” from 1985’s Southern Accents and “Yer So Bad” from 1989’s Full Moon Fever. The night also included a rare album track from 1981’s Hard Promises album titled “Something Big” that I had not previously heard and enjoyed thoroughly.

Petty’s hits were as good as expected and worth the money everyone paid to hear them. Included in the setlist were standard Petty tunes like “Free Fallin’,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” “Refugee,” “Here Comes My Girl” and “Learning to Fly.” Listening to the entire crowd sing every word of “Free Fallin’” along with Petty instantly became one of the greatest concert moments that I’ve ever witnessed.

Other highlights from the show included the band’s performance of “You Wreck Me” from the 1995 Wildflowers album, a Traveling Wilbury classic “Handle With Care,” in which band member Scott Thurston sang the late Roy Orbison’s part and a cover of the blues classic, made famous by Bo Diddley, “I’m a Man.”

Following an uproarious enticement by the crowd, Petty & the Heartbreakers returned for a two-song encore of “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “American Girl” that perfectly capped off the night. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “American Girl” happen to be my two favorite Petty songs, so the encore became the most memorable I’ve ever seen, as well as my favorite performances of the night.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers is one of those rock bands that you must see live. It’s an experience I’ll never forget and one more dream concert I can now check off of my list.