Beacon Theatre
New York, NY
May 20, 2013
Long after Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers took a final bow at the lip of the stage in front of a sold-out Beacon Theatre and the grateful crowd exited after an incredible first night of the band’s 2013 Beacon residency, the old theater on Broadway and 74th Street that’s hosted so many legendary concerts was still buzzing from the night’s performance. The lights may have been turned off, the amps powered down and the guitars put away, but the room was still alive and very much electric.
Heartbreakers loyalists will point to the summer tour debut of eight songs in the setlist as evidence of a spectacular night of music, casual fans loved singing along to the radio hits and true music aficionados will forever talk about Mike Campbell’s explosive guitar work on “Good Enough” or Benmont Tench’s epic piano soliloquy on “Melinda.”
The anticipation for these shows has been building since the tour was announced this past winter, and Tom and the band delivered on everyone’s hopes and wishes – for deep album tracks (“Fooled Again,” “Billy The Kid,” “Angel Dream”) and classic hits (“American Girl,” “Refugee,” “Runnin’ Down A Dream”), for surprising covers (“Stepping Stone,” “Willin’,” “Rock & Roll Star”) and special shout-outs (“Cabin Down Below” was dedicated to the Lower East Side bar of the same name).
These are the kind of nights you dream about: a Hall-of-Fame artist backed by one of the greatest rock bands of all time throwing caution to the wind and plunging deep into their catalog at one of the legendary music venues in the world.
If night one is representative of what we are to expect for the rest of the Beacon run, we’re in for something special this week in the Big Apple.
Set List:
Rock & Roll Star
Love Is A Long Road
I Won't Back Down
Fooled Again
Cabin Down Below
Good Enough
Stepping Stone
Woman In Love
Billy The Kid
Tweeter And The Monkey Man
Rebels
Hard To Find A Friend
Angel Dream
Willin’
Melinda
I Should Have Known It
Refugee
Runnin' Down A Dream
E: You Wreck Me
Oh Carol
American Girl