I'm in a Heartbreakers state of mind as I prepare to once again hit the open road, destination Nashville's Sommet Center. I'll once again team with my faithful Highway Companion 11 as we pursue all the glories of rock and roll goodness that two married white guys on the other side of 30 can find.
This will be my third time seeing The Heartbreakers. My first was in Atlanta on the Echo tour in 1999. I wish I had a set list for that but with all the powers of Google I have yet to find anyone who has it. I had the good sense to track the set list myself when I returned to Atlanta to see them on the 30th Anniversary tour, tangentially related to Petty's brilliant solo record Highway Companion. Tonight's show is in support of The Heartbreakers' first record together in eight years, Mojo and I'm about as excited as I can be.
Throughout my Follow The E Street Band minitour, I documented the set lists played and the songs I hoped and wished for. Many wishes were granted over the course of that journey while some remain unfulfilled for now. I'm not going to go quite as obsessive with my Heartbreakers' show because Petty doesn't alter his set list that much over the course of a tour so I'm going to divvy this up just a little differently:
I. Songs I'm Most Excited About Hearing Likely To Be Played (Oldies Division)
- "You Don't Know How It Feels"
- "Breakdown"
- "Don't Come Around Here No More"
The closest thing to an Atlanta '99 setlist I've found is one from Philly a week later. He played both of these at that show. I think I remember "You Don't Know" being played in Atlanta. I don't recall "Breakdown" at all. While my research suggests I've heard these both before, it's been 11 years. Wildflowers is my favorite Petty record of all time and "Breakdown" is a classic single from his debut record.
I have specific memories of "Don't Come Around Here No More" from both shows and it was and is still great. That's not why I'm looking forward to this one, though. 11 is attending his first show and this is the one he most wants to hear. It's been played every night thus far so he'll probably get his wish and I'll be happy for us both.
Article comments
1 - Donald Gibson
Tom played "Crawling Back to You" one of the times I've seen him, right around the time Highway Companion came out. I remember him saying he rarely performed it, but he had family in attendance (being in Florida), so he decided to dust it off. It was fantastic.
2 - ouijarepair
Totally agree on King's Highway and on how well the new Mojo tunes come off live. Then again, I've not heard them do anything that sounded less than perfect live. We caught the Atlanta show, and it was fantastic. "Good Enough." After the show we discussed what songs we wish they had played -- "Crawling Back to You," "Kings Highway," "You Wreck me," "Here comes my Girl" "Into the Great Wide Open," "Good to be King,"...We had to stop that little exercise because there was no end in sight. What a collection of great songs.
3 - Josh Hathaway
I'll be updating soon with my experiences but let me just go ahead and say two little words: KING'S HIGHWAY!!!!