Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Rock veteran Petty saves the best for ‘Last’

Veteran rocker Tom Petty is disgusted with the state of FM radio, and he's not afraid to let everyone know exactly how he feels.

Last month, the 52-year-old kicked off his latest tour, promoting new album "The Last DJ," a record that provides a scathing attack not just on radio today, but on many aspects of the music industry as a whole.

The first single, "The Last DJ," has been banned by many FM stations around the country.

"Nothing could have complimented me more than to hear they just banned it at such-and-such a station because it's anti-radio," Petty told Rolling Stone magazine in a recent interview. "Now, in 2002, to have a song banned that doesn't have a dirty word, doesn't advocate violence -- it's fascinating."

With longtime backing band The Heartbreakers, Petty will play the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts tonight at 8.

Singer/songwriter Jackson Browne opens the show. Browne released a new album, "The Naked Ride Home," in September.

Who: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Where: Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts.

When: 8 tonight .

Tickets: $55, $85.

Call: 785-5000.

Opening act: Jackson Browne.

Personnel: Tom Petty (guitar, vocals), Mike Campbell (guitar), Benmont Tench (keyboard), Ron Blair (bass), Scott Thurston (guitar, harmonica), Steve Ferrone (drums).

Latest release: "The Last DJ" (Warner Bros., 2002) .

Album feedback: "On 'The Last DJ,' Tom Petty sounds like the crankiest middle-aged punk this side of Neil Young ... Fortunately, Petty doesn't drown in bile." (Rolling Stone, 3 stars) "Apparently, Petty needed to work himself into an indignant lather to produce his most consequential songs in years." (Entertainment Weekly, A-)

Essential releases: "Damn the Torpedoes" (1979), "Hard Promises" (1981), "Full Moon Fever (1989), "Wildflowers" (1994).

What to expect: For the first four dates of his "Last DJ Tour," Petty has leaned heavily on new material, playing eight or nine of the album's 12 cuts each night. He has also sampled from his considerable back catalog of hits, but has passed over favorites like "American Girl" and "Refugee" for slightly lesser-known tracks from his past.

Recent set list: SDSU Open Air Theatre, San Diego, Tuesday: "The Last DJ," "Love is a Long Road," "Have Love, Will Travel," "Dreamville," "Joe," "When a Kid Goes Bad," "Shadow of a Doubt (A Complex Kid)," "I Won't Back Down," "You Don't Know How It Feels," "Feel a Whole Lot Better," "Like a Diamond," "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)," "The Waiting," "King's Highway," "Yer So Bad," "Lost Children," "Runnin' Down a Dream," "Can't Stop the Sun." Encore: "Change of Heart," "Psychotic Reaction, "Mary Jane's Last Dance." (from fan website gonegator.com)

Tour feedback: "Petty can wail all he wants about the sour state of the music industry ... but he still clearly exults in performing his 13-album catalog of wry, rollicking and rebellious rock tunes, and goes out of his way to share that joy with those lucky enough to be in attendance." (Santa Barbara News-Press) "They rock as strongly now as ever before, maybe more." (Orange County Register)

Previous Las Vegas appearances: Oct. 15, 1999 (The Joint); June 1, 2001 (The Joint); June 2, 2001 (The Joint).

Says Petty: "I remember when the radio meant something. We enjoyed the people who were on it, even if it we hated them. They had personalities. They were people of taste, who we trusted. And I see that vanishing." (Rolling Stone, Oct., 2002)

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