by Kelly Revels

Created on: July 15, 2008   Last Updated: July 16, 2008

How do you explain growing up with music like that of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers? The music becomes so much a part of the consciousness it defines not only a generation, but defines who you are as an individual. One of the unique powers of an artist is to make people feel and think beyond their normal hum-drum every day existence; to seek and explore the possibilities that lay just below the surface. They can also capture the moments and express our deepest desires, fears, hopes and dreams. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have been doing this for over 30 years, which is simply amazing considering today's climate of corporate churn-and-burn, game show made rock stars. So, of course, when the opportunity arises to see the Heartbreakers perform live, you take it.

It was a typical humid southern evening in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Heartbreakers took the stage. I hadn't seen the Heartbreakers live since 2002 which made the anticipation even greater. I kept telling my spouse, who had never witnessed a live Heartbreakers performance, "The energy is beyond anything on any record of theirs you've heard." And as promised, Tom came out swinging with "You Wreck Me", which he has been opening with this go around. I knew the opener from previous set lists, but feeling it is a completely different beast. Steve Ferrone's drums were vibrations felt through the concrete of the Ampitheatre floor. The show was off to a furious start as Tom took his jacket off and said, "It's a nice hot evening for a rock n' roll showwe got a lot of songs for you, so we are just gonna get right to it!"

And get right to it they did, launching into a torrid "Listen to Her Heart". Mike Campbell, still in dreads, which cracks me up every time I see him, had thrown his already soaked jacket to one of the roadies and unveiled a t-shirt that said, "Mudcrutch for President", referring to the newly reformed original Tom Petty band that released an album in May and did a short California tour. The statement, while hilarious, was more profound than any given intentions on his part I think, given the current political situation in the U.S. The standard "I Won't Back Down" appeared and still speaks volumes about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers creative, artistic, and personal integrity. Although written in a much different landscape, the Heartbreakers perform it with as much truth and rock n' roll instinct as they did 20 years ago. People were singing along, and Petty was encouraging it. It occurred to

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