Tom Petty plays it safe with solid L.A. show

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -

Tom Petty seemed to have even more strut in his stride than usual. "I've come to rock Hollywood," he told the sold-out Hollywood Bowl crowd Tuesday, not bothering to conceal a mischievous grin.

And rock he did, as dependably as always, if not as long at 110 minutes. The cocky-cool Petty and his Heartbreakers are celebrating 30 years together, and time has polished their sound and show into an effortless exercise in solid rock and giving the people what they want. All the while, they have remained among the elite on the perpetual touring circuit -- even on a night when they were a little less fiery than recent local shows.

The band got off to a rather mellow start, from the midtempo jangle of opener "Listen to Her Heart" through the happy plod of sing-along fave "Free Fallin'." But the fifth song revved things up nicely. "Saving Grace," the punchy lead single from Petty's new solo album "Highway Companion," featured a growling riff that gives a nod, wink and nudge to ZZ Top's "La Grange." The throwback rocker was backed by a pair of career-influencing covers -- the chest-thumping "I'm a Man" and the early Fleetwood Mac rave-up "Oh Well" -- that presaged the spoken-sung style Petty honed on the band's pre-Traveling Wilburys albums.

While the requisite '60s covers were enjoyable, it's easy to wish the Heartbreakers would mine their own catalog more deeply. Such '90s live staples as "It's Good to Be King," "You Wreck Me" and "Learning to Fly" are perfectly adequate, but any of them could be jettisoned from the set list to make room for an early- or midcareer album cut to placate the more fervent fans. That also might invigorate the band, which occasionally sagged just a bit during the most familiar songs.

Mike Campbell, whom Petty called his "co-captain," remains one of rock's underrated guitarists and the band's foundation; his licks easily melded British invasion and mid-'60s California rock with dirty blues. Fellow original Heartbreaker Benmont Tench's keyboards regrettably seemed to be featured less than in past years, with his longest time in the spotlight coming during an encore cover of Them's "Mystic Eyes."

Longtime Petty collaborator and fellow Wilbury

Jeff Lynne came onstage to add the Roy Orbison parts to "Handle With Care," which came off as well as or better than any Petty original. He then ceded the guest-star role to the venerable

Stevie Nicks. Introduced as "an honorary Heartbreaker," she flitted and twirled, with her voice abutting blues-mama territory on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and during her solo lead vocal on "I Need to Know." She later returned for a country-soulful acoustic duet on "Insider," a haunting ballad from 1981's "Hard Promises" that probably would have been a radio monster if it had been on a Nicks solo record.

Meanwhile, Petty's sneering drawl still punctuates a lyric like few can, and his smooth confidence fuels a band with a rare mix of consistent albums and bracing live shows. And 30 years looks to be just a mile marker on the Heartbreakers' long and rewarding road.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter