Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers 2010 Mojo Tour Review

June 1st, 2010 Red Rocks Amphitheater Morrison Colorado

As Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took the stage to kick off their 2010 Mojo tour at Red Rocks, in Morrison Colorado on June 1, 2010 excitement and anticipation blew through the amphitheater like a warm comforting wind. While I've seen The Heartbreakers more than a few times now at a few different venues, nothing seems to compliment their music and style quite like Red Rocks!

Making this appearance even more special was the fact that I was able to bring my sons along for their very first concert. Before we arrived at Red Rocks, I tried to fill them in on what to expect from the crowd and the band, but I knew that nothing I said could actually prepare them for what they were about to experience. The one point that I really tried to hammer through to them before the show kicked off was that Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers were true masters at the top of their game and they were going to provide an amazing one of a kind musical experience - born and bread of their true love for performing.

This true and ever present love of getting up on stage and performing is the one thread that has remained constant through all of the times I've seen Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers live. And it's a huge part of what makes each of their live performances truly special - After all if you don't love what you're doing it shines through - instead of becoming a "juke box" of hits, the Heartbreakers have stayed true to their original mission to recreate themselves with each new album and each live show.

They give you something new to experience, something that has never before been experienced anywhere else in this world and they do it on purpose as a gift straight from their soul to the audience. I've never seen any group of musicians leave more of themselves on stage than the Heartbreakers, and they do it with such a masterful element of purpose and control - as if they've perfected their ability to share this gift with the world. True masters of their craft.

That night at Red Rocks, there was a real transparency emanating off of the stage that I really believe bares the soul of each of the Heartbreakers. Each time I see them live, I can't help but notice how much fun they seem to be having on stage together, but this time around something was different. When they started to rip into their new songs from Mojo, I couldn't help but notice how the atmosphere on stage changed. It was as if the Heartbreakers had come alive - like it took them back to their first live show...when rock and roll for the sake of rock and roll was all that mattered.

Instead of paying attention to the rhythm and time of the songs, they started to really play from their hearts. Mike Campbell and Tom Petty's fluid fingers pulsed out a grunge soaked blusey chord that reverberated off of the big red rocks and burned right through the audience in a way that only the blues can. And I'm not talking your standard issue clean polished blusey sound either - dirty blues..the kind that cuts to your soul and leaves a mark forever.

Right from the opening song, the Heartbreakers captivated the audience with an entertaining display of musical mastery, subtle humor and storytelling as only Tom Petty can. Blasting through the classics like; You Don't Know How It Feels, I Won't Back Down, Free Falling, Mary Jane's Last Dance, Breakdown, Learning To Fly, Don't Come Around Here No More And Refugee. And blasting out a few of the less recognizable (at least to the younger fans in attendance) Heartbreakers songs like; Kings Highway and Driving Down To Georgia.

 In my opinion, the real draw to Tom Petty's music is that each of his songs can instantly transform themselves into something that they never have been before, or even will be again. An ability to transcend even the original meaning of the lyric and with simple poetic prose overcome the stereotype that most rock music gets pegged with and rise to the challenge of remaining meaningful, powerful and relevant over the course of time. To be honest, this simple power just can't be experienced until you see Tom at a venue like Red Rocks - a place where the elegant beauty of mother nature, the fun loving spirit of Tom Petty fans and I can't help but think, the rock and roll gods all combine to create the perfect storm of sensory overload - the ultimate experience!

It can take on a new form at the blink of an eye, capture a new meaning or elicit a new feeling of emotion for even the most hardened Tom Petty fan. It's almost like each of their songs has the ability to transcend the moment and become something that it's never been before - hold a certain meaning that's completely new in this context, I've never experienced anything like it anywhere else in the world.

Layers of music and lyric that add a real depth to the show, almost forcing it to become more than just rock and roll. I've never seen Tom petty live and felt like he didn't just share/reveal something so intimate and personal about himself that it almost pained him to let it go in front of 10,000 people. But that's what he brings to the table each and every night a baring of the soul that only helps to intensify the aura of mystery and magic surrounding each and every tom Petty And The Heartbreakers concert I've ever experienced.

It's this baring of the soul - telling the story of a life through song that sets Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers apart from every other rock and roll band I've ever seen. Each time I've seen Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers live, I've had different things going on in my life, like we all have from time to time.

Big things that have really been weighing me down and tearing apart my soul. What I truly love about The Heartbreakers music is that it doesn't make you just "forget it all" for a few hours, rather it forces you to see your life's situation through a different set of eyes, allowing you to get some perspective that just can't be gained any other way.

One second you're rocking to one of the classics and the next second you pick up on something that you've never heard before a new hook, an ad libbed key-board piece or new lyric what ever, but it grabs a-hold of your soul and for what ever reason ignites a fire storm of passion that carries with it a calming sense of clarity and perspective that I've never been able to grasp in any other way.

While there have been thousands of rock an roll acts that have graced the stage a Red Rocks, there has never been anyone so raw and do damned cool as Tom petty. He's skinny, he's ugly and his voice sucks but there isn't a person on the face of the planet who can write and deliver song lyrics that are capable of encompassing so many different meanings all at the same time.

While I sat on the bleachers at Red Rocks, I couldn't help but enjoy the moment and bask in the feeling that for just one moment regardless of anything else in the world "for just one moment everything was all right". I left Red Rocks that night feeling like my soul had been cleansed and carrying with me the powerful realization that my boys had just been exposed to something that they'll never forget as long as they live.

If you get a chance to see Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers this summer on their Mojo tour, jump on it, at all costs - do what ever you have to do to come up with the cash! Not only will you get to see an amazing rock and roll show, but you'll get to experience the true essence of the Heartbreakers as they push the envelope again and redefine their purpose with new music that may be some of the best they've ever recorded - or played live!