Of the opening band of the night, Buddy Guy, the only thing I can say here is Whoa! I have always wanted to see him live and he did not dissapoint. He ran through his sixty-minute set with a list of hits that I think have been covered by so many bands out there today.  I can’t think of another bluesman who can come close to this 74-year old. So check his website out at www.buddyguy.com  for some dates close to us in October.
        As Tom Petty and his band, Mike Campbell, guitar, Benmont Tench, keyboards, Ron Blair, bass, multi-instrumentalist Scott Thurston and Steve Ferrone, drums, hit the stage for their 2010 "Mojo Tour"  and opened up with "Listen To Her Heart," playing to a  near sell-out crowd on the second night of a two-night stand. Petty then said to the crowd, "Hi, we are Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and we are the band that will be playing for you tonight," which received a thunderous response. Up next was, "You Don't Know How It Feels", with a long moody jam. Many people in the audience seemed to take the lyrics, "Let's roll another joint" literally; funny about that waffling air in Philly. Then came "I Won't Back Down", with Campbell playing a nice slide on the song. Next up was "Free Fallin', which Petty dedicated to all the lovebirds, and to any guy who has cheated on his girlfriend. Then a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" led into some old classics including "Mary Jane's Last Dance, "Honey Bee" and "Breakdown" before the band ran through a mid-set run of four new songs from their new album "Mojo" that included "Jefferson Jericho Blues", "Good Enough", "Running Man's Bible" and "I Should Have Known" all of which were more tolerated than embraced by the crowd. Luckily, Petty has enough hits to let him finish strong. Afterwards, alone in the spotlight, Petty played acoustic guitar  on "Learning To Fly" until the band kicked in, and the crowd began singing again. "Don't Come Around Here No More" had the audience emphatically singing the chours' "Stop!" and Campbell finished with a fast, thrashing solo. Then "Refugee", which closed the main set, with Campbell ripping another solo to end the song.
        The encore was flat-out rock hits, opening with "Runnin' Down A Dream," after which Petty asked the crowd, "Are you ready?" with the band kicking into the closer, "American Girl." This brought everyone in the house to their feet chanting for more which did not come - two was it. To anyone interested in seeing him, he does have one local date at the Nissan Pavillion (now Jiffy Lube Live) on August 15th, or for more info on him go to www.tompetty.com. For more pictures of this concert go to www.coconuttimes.com    
– Gary Crouthamel, concert photo journalist