Petty to rock O'Connell after 13 years



By DAVE SCHLENKER

Sun entertainment editor
July 08. 2006 6:01AM

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are coming home for their 30th
anniversary. The Gainesville-bred band - and Rock and Roll Hall of
Famers - will perform at the O'Connell Center on Sept. 21.

Tickets go on sale July 22 at TicketMaster outlets. Alternative
rockers The Strokes are scheduled to open the show, according to
Petty's publicist Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald.

"I can't wait," said keyboard player Benmont Tench, an original
member who still keeps close ties to Gainesville. "I'm really,
really happy about it. I'm so thrilled they finally announced it."

The concert is part of the "Highway Companion" Tour, named for
Petty's upcoming solo album. The tour celebrates the 30th
anniversary of the band's debut, gold-certified, self-titled album,
which included the flagship hits "Breakdown" and "American Girl."

The band last played Gainesville in 1993 at the O'Connell Center.

"We are so excited. It has been a while," said Gainesville resident
Rachel Tench, Benmont's sister. "Everybody here embraces them as
their hometown kids."

The Heartbreakers launched a three-leg anniversary tour earlier this
summer, with Petty's third solo album, "Highway Companion,"
scheduled for release July 25. The band's last studio album was
2002's "The Last DJ," yet the anniversary tour has played to sold-
out crowds from New York City's Madison Square Garden to last
month's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee, where Petty
brought Stevie Nicks on stage as a surprise guest.

The tour has been turning heads among critics and fans.

"This year, Petty and his brilliant band the Heartbreakers are
celebrating their 30th anniversary as one of the finest, most
enduring outfits in rock 'n' roll," wrote The Boston Globe's
Jonathan Perry in a concert review.

Naturally, this buzz has reached Gainesville, where rumors of a
local stop have been circulating for weeks. Even the band's
relatives in Gainesville knew it likely would happen, but details
have been slim and discreet.

Rachel Tench has been anxiously awaiting the news to break. "When
this hits - I mean, really hits - I think people are going to be
really charged," she said. "I think this town is just going to bust
open."

Tench and close friend Sadie Darnell, Petty's cousin and a retired
Gainesville Police captain, were overwhelmed with this city's
response when The Heartbreakers played here in 1993. Rachel Tench
called the atmosphere in Gainesville simply electric, while Darnell
recalled "Petty parties all over the community."

Both expect an even bigger response when the band's 30th anniversary
tour arrives.

The music community, anyway, agrees.
"I think it's huge. Literally, there's not a better touring band in
the world," said Ken Block, lead singer for Sister Hazel, sometimes
referred to as "the second biggest band to come out of Gainesville."

"This is very significant. (Petty) is the genuine superstar that
came out of Gainesville," said Marty Jourard, a former Gainesville
musician who found fame in the 1980s as a keyboard/sax player for
The Motels. "The main thing Petty did was that he became a mind-
blowing songwriter."

Jourard and his former Gainesville bands - Southpaw and Road Turkey
(featuring drummer Stan Lynch before he joined The Heartbreakers) -
used to share stages with Petty's former Gainesville band Mudcrutch.

Jourard, now a Seattle area musician and teacher, is no stranger to
touring and noted The Heartbreakers' 13-year gap between Gainesville
performances likely had more to do with budgets and bean counters
than the band's desire to play their hometown.

"Petty liked Gainesville," Jourard said. "That was the environment
that allowed Petty to be Petty."

Tench said the band has wanted to play Gainesville for a long time.
He, too, remembers the atmosphere at the O'Connell Center in
1993: "That was just wonderful. It was so much fun, just a really
special gig."

Petty himself has been downright nostalgic about his hometown in
recent years. In an interview with Gainesville Magazine last year,
he was asked if he had visited Gainesville lately.

"No, but I sure would love to," he answered. "There's really not too
many days go by that I don't think about it. I think about it quite
a bit. One of my dreams is to really go back there, spend a little
time and just go around and get nostalgic, you know? I loved it
there."

The band will not get much down time in Gainesville, however, as
they play Atlanta the following day and then San Diego on Sept. 27.

Times and ticket prices have not been announced yet. In fact, as of
late Friday afternoon, O'Connell Center officials were unable to
confirm the concert. "We're not there yet," said Darius Dunn,
O'Connell Center associate director.

The concert was posted on the band's Web site late Friday, and
Robinson Fitzgerald, Petty's publicist, said it is definitely a done
deal. Dunn said all those signs are positive, but he has not been
given the green light from promoters to confirm the concert.

The Heartbreakers are original members Petty, Tench, guitarist Mike
Campbell and bassist Ron Blair, as well as drummer Steve Ferrone
(Lynch left the band in 1994) and guitarist Scott Thurston.

Copyright 2006, The Gainesville Sun. The information contained in
the Sun Online news report may not be published, broadcast or
redistributed without the prior written authority of The Gainesville
Sun.
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TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS Announce Leg Three of Their 2006 U.S.
Concert Trek
The Strokes, John Mayer and Frank Black Will Support on Selected
Dates; Stevie Nicks Returns to the Tour as Special "Surprise" G

By: Marketwire
Jul. 7, 2006 08:55 PM
Digg This!




LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/07/06 -- With sold-out
concerts -- including New York's Madison Square Garden and the
80,000-strong Bonnaroo -- house records set, and accolades like the
Boston Globe's "one of the finest, most enduring outfits in
rock'n'roll," Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers announce dates and
support acts for Leg Three of their 2006 U.S. Summer Tour. The third
leg, which includes headlining this year's Austin City Limits
Festival and a return to the band's Gainesville, FL hometown, kicks
off in Chicago on September 14 and will feature The Strokes on their
first of several dates as support act. John Mayer and Frank Black
will support on other selected dates.

The 'Highway Companion Tour,' which celebrates the band's 30th
anniversary, has already featured a star-studded list of special
guests and opening acts.

Phish frontman Trey Anastasio opened the entire first leg and will
be back on some Leg Two dates, and the Allman Brothers Band are also
set to support on select second leg dates. In addition, Petty and
the Heartbreakers have just completed an historic run of dates with
Pearl Jam during which Eddie Vedder took the stage and sang lead
with Tom and the Heartbreakers on "The Waiting" and "American Girl."

It is also announced that Stevie Nicks, who was a "surprise" guest
on the first eight shows of the tour, will return in that capacity
for Leg Two and Leg Three dates. Nicks will join Petty and the
Heartbreakers during their set for a handful of songs, including the
Petty/Nicks Number One hit, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around."

Tickets for the Berkeley dates will go on sale July 16; all other
shows go on sale July 22 except Raleigh, NC which will go on sale
July 21. There will be presales for Highway Companion Club members.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- Petty/vocals, guitars, Mike
Campbell/guitars, Benmont Tench/keyboards, Ron Blair/bass, Scott
Thurston/guitars, harmonica, backing vocals, and Steve
Ferrone/drums -- have just wrapped up Leg One of their summer
sojourn that kicked off June 9; Leg Two is scheduled to run from
July 30 to August 18. The complete itinerary is below.

On July 25, "Highway Companion," Petty's third solo and 18th overall
career disc, will be released (American Recordings/Warner Bros.
Records). The album was produced by Jeff Lynne with Petty and Mike
Campbell, and features twelve new Petty compositions. Lynne also
produced the multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated Petty albums "Full
Moon Fever" (1989) and "Into the Great Wide Open" (1991) (Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers). The first radio track from "Highway
Companion" is "Saving Grace," which was world-premiered last month
in front of 20-million people on ABC-TV's NBA Finals. A special
video stream of "Saving Grace" is now available at tompetty.com.

This year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will celebrate the 30th
anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut album. For
this 30th anniversary, Academy Award-winning director/screenwriter
Peter Bogdanovich has signed on to direct a comprehensive
feature/film documentary about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Over
the past 30 years, Petty & the Heartbreakers have sold more than 50-
million records, been nominated for 16 Grammy Awards, and were
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, the first year
the band was eligible. Late last year, Billboard magazine presented
Petty with its 2005 Century Award, the publication's highest honor
for creative achievement. He recently kicked off his second season
of his critically acclaimed XM Satellite Radio show, "Tom Petty's
Buried Treasure."

With more dates to be announced for Leg Three, here is the confirmed
itinerary for Legs Two and Three:

(LEG TWO)
JULY
29 Amphitheatre at Clark County, Portland, OR (w/ Trey
Anastasio)
30 White River Amphitheatre, Seattle, WA (w/ Trey Anastasio)

AUGUST
1 Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA (w/ Trey Anastasio)
4 Smirnoff Music Center, Dallas, TX (w/ Trey Anastasio)
5 C.W. Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX (w/ Trey Anastasio)
8 DTE Music Center, Detroit, MI
9 Rock'n The Rally, Sturgis, SD
12 New England Dodge Music Center, Hartford, CT
*w/ Allman Bros. Band and Derek Trucks
13 Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY (w/
Allman
Bros. Band and Derek Trucks)
15 Darien Lake Six Flags P.A.C., Buffalo, NY (w/ Allman Bros.
Band)
16 Post-Gazette Pavilion @ Star Lake, Burgettstown, PA (w/
Allman
Bros. Band)
18 Tweeter Center @ the Waterfront, Camden, NJ (w/ Allman
Bros.
Band and Derek Trucks)

(LEG THREE)
SEPTEMBER
14, 15 Charter One Pavilion, Chicago, IL (w/ The Strokes)
17 Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX
19 Alltel Pavilion @ Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC (w/ The
Strokes)
21 Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL (w/ The
Strokes)
22 Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA (w/ The Strokes)
27 Coors Amphitheatre, San Diego, CA (support TBA)
29-30 Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA (w/ Frank Black)

OCTOBER
4 Glendale Arena, Phoenix, AZ (w/ John Mayer)


For more information, please contact
Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald
805-375-5915
herfitz@...
Visit www.tompetty.com

*********************************************************************
Article Last Updated: 07/07/2006 10:32:07 AM PDT

Petty announces Berkeley dates
By Jim Harrington, STAFF WRITER





Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, left, and Tom Petty perform together at
the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Tuesday, June 27, 2006.
(AP Photo/Bill Kelley)

It's about time. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have truly been
testing local fans' patience as the vocalist-guitarist announced
date after date on his band's 30th anniversary tour — with nary a
NorCal gig in sight. Thankfully, the wait is over as Mr.
Heartbreaker is now set to hit the Greek Theatre in Berkeley for
shows on Sept. 29 and 30. Unfortunately, the Sacramento date, which
was unofficially being listed on some web sites, doesn't look like
it is going to happen at this point. Tickets for the Berkeley
concerts will go on sale July 16. Check http://www.apeconcerts.com
for more information.
Fans who come out to hear such old-school Petty hits as "American
Girl" and "Breakdown" will also surely get a dose of 55-year-old
Floridian's new album, "Highway Companion." The CD, Petty's third
solo and 18th overall career disc, will be released on July 25. The
first radio track from "Highway Companion" is "Saving Grace," which
was world-premiered last month in front
of 20-million people on ABC-TV's NBA Finals. A special video stream
of "Saving Grace" is now available at http://www.tompetty.com.

Petty is backed on this tour by some pretty sensational openers,
including Pearl Jam, the Allman Brothers, the Strokes, John Mayer
and Phish's immensely talented guitarist Trey Anastasio. Trey would
be our top pick to open the shows in Berkeley, but the consolation
prize — the Pixies' Frank Black — is a pretty good one. Stevie
Nicks, of Fleetwood Mac fame, will also join Petty for a few songs
during his set.