Petty as brilliant as ever

Of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' set Saturday night at the Hard Rock Joint I can say this: It sounded great from the back of the room. (It doesn't always happen that way.) The drum mix was clear and sharp as a pushpin; the guitars and keyboard chimed in near-perfect harmony and tone; Petty's vocals were better than coherent.

These little miracles probably would have impressed in a room that wasn't booked to nearly 1,000 bodies over capacity -- as the Joint unfortunately was.

Don't misunderstand. I've had some wonderful concert experiences at the Joint in the past. The room is terrific, the staff unfailingly friendly, and I count on one hand all the times I've had to summon a manager for any reason at all.

And Petty -- he has always been about his fans, fighting to keep The Heartbreakers' ticket and album prices down.

That said, how did the Joint end up admitting (unofficially, of course) almost 2,300 bodies into a room that comfortably allows for 1,400? And how did Petty's management allow a $102 ticket price for this mess?

More maddening still, the overbooking of the room detracted from a set that otherwise was likely memorable. I was compelled to leave shortly after "Don't Do Me Like That" -- exactly six songs into the set. Literally, I could not maneuver my notebook into place without elbowing someone in the kidney. Between "Jammin' Me" and "Runnin' Down A Dream" I was nearly crushed to death by a train of alpha males wielding Budweisers and dragging suicide blondes.

And I was standing in the back of the room -- five steps from the door. One can only imagine what the crush was like up front. The crowds in back were thick enough to make forward advancement nearly impossible.

Admittedly, the band's performance smoothed over some of the faults, even for the portions of the crowd that booed before The Heartbreakers took the stage. Wearing a vintage Western shirt and stomping around on an enormous Persian rug, Petty might have been playing to six people in his three-car garage. He had the easygoing manner of a man on working holiday.

Over the course of just one song -- "Swingin' " from the band's latest release "Echo" -- Petty and clan bested other bands' entire sets. There's a reason Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keep packing houses: Quality work will always find an audience, and good almost always drives out bad.

It's unfortunate that the band's set was marred the moment ticket No. 1401 was sold. It does more than boggle the mind -- it breaks the heart.

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