Won tickets to this show from 104.5 KFOG. I was really excited, because I'm a big Tom Petty fan and I have never seen him live with any band.
Mudcrutch, if you didn't already know, was originally active from 1970-75 and three of the members, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, would go on to form Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. They reunited in 2008, to record their debut album and play a couple live shows, but it took another eight years for them to get around to their sophomore effort and this, their first tour.
Even though three of the five band members have been in The Heartbreakers for forty years now, not everything sounds exactly like their main band, though a few moments, notably their first single, "Scare Easy", very much do. Distinctly, all members have at least a brief time in the role of lead vocalist and Tom plays bass instead of his usual guitar, though that doesn't seem to have as much of an effect on the music as you might think.
The overall feel of the show was that the band was having fun and wanted to share that fun. The original songs ranged vastly in style, from country rock, to folk, to an almost grunge rock-y thing here and there, as well as a couple covers, including an excellent rendition of "Knocking On Heaven's Door". Tom's comments between songs were a good primer for those who didn't know what to expect.
The opening band were called The Shelters. They were sort of a mix of Nirvana, Billy Idol and Stray Cats. Regardless of how that looks in theory, it sounds really good live. They just released their first album, which they recorded in Tom Petty's home studio, with tube amps. I hope they get as much recognition as they deserve.
Mudcrutch were great, Shelters were great, and I hope they do this again sometime!