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Photos, Videos: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Celebrated 40 Years At Forest Hills Stadium
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 28, 2017
Modified Jul 28, 2017
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Photo by Dana Distortion / Forest Hills Stadium
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 28, 2017
Modified Jul 28, 2017
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In that excellent four-hour Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers documentary you should all watch (currently you'll find it on Amazon and Netflix), guitarist Mike Campbell says the band's unofficial slogan has always been, "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." Because of this, and because of the longtime tight bond and remarkable talent shared by these guys, and because Tom Petty knows exactly how to write a goddamn song, they are the perfect rock n' roll band. A national treasure. Energetic, prolific, promise merchants. You will stand, sway, and sing-along to every song, even if that's not your "thing"... and that was exactly the case with the audiences at this week's NYC concerts.
The band came through Queens for two nights at Forest Hills Stadium on their 40th anniversary tour (which concludes in Los Angeles in September), and rocked all the hits, along with a couple of deep cuts.
Earlier this year, Petty said this was their final nationwide tour, or as he called it, "the last big one." This seems kind of unlikely, but just in case, you may want to check out one of the remaining shows.
Below, check out the band — featuring keyboardist Benmont Tench, bassist Ron Blair, guitarist Mike Campbell, drummer Steve Ferrone, Scott Thurston, and backup duo Charley and Hattie Webb — delivering the hits at Forest Hills this week:
And during "American Girl," the screen behind the band showed the photo of late transgender actress Alexis Arquette—perhaps a nod to President Trump's controversial decision to ban transgender people from serving in the military, which was announced the day of the band's first show at the stadium.
SETLISTS (from both shows at Forest Hills Stadium 7/26 and 7/27/2017)
Rockin’ Around (With You)
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
You Don’t Know How It Feels
Forgotten Man
You Got Lucky (Night 1); Into the Great Wide Open (Night 2)
I Won’t Back Down
Free Fallin’
Swingin’ (Night 1); Walls (Night 2)
Don’t Come Around Here No More
It’s Good to Be King
Crawling Back to You
Wildflowers
Learning to Fly
Yer So Bad
I Should Have Known It
Refugee
Runnin’ Down a Dream
American Girl (Encore)
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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