Tom Petty’s original band, Mudcrutch, is midway through its brief tour of small-venue shows and played the second of a sold-out two-night stand at Webster Hall in New York City on Saturday night in support of their second album, Mudcrutch 2. Despite the presence of Petty and two of the Heartbreakers, they were there to showcase their Mudcrutch work and offered a 21-song, 2-hour set drawn from both albums and a few choice covers. Petty quickly acknowledged that some fans might have been there both nights, but it was a similar set to Friday’s, although he quipped “I recognize some faces from last night, I’ll need new jokes.”
Though Petty was the draw, the veteran crowd were there to see this early work, not for a classic rock legend running through his hits or deep cuts like he offered fans in 2013 (not that that wouldn’t be awesome). It was surprising how many fans were singing the words to every song, and how few (zero actually) called out for Petty songs. Hearing this music for the first time, one could hear its impact on his later catalogue as the listener could be kept thinking “oh, is he intro-ing [insert TP and the HBs song here]?”, only to have them launch into a Mudcrutch cut.
Mudcrutch played a similar set to the shows earlier in the tour but late in the set brought out Roger McGuinn in fine form of The Byrds to play and sing on two Byrds’ songs, “Lover of the Bayou” and “Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere.” He was cheered by the crowd and fit right into the band’s vibe; the love and admiration among those on stage was mutual and obvious.
Mudcrutch is Petty on bass, two of The Heartbreakers – Mike Campbell on Guitar and Benmont Tench on keyboards — and guitarist Tom Leadon and drummer Randall Marsh. Joining them on tour is bluegrass player Herb Pederson on guitar and banjo. On the new album each shared in the writing and lead singing. And while Petty was front and center, and clearly in charge, the other Heartbreakers were acknowledged – with chants of “Benmont, Benmont” and one can’t help notice Campbell’s constant and contagious grin, never-mind his guitar playing.
Petty was clearly in control, leading the band in and out of each song and solo and serving as the emcee for the evening. Even though Petty has performed hundreds of times on much bigger stages, you could tell how much he enjoyed reuniting with his Mudcrutch brethren, and how touched he was by the crowd’s attention and enthusiasm – his beaming smile increased with every ovation. He introduced the ballad I Forgive It All by telling the crowd that it is a quiet song, and half-heartedly asked the crowd to keep quiet. Much to his surprise, the crowd hushed and complied.
Warming up was upbeat, guitar-oriented, rock and rollers The Shelters promoting their new Petty-produced eponymous album. Newly formed and with only a preview EP and one album under their belt, they owned the stage for their 45-minute 10-song set. Acknowledging Petty’s impact, they wisecracked that this was the first time they had played the same place two nights in a row aside from their garage. Their stage presence and music was totally engaging. Most definitely will give their first full length album a real listen.
