Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, and a Whole Bunch of Hippies

Something occurred to me as I sat on the lawn at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte last Friday and looked around at the large and vocal crowd that came out to see the first stop on Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' 2006 tour.

I could do for hippies what Jeff Foxworthy did for rednecks.

For example ... (and it's probably best if you read these with the Foxworthy tone):

If you're from the state of Vermont ... you might be a hippie.

If your hair is as long as your girlfriend's ... you might be a hippie.

If you have decorative balls wrapped around your neck as an oversized necklace ... and you're a guy ... you might be a hippie.

If you know the words to any song by Phish or Trey Anistasio ... you might be a hippie.

If your clothing for the day consists of an untucked dress shirt and sandals ... you might be a hippie.

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I've been a fan of Tom Petty since the 8th grade, about 20 years after the release of his breakthrough hit "American Girl". "Into the Great Wide Open" was the first CD I ever owned. And, being that I rarely get the chance to go to a decent concert (Roanoke got Def Leppard but that was about it), I thought it best to take advantage of the opportunity to see Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers live before they retired / broke up / OD'd.

As Star photographer John Derrick and I made our way across the parking lot we attempted to play "Spot the Hippie". Sadly, the hippie to normal person ratio was high and our hippie radars broke before we made it to the front door.

I did find it funny that so many were food-free tailgating, sitting in their lawn chairs and listening to "Free Fallin" and Fleetwood Mac. Several were without their shirts but, as most of these men appeared to be as disheveled as prison inmates, the shirtless thing was to be expected I suppose.

"There's an opening act? Hell, I thought that was a CD." John

Trey Anistasio opened the show by singing about lambs and sunshine and everything else those wacky guys from Vermont like to sing about. There may have been a song in there about maple syrup, I wasn't really paying attention.

For those who have never been to an outdoor concert, it's very similar to a refugee camp. Just imagine thousands of people huddled over their little piece of land, usually no more than 5 feet by 5 feet, unless of course they were smart enough to bring a blanket or sleeping bag.

John and I thought we had a good spot picked out on the lawn, very much near the back but with a decent view. What we didn't expect is the half dozen morons right in front of us who wanted to stand and talk. No, there wasn't anything on stage worth seeing at this point but I still wanted the privilege to see a yard past my feet.

Thankfully my friend Cat and her fellow DJs from Rock 104.9 in Asheville let us crash on their blankets about 100 yards closer. Thanks again for that.

There seemed to be a colorless yet odor-full cloud in the air shortly after Trey took the stage. It would remain there for the duration of the concert.

"My eyes are burning with the smoke of marijuana." John

...He thought he had it bad. Poor Cat looked like she was going to throw up at more than one point.

After much stalling, the main attraction finally hit the stage.

Many of the classics were there. "I Won't Back Down" ... "Last Dance with Mary Jane" (I think the band has yet to have that last dance) ... a fantastic slow version of "Learning to Fly" (possibly my favorite Petty track) ... "Free Fallin" ... the Traveling Willbury's "Handle with Care" ... "You Dont Know How it Feels" ... "Refugee" ... "Don't Come Around Here No More" ... "Runnin Down a Dream".

"New song, pee break!" Random drunkard

Of course there were a few obligatory new songs thrown in, as his latest CD is apparently in stores next month. My favorite new track, which I'm just now realizing was on the soundtrack of last falls "Elizabethtown", is the acoustic "Square One".

Without a doubt one of the major highlights was Stevie Nicks coming out for a duet on "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" and "I Need to Know". That was a very nice surprise.

Here's the "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" performance (I love YouTube.com!):
http://www.youtube.com/v/JoDpaNU5bpc

By this point in the show many in the crowd were doing their own inebriated dancing. It's not every day that you see a guy with a cowboy hat and no shirt, lighter in the air, and jumping around like he's in a production of Riverdance.

"Get your ass back down here!" Random drunkard after the band pretended to leave

The encores consisted of "You Wreck Me" and a cover of Van Morrison’s "Gloria" before finishing off with what brought them to the dance - "American Girl".

The crowds quickly dissipated and I came to the conclusion that I had far too much money in my pocket so I dropped $35 on a t-shirt. A high price to pay? Of course. But its been 5 years since my last concert t-shirt and I needed a souvenir. Don't judge me!

And a good time was had by all. I'll be back on the 20th for Dave Matthews.

Here's a nice little Q&A with TP the Charlotte Observer ran Friday: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/entertainment/14776453.htm?source=rss&channel=charlotte_entertainment

For those who have never been to Verizon Wireless, here are a few survival tips for lawn seating:

1) Get there early and sit as close as you can. The people on stage are still going to appear small no matter where you are on the lawn but if you're close you're going to have far fewer people standing in your view.

2) They allow sealed bottles of water inside so bring as much as you can. It's going to be cheaper than the $7 bottles of beer.

3) Bring blankets to sit on, if only to mark your territory and give you more space than the person next to you.

4) Be prepared to deal with drunk and / or high people. Think of it as part of the concert experience. An added bonus thrown in for free with your purchase of a ticket.