We're here at the Acorn, Penzance again, our favourite venue in Cornwall, and I'm not just saying that because they have a better Ale selection than most pubs!
Tonight, or more accurately, this afternoon (it's a weird 4pm kick-off, the jury is still out on that!) we're sat waiting for Heartbreak - The Tom Petty Show
The guys have had a long journey apparently and have got here by the skin of their teeth. They take the stage and rip into You Wreck Me. They look the part, I mean, the Tom Petty guy has a blonde wig and a hat on (which I think is just there to keep the hair on, but it looks the part), and that's all that's needed!
The sound man makes short work of it and by the end of the song any teething problems have been sorted and these guys sound good!
I've always liked Tom Petty, I don't have the whole, vast discography but it soon becomes clear that I pretty much know all of his songs (well the ones in this set tonight anyway), and wow, what a quality songwriter he was.
These guys bang out faultless versions of Don't Do Me Like That, Yer So Bad and Breakdown, they even slip in a cheeky cover, the Thunderclap Newman classic Something In The Air.
The lead singer 'Tom' is a charismatic guy; he keeps the banter to a minimum but has a keen wit when he does so. His singing voice is fantastic and not a million miles from Mr Petty himself.
The whole band are extremely accomplished. The lead guitarist is sensational and backs Up Tom's rhythm guitar with some sensational licks.
The performance as a whole is polished, professional and fun.
We're sat cabaret style on small round tables making the whole event an intimate affair with a cosy feel.
The set consists of 2 parts, the first half ending perfectly with Into the Great Wide Open, Learning to Fly and I Won't Back Down.
After a quick trip to the bar, the 2nd half kicks off with Love is a Long Road and Honey Bee to get us all clapping along again. However, it's halfway through part two when they bang out two Travelling Wilburys tracks in a row, Handle With Care and End of the Line, that the crowd really joins in singing along to every word of these two classics.
The hits just keep coming, Mary Jane's Last Dance, Refugee and the anthemic Free Fallin' end the 2nd set.
We know we haven't heard the biggest ones yet (there were so many!) The guys seem to get more relaxed as the set progresses and by the time they kick into American Girl we might as well be watching the Real Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, they really are outstanding.
My favourite song so far is next, and it's a fantastic cover of Baby Please Don't Go by Them. Belted out with all the velocity that Van Morrison and co did the original. This is a surprise inclusion and blew me away.
They could only finish up with Running Down a Dream, truly a great with that menacing riff running repeatedly it's way through the whole song.
There was no showboating today, no phoney accents and just a teeny bit of dressing up. All in all, just a great bunch of musicians paying tribute to a great band in a fantastic little venue.
