I get chills when Mike Campbell comes in, after such a patient buildup, words cannot express the perfection of this - in fact the aesthetic perfection you find in every corner of this unique performance. I never tire of it.
Why is it amazing? Are you fans easily impressed. That is the damn song from 1980. It is amazing that after 2 minutes of solo nonsense the band teases fans with 1 minute of the REAL SONG and you are IMPRESSED. HUH?!?!?
John Morris it’s amazing bc it’s not the normal studio version and it teases you after every chorus by staying slow tempo and finally exploding I think it’s an incredible version of the song including the story in the beginning just gives me chills. If u feel that way just click on another video....to reply to someone’s comment like this is just lame and shows u took time to try and down the way someone feels about this song and how it hits them personally. Doesn’t really matter how you feel about this so keep ur negative comments somewhere else
@@JohnMorris-ge6hq Look & listen to the crowd...does it sound & look as if they've been denied some great moment? A triumph of rock songwriting, as it is? I disagree, I think the audience was gifted a wonderful song rendered differently in the atmosphere only a live performance can capture. Great songs are not just what they are, they continue to live & grow in the imagination of all involved. Tom would've wanted it that way, & Hell, considering he just PLAYED IT FOR YOU this way, I think much more was gained than lost.
had the good fortune to see him live 3 times - once in San Francisco, once outdoors at the Calaveras County Fair and once in Seattle. Tom was genius incarnate.
I remember purchasing damn the torpedos,I was sold on this great musician.then and til the day I was driving my semi and heard on the radio that this man had passed.stopped and cried.RIP M r Petty.louie.
This is probably my favorite song ! If your weekly salary was a dollar for every time I ever sang it to myself you'd be rich. I swear I sing it 4 times a week - have been for over thirty years !!
you could say that alot because tp has a big juke box. " the waiting" is truly a gift. i love it!!! this is one of the best videos on you tube period!!!
I swear, TP never wrote a bad song. It's uncanny. This is obviously unfair, "The Waiting" is one of my favorite songs full stop, let alone favorite TP songs, but this performance is on an entirely different level. Losing Tom was a blow, but what an amazing catalog of wonderful music he left for us. Thank you, Tom.
Yea, how could we not agree on this huh? I could not get tired of his music ever and could listen over and over again. And actually there aren't any musicians that I don't appreciate.
Nikki I love Tom Petty (and everyone else in TPATH,) but he is not a contemporaneous speaker. That story was scripted out, honed & refined to get a precise reaction from his audience way back then. He still tells it on every tour to introduce this song. I thought he would switch them out when playing to his kids, ex-wife, cousin Sheriff Sadie Darnell, but nope. We picked up on a lot of local references that others might not. READ Warren Zanes bio "PETTY!" It's excellent!
Not to mention that his band's original drummer, Stan Lynch, had been dismissed from the band multiple times (in 1979 and 1982) before Lynch finally got the boot for good in 1993.
Through all this I think what you just stated is exactly how I feel. I was 12 when Damn the Torpedoes came out. Tom was just cool, pure rock & roll but legends never die.
I'll be your bleeding heart, I'll Be Your Crying Fool, don't let this go too far, don't let it get to you...Then Mike Campbell steps in with that simple but awesome solo. Doesn't get any better
Oh that was just so effing amazing- especially when the band came in. And Petty's voice- we'll never hear anything like it again. never get tired of this song!
You know, it's a funny thing--technically, Tom Petty couldn't really sing, in a classical sense. And yet his keening voice had the most powerful effect; as a teenager, the longing, resignation, loneliness, disappointment and occasional bitterness (and humor) it conveyed spoke to me deeply. And still does.
The beginning of this song Tom tells quite a story. Words cannot describe what the passing of Tom Petty has done to all his family, friends, bandmates and his FANS. WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU. REST IN PEACE 💔😓
I agree with you on this deal, Lightning. Tom Petty's music had a profound effect on my life and it still does to this day. Forever the man and I am forever the fan. Rock in Heaven, T.P. 1951-2017
I saw Tom in the late 80s and I would describe it as a guitar orgy if you play guitar you are listening with true admiration knowing this is as good as it gets
Yeah it's so look hard!!! I remember Tom,from when I was like 11 or 12..1979 or 1980..I loved him!! Still do! It years me up!!! Knowing he passed away..He was a REALLY GREAT GUY and musician as well!! As it's REALLY hard!:for all of his fans! And even harder for his family,and band members! 😣😣😣😥😥😥😇😇😇R.I.P.to Tom Petty!
This absolute madlad took a song that was stupidly perfect and somehow made it even more beautiful. Tom & his Heartbreakers knew how to craft a dynamic song - they knew the secrets of musical rise and fall, and how to build up and pay off like you're telling a story. This song, and this performance, might be the finest example of that understanding and successful execution.
Oh, you really missed some incredible magic. I saw him in Portland in '81. If you think the studio versions of these songs are awesome, what they do to each song when presented live puts a whole new dimension to each chord change, each vocal harmony. I walked in a fan, walked out a religious fanatic.
I still can't wrap my head around his passing. 2 years and it's just as unfathomable as the day I found out. I was raised with his music. Growing up, I understood what the hell he meant because I felt it too. He knew so much, and put real shit in to words with such feeling. He was a true talent, and one of my most revered poets. It's a loss so great that I don't even know how to process it. It's like a tidal wave of pain and rushing of tears every time I think of it.
Probably the most modest and self-effacing of rock bands, and all the more effective for it. As Tom comes to the end of the bridge, he looks around, like "Here comes the secret weapon," and then Mike and the band pounce. 😂
If you were lucky enough to see them live in this era (early to mid 1980's) you saw perhaps the greatest live shows ever performed. I have seen hundreds of concerts since 1986 shows but these are the reference points for all live music. Blistering, shocking two hours of pure engagement. Whatever you thought of their videos and recorded music, you simply had to see them live to fully appreciate the depth, range and abilities of a real rock band playing timeless music at 110%. Never to be seen again.
As a live performer Stan was great but he never played that way in the studio.he was always all smiles and happy live, but he didn’t carry that over to the studio
When Toms Band comes roaring in ....... at 4:54 You can see that Tom is So Proud of his Band "the Heartbreakers" And Wanted all the focus on them at that moment ! Tom always shared the spotlight with his Band !
What an indelible Rock and Roll Moment when Mike Campbell steps up for his solo after the bridge. Incredible dynamics raise the level of an already great song in this live version.
Absolutely and what a perfect solo and the lick that almost immediately follows & the octave thing just couldn't be more perfect. One of my favourite moments in live rock music history...
Was listening to this version in the car on Tom Petty radio last week, and just about drove off the road when Mike's solo hit. This is without a doubt my favorite version of this song. Tom was a genius and there's a hole in the world that will never be filled.
I was thinking about 2/3's thru that Tom's a pretty good guitarist. Then bam! the whole band joins in.....and you see how awesome Mike Campbell is and how tight they play and how good they harmonize (can't be easy harmonizing w/ Tom) and I think this is THE great American band. Screw Aerosmith, screw the Eagles, it's these guys. If the band didn't have TP's name in the title they'd all be famous.
Couldn't agree more. So epic and moving. Holy crap Tom Petty knew what he was doing. Such a master. Such an incredible way to present this song after what he'd been going through.
Totally agree with that, as you alluded to, you seen a few versions of this live, M.C sometimes drops a note in the lead breaks, (early days I believe) but it sounds BRILLIANT,as usual 🤧
Stan Lynch was the best drummer the Heartbreakers ever had. He could not only drum amazingly well, but he could sing harmony and arrange too. We were at that Wiltern show. RIP, TP.
Tom, please save a seat for me on front row center and a backstage pass for your great live shows in Heaven for when I get there later on down the road.
Saw him in concert 4 times and never was disappointed , he truly loved what he did and it showed. It was a sad day for us when he passed away but heaven was blessed with him. His music is a staple
One of the best albums ever recorded that's all I listened too back in 86 and I still love listening to it to this day..Make It Better is pure brilliance
I don't know why this always made me tear up. Even before he was gone, maybe it means more now. But, he never gave up. He may have had a broken had, but he taught me that whatever gets in your way, don't give up and just keep fighting for what keeps you going and what you want. I lived by that since I first saw this years ago when I was a young buck. Thank you for that, Tom.
Whoa... Campbell plays that lead riff as all octaves on a 6-string. I always thought he used a 12 or it was two guitars on the record, but his solos sound so much like the record, now I think he did it just like this. Very nice.
Young musicians can learn a lot from him. His guitar skills were awesome. His voice was not great, but his songs touched your heart and his genuine love for music and entertaining fans was paramount ! That is why he will be an icon for many years to come.
Never be another. TP and the heartbreakers were the soundtrack to my youth. Nothing but happy memories …. Better days . RIP Tom Petty . Nothing but love for you .
i always say what a great band it is. how all of them together produce a great sound - but here Petty plays all by himself on electric & i didnt even realize it for awhile & then the crescendo as mike c & the band join him. What great musicians & Tom - what a life force. Goes beyond music.
One of the finest rock tunes, ever written. Performed majestically, by the main man, his co-captain and the band. Listened to it dozens of times and still gives me goosebumps. The waiting, is indeed, the hardest part...
Hey Tommy, Godspeed. Never got to see you Live. Your words/songs/attitude will ALWAYS be my fallback when things arent going well in life. Your words always put me square again. And now you are the only man to make this man cry. Thanks for never Backing Down.
Been distraught since Oct 2nd. You were one of the coolest men on the planet. I love and miss you. Thanks for the music Tom. Rest in peace. And then, rock and roll Tom. Because that's what you always did. LOVE and PEACE to you and yours.
Unreal. You always know he had a ton of hits but then you remember more and more. Everytime one of his songs come on, i think "son of a bitch, he did it AGAIN!"
The build up to the guitar solo and bringing the rest of the band from the shadows is pretty epic. Probably hair tingling for those watching live. I only saw him once, and it was in the back half of his career, but he was outstanding live.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers are THE Great American Rock Band. Great songs. Great live performances. And the grit to keep kicking ass in a very tough business for more than 30 years.
I'm in my 50s and just rediscovered Tom Petty. This performance is phenomenal. I'm so grateful to have lived during a period of such exceptional music.
Love you, Tom, for everything that you were! Wish you could have taken better care of yourself, but you did what you could! You're the heartbreaker, leaving us too soon.
I seen him for my 1st concert in 1980.It was Bayfront Center in Tampa,Fla.I'm 51 now and have seen so many different groups but that show and his presence on that stage is always something I'll never forget.For such an immensely talented musician,he comes across very humble.Stevie Nicks came to that show and they did their big hit Stop dragging my heart around.
Hate to know there will never be any more songs coming from this musical genus. I love every thing about Tom, Class from the beginning to end. One of the most enduring careers ever by anybody, especially in Rock @ Roll.I love this man , he made, by hard work ,some of the best music in history.
Tommy knew how to rock the folk chords like nobody ever did, just nailed sweat grooves and riffs so the music has legs all of its own, the melodys were an enhancement with timeless lyrics we'll never forget
My wife and I have seen him 5 times but 1989 at the Universal Amphitheater was my first time and he blew me away. My wife took me and had already seen him back in 1983 two nights in a row at Irvine Meadows.
