Joe Cocker with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the Gorge on Saturday, June 12th
The first thing I noticed while we waited in line at the Gorge was how diverse this crowd was, I am talking from strollers to canes. I do agree that out of all the Gorge shows one could go to, Tom Petty would be a family friendly one. Today was perfect, the drive flew by, the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze; Mother Nature was on our side and we had no complaints.
England’s Joe Cocker opened the evening up with a lot of energy and some classic hits. He was all over the stage, air guitaring, air piano playing, jumping, moving his hands even from the hill you could see his excitement and movements. Joe Cocker had a huge band with him on stage including a female bass player and two sassy backup singers. Joe sang songs we all love and know like “You Are So Beautiful,” “Up Where We Belong,” The Beatles’ “Come Together,” “With A Little Help from My Friends” and many more. It was cool to see him live and to watch him have as much fun as he did.
I have been told that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers is the best sounding show you will see. The first song I couldn’t here Petty’s vocals however by the end of the night everything was smooth sailing and it was a fantastic live show. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers still rock after all these years and have a great time performing. It looked like Petty never stopped smiling on stage. He told us “what a beautiful night at the gorge…(the crowd went nuts)…we are going to have some fun, I promise you that;” and we had more than fun. As soon as the show started it was hit after hit! We heard “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Free Fallin’,” “Last Dance with Mary Jane,” “Breakdown,” “Learning to Fly,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” and “Refugee.”
“I am just dying to play new music,” Petty said. Sure enough they played a few songs that will be on their June, 15th (this Tuesday!) release called “Mojo;” which by the way is the first Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers studio album in eight years! They played “Jefferson Jericho Blues” and a song Petty and Mike wrote called “First Flash of Freedom.” They guy in front of us who had a few beers made a point to scream Hell Yeah Freedom, right before they played “First Flash of Freedom.” Overall the crowd was fun, everyone was there to sing along, dancing, relaxing and having a good time.
We left before the encore due to our drive back home but on our walk out we heard “You Wreck Me,” in which I did do the “whoa’s yeah’s” too. I am sure he had to of play “American Girl” and I bet it was fantastic.
Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.
