Tom Petty in the Super Bowl
So, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers playing the Super Bowl halftime show, huh? How about that?
I don’t know who hooked that up on Tom Petty’s end, but it was a slick move. I mean, even if his new material isn’t getting the multi-platinum certifications he was raking in twenty years ago, you have to admit that when millions of people watch you play some of your classic hits there are bound to be some spikes in back-catalog sales. And if it brings a bit more attention to what he’s doing nowadays, that can’t hurt either.
I’m only a casual Tom Petty fan myself, but somehow I find it hard not to respect his straight-ahead heartland rock mentality. He focuses on good songs and he delivers them. And the rest of the guys played a pretty good set. They actually looked like they still enjoyed what they were doing, instead of looking washed-up and wearied by the lack of interest in their more modern releases. And despite some good cases being made for lipsynching (here), I think they did a pretty good job. They managed to play their hits to maximize the number of people who would recognize the songs without boring to death those who were not familiar with their catalog.
But what might have impressed me most is Tom’s facial hair. Somehow he got away with the retro straight-long-hair-and-blonde-beard-while-wearing-a-suit look without appearing creepy. But what surprised me the most about the hair was it actually made the man look pretty good. Tom Petty is perhaps a famous example of how having talent can actually help someone succeed in a world increasingly based on physical appearance. The man is funny-looking. But the beard–and maybe the hair–seemed to mask the strange shapes of his face. He looked younger, he played well, and despite the curtailing of his songs, the whole show left me impressed.
And if it helps his album sales as much as a viewership of a hundred million should, I think he deserves it.
Tags: lipsynching, music, rock music, Super Bowl, Tom Petty